The SEASONS Concert Notes

Frisell, Rodriguez, and Strange Fruit Combine for SummerEnder Extravaganza

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:41:13 -0700

Thursday, August 28, Gates Open 3:30 PM
Presented with a grant from
Yakima Regional Hospital
YAKIMA’s 2nd Annual
SWEET SUMMERENDER!!
An Outdoor Family Extravaganza at Naches & “A” Street
Presented in partnership with:
The Committee for Downtown Yakima • The Capitol Theater • The Yakima Bears
And featuring the stellar music of
The Senate Indie Rock
Carrie Rodriguez Alternative Country
Bill Frisell Trio Legendary Jazz Guitar

Plus — all the way from Australia —
Strange Fruit Amazing performing troupe that features circus acrobatics on high poles plus theater & dance in a unique performance art!
Not to mention a
A TASTE OF YAKIMA
Evening Box Picnics and other treats by Yakima finest restaurants
Call 853-2787 for Advance Tickets
Adult: $20 ($25 at door)
Student: $10 ($15)
Children (12 & under): FREE
Family Pak: $45
(2 adult/2 Student)
How can we put words to the wonderful evening of entertainment we have planned in conjunction with The Capitol Theater, The Committee for Downtown Yakima and The Yakima Bears. From gourmet picnic fare to the most amazing performance art, to some of the best music to appeal to EVERYONE’s taste. This will be a true end of summer celebration for all Yakimaniacs, so put it on your calendar. Each individual performer will be highlighted in this blog over the next few days. Tickets are unavailable from The Seasons Box Office, so please call The Capitol Theater Box Office to order yours: 509-853-2787

Reptet/Industrial Jazz Conclude Front Porch Series

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:50:46 -0700

Saturday, September 6, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
The Reptet &
The Industrial Jazz Group
Join us for the last Front Porch Concert of the summer for a raucous event featuring two of the best “street bands’ in jazz.
The Industrial Jazz Group are new to The Seasons. They’ve recently moved their home base from Los Angeles, where they had a reputation as one of the most innovative, humorous and wonderful live bands in the region, up to Portland: thus our success in recruiting them to The Seasons. The IJG showcases the bombastic, jump-cut, frenetic music of composer Andrew Durkin, while providing an apposite vehicle for the mad improvisational chutzpah of some of the jazz world's pluckiest, most unsung talents. The result is a kind of avant-garde party music just right for an outdoor picnic!
Reptet — who have visited The Seasons several times with amazing concerts — is a genre bending band of musicians based out of Seattle, WA.
Often categorized as a “jazz” group based on instrumentation (they are a sextet consisting of drums, bass and four horns) these six multi-instrumentalists have a far more expansive approach, performing original compositions that incorporate reggae, rock, ska, punk, modern classical, avant garde, eastern European folk influences and more. Their internationally acclaimed 2006 release, "Do This!" (Monktail Records) was an Independent Music Awards finalist for Best Jazz Record of the Year and was chosen Top Jazz CD of the year by Jazziz magazine's Alex Gelfand. They also won two Earshot Golden Ear Awards (celebrating the best of northwest jazz), including Best 'Outside' Jazz Group and Best Performance of the year (as part of the Monktail Raymond Scott Project). In 2007, Reptet criss-crossed the United States exhaustively touring in support of “Do This!”. In May of 2008, Reptet will be releasing their third CD on Monktail Records entitled, “Chicken or Beef?” and plan on touring Europe, Asia and (once again) the US. Their live performances have been described as, “arresting, compelling and just plain cranked-up!” with stage shows evolving into transformative performance art pieces using costumes, story telling, dance routines and absurdist humor. Reptet have proven themselves to be a unique and utterly enthralling multi-leveled experience leaving audiences wanting more.

