Valerie Joyce Pony Boy's Day Out Festival Preview ... - Earshot Jazz

Wind, & Fire backing vocalist Jean Carne (who
also had a top-ten hit with Norman Connors in
“Valentine Love”); trombonist Wayne Henderson
of The Jazz Crusaders; Blue Note-recorded
flautist Bobbi Humphrey; Earth, Wind, & Fire
saxophonist Ronnie Laws; romantic vocal
magician and acoustic guitarist Jon Lucien;
and much-traveled keyboard master Lonnie
Liston Smith. Together they promise to revivify
the often unfairly maligned jazz fusion of the
1970’s, which brought jazz, r&b, Latin, and funk
into explosive alignment. At the Triple Door
(Third Ave & Union St, downtown Seattle; www.
thetripledoor.net, 838-4333) at 7pm (all ages)
and 10pm; $45 advance / $50 day of show.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
C* Eric Verlinde Trio, Spice (2301 5th Ave, #101),
6
C* Space Girl’s jam, 9:30, The Asteroid (3601
Fremont Ave N, 547-9000).
EB Rochelle House (vocals), 9
JA Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits, 7:30 and
9:30
TD Jessica Williams, 7:30
TU Neil Welch Quartet, 8
7/14/21/28 SPICY JAZZ
Every Thursday from 6pm to 9pm, Spice (2301
5th Ave #101), presents the Eric Verlinde Trio,
with with Chuck Kistler on bass and Andre
Thomas on drums.
7-8 JESSICA WILLIAMS
Perennially one of the most cherished of jazz
pianists, this virtuoso plays with huge range,
and great subtlety, wit, and tireless warmth.
She is, said Dave Brubeck, “one of the greatest
jazz pianists I have ever heard.” Agreed McCoy
Tyner: “Jessica is a beautiful player.” Critics
have been equally enthusiastic. Alun Morgan,
in Gramophone, called Williams “the most
important pianist to arrive since Bill Evans.”
Williams has, since 1976, released many awardwinners
among her 35 albums. Williams has
been a perennial visitor to the Northwest, and
on all her visits her reception is appropriately
enthusiastic. She plays the Triple Door’s fine
piano. Cover, $25.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
HS Vern Sielert Quartet, Pony Boy Records: Jazz &
Sushi, 7:30
C* Ev Stern Trio jam, 9:30, The Asteroid (3601
Fremont Ave N, 547-9000).
EB Threat of Beauty, 10
GT Chris Cogburn Trio, 8 (see Sept. 2)
JA Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits, 7:30 and
9:30
LN Marc Smason/Gary Way/Greg Barnes & guests, 8
20 • Earshot Jazz • September 2006
NO Paul Green & Straight Shot
TD Jessica Williams, 8
TU Greta Matassa, 8:30
8 THREAT OF BEAUTY
Bassist Evan Flory-Barnes’s Threat of Beauty
has the unusual instrumentation of bass, cello,
vibes, and drums, which gives you some idea
of its output – to which, add power. There’s
post-bop, hip-hop, classical music, and more
in the mix as Threat of Beauty plays his own
compositions and soundscapes. In The Stranger,
Christopher deLaurenti wrote of the band: “The
name-checking of “Ives, Debussy, Ravel, Wayne
Shorter, Bill Evans, Björk, De La Soul” by bassist
Evan Flory-Barnes made sense. His ensemble of
cello, bass, drums, and vibraphone translates the
anthemic, rhythmic figures of hiphop to every
instrument in the group with careful attention
paid to dynamics and group polyphony. Barnes
is ambitious, so don’t be surprised to see an
expanded lineup with added violins and harps.”
At Egan’s, the new venue in Ballard.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
C* Pony Boy All-Star Big Band (1421 Cole St,
Enumclaw), 1
C* Black Lab Trio, Maddox Bar & Grill (18411
Highway 99, Lynnwood), 7:30
BP Greta Matassa Trio
EB Frieze of Life, 10
GT Chris Cogburn Quartet (see Sept. 2 & 8), 8
JA Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits, 7:30 and
9:30
NO Paul Green & Straight Shot
TB Marco De Carvalho, 7
TD Eldar, 7 & 10
TU Marc Seales Quintet, 8:30
9 FRIEZE OF LIFE
Composed and improvised chamber jazz
from a band described in these pages thus:
“The exceptional compositional abilities of
the groups members translate into highly
varied musical territory and in turn some truly
inspired improvisations…an important new
element of Seattle new music.” The band, an
Earshot Golden Ear award winner in 2004, is
Greg Sinibaldi (composer, tenor saxophone,
bass clarinet), Mark Taylor (saxophones), Jay
Roulston (trumpets), Chris Stover (composer,
trombone), Geoff Harper (bass), and Byron
Vannoy (drums). They have an new disc, Nuclear
Frog Pond, just out.