Instrumentation
Samantha Boshnack-trumpet, slide trumpet, fluggelhorn; John Ewing-drums, percussion; Izaak Mills-alto and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute; Nelson Bell-trombone, tuba; Chris Credit-alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, clarinet, flute, bassoon; Tim Carey-contra bass, electric bass

Discography
Reptet - MCMC2, Monktail Records 2003
Do This! - MCMC4, Monktail Records 2006
Chicken or Beef? - MCMC8, Monktail Records 2008
What have some other critics been saying?
“I like how this pianoless sax 'n' horn sextet quilts together honking asides, raggedly spirited tuttis, jazz-rock bashing, and dissonant countermelodies that would make Mingus proud." — The Stranger
"Gorgeous mix of beauty and brains. The band hits a sweet spot somewhere between hard bop and the fierceadventures of more free-form improvisation...That’s a blend to which many aspire, but few have the talent, determination or vision to fulfill." — Melboure Herald Sun (Australia)  "(Reptet's) open voicings, jaunty tempos and buoyant timbral mixes for two winds and two brass have a friendly monster feel (that) achieves a bittersweet and elegiac mood of orchestral grandeur" — Downbeat Magazine
"The album (Do This!) has been attracting attention worldwide." "Always fun, always novel, these Seattle jazz guys and gals keep it hip." — Seattle Times
“One of the album's (Do This!) strong points, in addition to the improvising and composing, is Reptet's cohesive ensemble arrangements." All Music Guide
"A juggernaut jazz band, arresting, compelling, and just plain cranked-up."— Earshot Jazz
“There is a sense of joy, whimsy and almost reckless abandon in much of the skilled ensemble writing and playing. Great fun!”— The Arts Journal
"With Do This the Seattle-based Reptet has crafted a fresh, engaging and innovative sound."— All About Jazz

Victor Noriega Mines His Filipino Roots

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:44:02 -0700

Friday, September 12, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
The Victor Noriega Trio
CD Release:
“Victor Noriega has developed a distinct personal style that is both inventive and adventurous... his piano playing is crisp and articulate, and his compositions fuse Classical and Filipino folk elements with a jazz aesthetic. One moment his playing is reminiscent of the intricate contrapuntal lines in a Bach fugue, and the next the percussive dissonance of Bartok's music for piano... Listening to Noriega perform is like hearing the pieces of a puzzle come together into a satisfying whole."
Earshot Jazz With a taste for adventure and pushing the boundaries, award-winning pianist/composer Victor Noriega spins a sophisticated web of emotion, intellect, and risk-taking in his music, creating a style that is all his own.
Drawing inspiration from a variety of genres and artists, ranging from the dark elegance of Maurice Ravel to the angular aesthetic of Thelonious Monk, Noriega has captivated audiences worldwide with an authentic sound on the piano and an inventive approach to improvisation and composition. Critics have compared him to piano greats Brad Mehldau, Erik Satie and Dave Brubeck. Victor has studied with pianists Marc Seales, Dave Peck, Jerome Gray along with jazz luminaries Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell and Jason Moran.
Victor has performed for a variety of audiences at jazz music festivals and top jazz venues throughout the U.S., Canada and Asia. Based primarily in Seattle, Victor works with esteemed Northwest-based musicians including Jay Thomas, Mark Taylor and Hadley Calliman. Featured performances in North America include the Earshot Jazz Festival, The Banff International Jazz Festival, Bumbershoot, and The 2nd Annual Filipino-American Jazz Festival, as well as numerous jazz club engagements on both coasts. He has also performed and recorded with nationally recognized artists Mark Turner and George Lewis.
An active touring musician, Victor was most recently featured in the 2007 Philippine International Jazz and Arts Festival. In Asia, Victor holds regular performances and has maintained a musical presence in the fast-rising Shanghai Jazz Scene over the last few years, which has also helped develop his name on an international level.
Victor was born in Vancouver B.C., Canada and raised in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Like many Filipino households, Victor's childhood home was filled with music, from Filipino classics to American jazz standards, all played on the family piano. Victor began his musical career in Seattle, Washington where he studied jazz music under a full scholarship from the University of Washington and began performing with other music students at local jazz venues. After graduation, Victor worked tirelessly to establish himself in Seattle's local jazz scene, quickly gaining recognition as a player to watch.
In 2004 The Victor Noriega Trio's debut album Stone's Throw was released to enthusiastic response earning rave reviews and frequent radio play. The success of Stone's Throw resulted in wider appreciation of Victor's talent and additional opportunities for Victor to perform and record his music. In 2005 Earshot Jazz named Victor Seattle's Emerging Artist of the Year and the Jack Straw Foundation awarded Victor a full-residency grant, which funded the recording of Victor's 2nd album, Alay, which was released last year.

The album is a tribute to the music of Victor's cross-cultural heritage; Filipino in it's source material and American in its jazz-based deconstruction and re-interpretation. Alay has won critical acclaim across the globe, and in the U.S. Alay was named by Earshot jazz the 2006 Northwest Recording of the Year and Victor was recognized as the 2006 Instrumentalist of the Year.
John Reid, Keith Community Radio, Keith Banffshire, Scotland on ALAY: "This is indeed an innovative recording, at times complex and containing many moods and rhythm's... After several listenings the melodies and harmonies fall into place and the high quality of Musicianship from the trio becomes apparent. There is no substitute for class, a great recording."
Gordon Todd, Jazz Music director, KBCS 91.3, FM Seattle, "“Stone'’s Throw” is an impressive debut recording from a pianist and composer of considerable talent. Noriega’s tunes crackle with individuality, making it clear that his ambitions reside in innovation, not imitation. Introspective at times, energetic and boundary-stretching at others, these tunes seamlessly blend jazz and modern classical influences, expertly rendered by Noriega and his trio."”
Earshot Jazz magazine, May 2004 by Todd Matthews, "Noriega is a gifted composer who seems to approach the music from a classically-trained perspective. His tunes are layered, complex, interesting and rhythmic... Noriega has so much up his sleeve, the end result is a richness that is exciting to hear... this is very original songwriting that leaves a listener feeling that he or she has gone on an uncharted musical journey of sorts.”"

Jessica. We Missed You!

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:16:53 -0700

Saturday, September 20, 7:30 PM - Tickets $25
Jessica Williams, Solo Piano
Of the dozen or so highlight moments at The Seasons, at least 4 of them have to involve the creative genius of Jessica Williams. Her concentration and uninhibited musicality... and the way her music seems to flower inside her and immediately be translated to the keyboard is legend. As well she has a unique and thoughtful engagement in the world, her world!
The Seasons is proud to announce that now, after a prolonged absence — and coming off a stint at the prestigious Lincoln Center in New York City — Jessica will play for us again.
Jessica Williams is a well-known and highly respected pianist and composer who has deep roots in the Jazz Tradition.
DAVE BRUBECK calls her "One of the greatest jazz pianists I have ever heard..."
McCOY TYNER says "Jessica is a beautiful player..."
and ROLLING STONE Magazine calls her "A vibrant force on the contemporary music scene."
This two-time Grammy Nominee was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and classically trained at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
She moved to Philadelphia during her teens and worked with the great Philly Joe Jones, drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet. In her mid-twenties, she moved to the West Coast, where she played in the bands of Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Tony Williams, Stan Getz, Big Nick Nicholaus, Airto and Flora, Charlie Rouse, John Abercrombie, Leroy Vinnegar, and others.
She has released over 65 albums and written over 300 compositions.
She has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; a Rockefeller Grant for composing; the Alice B. Toklas Grant for Women Composers, and the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship.
In Europe, she scored Jazz Record of the Year for 2 consecutive years in the Jazz Journal International Reader's Poll.
While in California, she was presented the Keys to the City of Sacramento, receiving four grants from the Sacramento Arts Commission, and the Keys to the City of San Mateo. She was chosen Artist of the Year in Santa Cruz County, for her free musical service to the elderly, and for donating support to the Women's Shelter of Watsonville.
She been in the Top 5 CDs of JazzTimes' Critics Poll on numerous occasions, and her albums have made the TOP TEN JAZZ ALBUMS in the Village Voice several times.
During the last four decades, Jessica has recorded for Adelphi, Clean Cuts, Jazz Focus, Candid, Concord, Landmark-Fantasy, Timeless, Maxjazz, and Origin Arts.
She owns her own publishing company, JJW Music, owns her own CD company called Red and Blue Recordings, and runs her own successful Internet business, jessicawilliams.com.
She's been a guest on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. She's written scores for PBS and HBO and has received more than twenty ASCAP Special Awards for her prolific musical output. She has played everywhere from the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center to the Opera House in Tokyo, Japan.