9/10/16/22 STROLLING PONIES
The Pony Boy All-Star Big Band, with performers
from the Pony Boy record label stable, presents
five performance pieces during the next two
months – with dancers. The free performances
promise to be something different – quite
something. They feature groups of band
members wandering through public spaces,
finding their way to each other through
“antiphonal” – call-and-response – musical
pieces. Once they have gathered at one spot,
they – and dancers – perform American bigband
and jazz standards. The performances,
which go by the name “Concurrently Consecutive
Antiphonal Sonic Sculpture Stationary Traveling
Big Band & Dance,” are sponsored in part by
4Culture’s King County Performance Network.
They take place on Saturday, September 9, at
1pm, in downtown Enumclaw (1421 Cole St); as
part of Pony Boy Records 3rd Annual Jazz Picnic
on Sunday, September 10, at 4pm, at Sandpoint
Magnuson Park; Saturday, September 16, at
11am, at Redmond Saturday Market (7730 Leary
Way, Redmond); Friday, September 22, at 5pm,
at the Downtown Kent First Avenue Party (1st
Ave between Gowe St and Titus St); and Sunday,
October 29, at 5pm, at Game Farm Wilderness
Park in Auburn (2401 Stuck River Road). More
details at www.ponyboyrecords.com.
9-10 ELDAR, ON PIANO
Here’s an early 20s piano prodigy who’s
creating a stir with his hard-bop, post-bop, and
swing expertise. Billboard waxed: “Eldar has the
fastest hands in jazz, melds Russian soul (in
the ballads) with American razzle-dazzle (the
up-tempo tunes) in standards, not-so-standards
and originals. ... He seems to easily channel
Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson in his approach,
but to his credit he gets lost in the music in
his own way.” A Kansas City-based emigrant
from Kyrgyzstan, Eldar Djangirov has released
three CDs (including Eldar, on Sony Classical)
that have borne witness to the extraordinary
development that Eldar has been exhibiting
since he took to the piano at five and to jazz
at nine. Much-vaunted – he was featured on the
1999 Grammy Awards ceremony, and has taken
various top awards – he’s a dazzling stylist, with
great touch and assurance, and he sounds “like
a young Art Tatum,” according to Jazziz. Cover:
$22 adv/ $25 day of show
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
AA Jeanie Bryson/Ted Brancato Quartet, benefit
concert for Partners In Health/Doctors
Without Borders, 2
C* Pony Boy Records Jazz Picnic, Sandpoint
Magnuson Park, Seattle, noon-5 (see preview,
this issue)
JA Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits, 7:30
NO Pete Leinonen & John Holte Radio Rhythm
Orchestra
TD Eldar, 7 & 10
TU Jazz Police Big Band, 3
TU Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra, 8
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
C* Pony Boy All-Star Big Band, Redmond Saturday
Market, 11am
JA Mami, 7th Sister City Jazz Day, 7:30
RD Doug Reid, Andy Roben, Kevin Mccarthy, 7:30
TU Jazz Jam with Darin Clendenin Trio, 8
11 SISTERS
Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, the Seattle-Kobe Sister
City Association, and the KOBE Trade Information
Office present the Kobe (Japan) 2006 Vocal Jazz
Queen, Mami, for one night only. Supporting
Mami will be the Bill Anschell Trio. Admission
free.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
C* Trish, Hans and Phil, Sherman Clay Piano
Store (1000 Bellevue Way, Bellevue), 7:30
DC Eric Verlinde, 6:30
JA Karrin Allyson, 7:30
OU Marc Smason Open Jazz Workshop, 7:30
TU Emerald City Jazz Orchestra, 8
12-17 KARRIN ALLYSON
The two-time Grammy nominated vocalist
celebrates her tenth Concord release, Footprints,
which features 13 classic instrumental tracks
from the 50’s and 60’s. “As a singer, I feel very
influenced by instrumentalists and by many
classic instrumental songs, “ says Allyson. “It’s