Daniel Barry: Walks All Ways A Multimedia Performance

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:00:33 -0700

Saturday, September 27, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
Daniel Barry: ‘Walk All Ways’
Music & Photos of the world
Join us for a special evening of latin-influenced world music featuring the Daniel Barry Septet and the Walk All Ways project. Daniel Barry's latest ensemble endeavor is Walk All Ways, a latin-based jazz group comprised of trumpet, baritone saxophone/bass clarinet, cello, violin, vibes, bass & drums. This talented group of musicians have played at various venues in Seattle including Belltown's Tula's jazz club, South Seattle Community College and the Seattle Drum School.
In addition, Walk All Ways features striking photos of travels throughout the world, including South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Daniel Barry is a composer, arranger, conductor, music educator, publisher and trumpet player currently living in Seattle. Although Daniel's work as a composer falls primarily into the jazz category, his music contains elements garnered from advanced classical music studies along with residencies and festival performances throughout the world, in particular the Caribbean, Central America, Peru, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
Recently he has served as guest Composer/Performer in Residence for the Banda Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil, the Conservatoire de Tatui in Sao Paulo Brazil, and as a featured composer at the 2007 Lima Jazz Festival in Peru.
He is the owner/operator of Marina Music Service and Daniel Barry Publications, and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Music Composition from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Show Brazil! Highlights Singer Eduardo Mendonça

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 16:41:06 -0700

Friday, August 15, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
A SEASONS Front Porch Concert
Show Brazil w/ Eduardo Mendonça
For our Second Seasons Front Porch Concert, get on your dancing shoes and welcome Show Brazil! a revue of music, dance and heart-pounding rhythm that will keep your toes tapping. The Downtown Rotary Summer Concert Stage will be on the front porch of The Seasons Performance Hall (Corner of Naches & A Streets) and the audience will have a chance to sit, sway, stand or dance in the shade of the graceful trees of the Naches Median. This is a show for the whole family and it’s a music and a musician that projects the likeability, and the musicality that is Brazil.
Eduardo Mendonça, Brazilian recording artist, vocalist, composer, percussionist, guitarist, and musical arranger, was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Mendonça traces his lineage to a royal African family bearing the hereditary title of Mama-beka (“prophet of the royal court”). His grandfather, who secretly maintained the Mama-beka title, is pictured in a rare book, property of the Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia (Geographic and Historical Institute of Bahia).
Mendonça performed as featured musician in many venues in Bahia - Brazil, including command performances for Brazilian President João Baptista Figueiredo and for Pope John Paul II. Eduardo had the honor to play for the former South Africa President Nelson Mandela (Seattle, WA - USA - 1999). He also performed in trios elétricos—brightly lit mobile soundstages for festivals and public dancing in Brazil —with trios such as Dengo da Bahia, Papa Léguas, and Marcos Medrado, and toured locally and internationally as vocalist and percussionist with the folkloric troupe, Exaltação á Bahia. In 1991, Mendonça was featured in Paul Simon’s documentary music video, “Born at the Right Time.”
Eduardo recently performed for legendary Brazilian musicians Roberto Menescal, Alcione and Jorge Ben Jor.
Mendonça’s solo performance will bring to the audience Bossa-Nova, Brazilian standard tunes, MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) and original tunes.

“Seattle is lucky to have Mendonça in the neighborhood” – The Seattle Times   Eduardo Mendonça is:
- Voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (Grammy);
- Winner of "Outstanding Brazilian Male Singer based in the U.S." for the Brazilian International Press Award 2007 (Florida);
- Winner of "Tribute for Excellence and Achievements in Advancement of Performing Arts and Education of the Brazilian Music in 2006" - Centro Cultural Hispano Americano and University of Washington;
- Winner of Aspasia Phoutrides Pulakis Memorial Award 2005 for his significant contributions to the Brazilian Community and the community at-large of the Northwest

Mark Taylor Quartet: CD Release Party

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 15:59:04 -0700

Saturday, August 9, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
Mark Taylor, Alto Saxophone
Mark Taylor Jazz Quartet
Mark Taylor is an alto saxophonist that enjoys ensemble playing and is known and respected for his forceful and agile playing in support of the overall ensemble. Now he steps to the front of the podium to lead his own ensemble in an invigorating performance of everything thing from standards to newly minted classics.
To debut the new CD, Mark has scheduled a gala concert & CD signing at The Seasons this summer. Mark has appeared as a soloist at The Seasons with The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, the Matt Jorgenson +451 ensemble, and his own quartet, always to amazement and extended applause for his inventive, smooth, and pleasurable work on his instrument.
"Mark's appealing tone and impressive chops have graced countless performances by wide ranging ensembles, and his improvisational prowess has him playing and essential ingredient in the most exciting groups in the area" -Steve Cline, Earshot Jazz
"Mark is truly a skilled professional. His effortless lead playing and improvisations are admired by saxophonists and non-saxophonists alike."  - James Knapp, Composer/Bandleader/Trumpet Cornish College of the Arts Faculty   "One of Seattle's finest young musicians."  - Paul deBarros, The Seattle Times   Mark Taylor is one of the most in demand saxophonists in the Pacific Northwest. A Seattle native and resident, Mark's personal sound and style are a fixture on the local jazz scene and have given him opportunities to perform for audiences all over the United States and Japan. Widely respected as a unique and creative improviser, an impeccable ensemble player, and for his stylistic versatility, Mark performs and records extensively with such diverse and award winning groups as Matt Jorgensen +451, Jim Knapp Orchestra, Frieze of Life, Victor Noriega Trio + 2, Tom Varner's Seattle Tentet, Thomas Marriott's "Willie Nelson Project", Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Randy Halberstadt Quintet, and the New York Composers Orchestra lead by Wayne Horvitz and Tom Varner.
Mark also leads his own quartet which has recorded for Origin Records (Mark Taylor with Radio Action: "Afterhours") and has another recording due out in late 2008/early 2009. Additionally, Mark has appeared locally with legends such as Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, and Ernestine Anderson, current headliners in jazz such as Sam Yahel and Maria Schneider, as well as appearances with the Seattle Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
As an educator, Mark has a full studio of private students and is a much sought after clinician for festivals, workshops, and clinics throughout the region. He holds a BM from the University of Washington (1994), and MM from the Manhattan School of Music (2000) in New York City where his performance credentials include appearances with the Grammy Award winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Gary Fukushima-piano; Jeff Johnson-bass / Byron Vannoy- drums fill our the rest of the Ensemble.
Johnson, of course, is one of the Seasons favorite bass players, often playing with touring musicians or with groups from Seattle. We are happy to see Jeff back in the saddle again.
Gary Fukushima is new to The Seasons but brings a substantial resume.
He is a native of Seattle, Washington, started formal piano lessons at age eleven, eventually graduating from the University of Washington with degrees in classical piano, jazz studies, and psychology. Upon graduation, he accepted a faculty position with Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, where he taught jazz piano, and he also was a prominent member of the jazz-folk group The Sabella Consort, with tours throughout the country over the course of nearly a decade. In 2003 Gary relocated to Southern California to continue graduate studies with David Roitstein, Wadada Leo Smith, and Charlie Haden at California Institute of the Arts, during which time he was awarded a rare scholarship by the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and invited exclusively to perform at the Academy’s annual membership luncheon for many musical heavyweights including Quincy Jones, Elmer Bernstein, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Earth Wind and Fire. Gary recently received a Master of Fine Arts degree from CalArts and soon afterward he was offered and accepted teaching positions at California State University, Los Angeles, and California State University, Northridge.
He has also recently been hired by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz as a teacher in its educational program “Jazz in the Classroom” sponsored through the Los Angeles Unified School District Beyond the Bell program. In addition to his college teaching work and maintaining a small private lessons studio, Gary has recorded and performed with many esteemed musicians including Joe La Barbara, Larry Koonse, Roger Cairns, Matt Otto, Darek Oles, Eddie Wakes, Ben Wendel, Roy McCurdy, and Gary Pratt among others.
Byron Vannoy is a musician, drummer, composer and educator. He has just released his first record as a bandleader. He has played with many regional and some international musicians. Some of these include Julian Priester, Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker, Cuong Vu, Tom Scott, Ray Vega, Greg Adams, Jovino Santos-Neto, Ernestine Anderson, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, Wayne Horvitz, Vinnie Golia, Jim Knapp, and Hadley Caliman.

The Romance of Germany with Corinna Birke

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 16:12:16 -0700

Thursday, August 7, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
Music & More Summer Series
The Romance of Germany
With Corinna Birke, Anne Schilperoort, Joseph Brooks
Come view the castles, landscapes, quaint villages, and rivers of Germany through the texts of the songs of the great Romantic, Germanic composers. Hear the folk traditions, fairy tales, and histories of Germany sung by rising German opera star, Corinna Birke in her Washington State debut.
Corinna Birke comes from the Hannover area in the County of Niedersachsen in Germany.
Her artistic talent was discovered in 1988 when she was awarded 1st prize in the prestigious German Vocal Competition (VDMK). The same year she received a scholarship from the Munich Music College.
Having received the honor of “Distinction” in her final examinations, Corinna Birke then decided to specialize in Opera and embarked upon a two year Masters Course. A scholarship was awarded for her to study with the German National Theatre Institution. During this time, she performed numerous important soprano roles including the First Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute under the baton of Sir Colin Davies. Corinna’s first professional engagement was with the Heidelberg Theatre Ensemble in 1995 where she sang her debut as Antonia in “The Tales of Hoffman.”
Further professional engagements led to contracts with Opera Houses in Augsburg, Oldenburg, Stuttgart and Munich’s Gaertnerplatz Theatre. It was in Oldenburg that she met Anne Schilperoort. The two performed together in Oldenburg, Ostrittrum and in Lamspringe. Corinna Birke has been a member of the Bavarian State Opera since 2003.  Her important soprano roles include Mimi (La Boheme), Zdenka (Arabella), Marzelline (Fidelio), Donna Elvira (DonGiovanni), Sonja (Zarewitsch), and Mrs. Fluth (Merry Wives of Windsor).
In addition to performing on the opera stage, Corinna Birke is often heard in Artsong and Oratorio concerts. Her experience in this field includes numerous performances with the State Orchestra of Stuttgart and the Goettinger Sinfoniker. Regular invitations include the Mozart Festivals in Salzburg and Vienna.
She is delighted to make her U.S. debut in YAKIMA---with colleague Anne Schilperoort!
Program
August 7, 2008
The Romance of Germany
Corinna Birke, soprano Anne Schilperoort, piano
Das Zitternde Glaenzen for clarinet & soprano .........................G.F. Haendel
Die Sommernacht…………………………...................…Christopher W. Gluck
Sehnsucht…………………………………..................….Ludwig van Beethoven
Liebesplaetzchen Neue Liebe………..................…………..Felix Mendelssohn
Schoene Fremde Sonntags am Rhein………..................…….Robert Schumann
“The Shepherd on the Hills” for Clarinet & soprano................…Franz Schubert
Intermission
Auf dem See Ueber die Heide Dort in den Weiden .........…Johannes Brahms
Fussreise Heimweh……………………………………………..……..Hugo Wolf
Die Lorelei……………………………………………................……Franz Liszt
Sei Still Wach Auf!.......for clarinet & soprano…………………….Louis Spohr
Schlagende Herzen…………………..........…………………….Richard Strauss
Rheinlegendchen……………………………………..........……..Gustav Mahler

Play Ball! With Dave Frishberg

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 16:03:19 -0700

Saturday, August 2, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
In Cooperation with: The Yakima Bears Baseball Club
Dave Frishberg: American Classic
Singer/Songwriter
Take an American Classic like singer/songwriter Dave Frishberg, combine with another American Classic like summer baseball with the Yakima Bears, and then add America’s Classical Music: Jazz and you have a recipe for an inspired evening of music and fun.
Frishberg — a prominent jazz singer/songwriter (and fine pianist to boot) since the 1950’s — has an unusual proclivity for a musician: he loves baseball... Over the years he has written numerous humorous (and not tumorous, but perhaps a bit timorous) songs featuring America’s classic sport. The Yakima Bears have taken to playing his famous song about the glorious names of baseball (“Van Lingo Mungo”) at many Bears games.
So we thought: Let’s bring it all together. So, we are joining forces with the Bears for this concert: If you go to a Bears Launch-a-Ball game this July (July 12, July 19, July 26) you can win a pair of free tickets to The Seasons Concert. If you DON”T win, bring a stub from any Yakima Bears game later than July 12, and we’ll give you $5.00 off a ticket to the performance.
It's difficult to find a category for Dave Frishberg's songs. The New York Times described him as "the Stephen Sondheim of jazz songwriting", and The London Daily Telegraph called him "a Woody Allen of song".
Long known as one of the outstanding pianists in jazz, Frishberg has since the early 1980s established himself as an internationally recognized composer and lyricist as well as a solo performer with a loyal following in both jazz and cabaret circles. Four of his albums have won Grammy nominations for best jazz vocal.
Frishberg's unclassifiable but ever-identifiable songs, including cult classics Peel Me A Grape, I'm Hip, You Are There, My Attorney Bernie and Heart’s Desire, are now widely performed and have been recorded by Blossom Dearie, Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, Bette Midler, Suzannah McCorkle, Tony Bennett,and many others. The New York Times critic Stephen Holden wrote about Frishberg, "Few contemporary writers have produced as many songs that have been embraced by nightclub cognoscenti. In the refinement of his language, he is equalled only by Stephen Sondheim among contemporary American songwriters."
His songs are carefully designed pieces that are often wry and witty, occasionally tender and bittersweet, and sometimes contain pointed observations and characterizations of people we all seem to know. Typified by verbal and musical craftiness, they are songs written for adults, or at least for audiences that wouldn't mind growing up. They are stamped with his unique musical personality: quirky lyrics you can't get out of your head, memorable melodies that work so well with the words, and often a harking back to the America of his childhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, "when it was a minor league town." (He collects old baseball books and magazines from the 1940s and earlier. "I couldn't tell you who played in last year's World Series," he confesses. "But if you want to talk about Chet Laabs or Elbie Fletcher, we can do that.")
Described by critics as a cross between Hoagy Carmichael, Woody Allen, and Noel Coward, and linked as a craftsman with Mercer, Porter and Sondheim, Frishberg describes himself as "a pianist who has always written songs and finally summoned up the nerve to sing them in public."
After journalism school at the University of Minnesota and service in the Air Force, he left St. Paul and headed east to become part of the New York City jazz scene of the 1960s. He worked in the rhythm sections of such jazz greats as Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Ben Webster, Gene Krupa and Bobby Hackett. As a singers' accompanist, he played for such diverse stylists as Carmen McRae, Dick Haymes, Anita O'Day and Irene Kral. His piano work is featured on recordings by The Manhattan Transfer, Herb Alpert, Lani Hall, Jimmy Rushing, Bill Berry, Bud Freeman, Susannah McCorkle, Rebecca Kilgore, and many other jazz and pop artists.
In 1971, Frishberg moved to Los Angeles, where he became active as a studio musician, continued to write songs and began to make records as a featured artist. Since 1986 he has lived in Portland, Oregon. His songs appeared regularly on ABC Television's popular Schoolhouse Rock series, including Seven-Fifty Once A Week, Walkin' On Wall Street and the well-known I'm Just A Bill. Frishberg's three-character musical show Quality Time premiered at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 1996.
Thanks to his four Grammy-nominated albums and his appearances on The Tonight Show, CBS' Sunday Morning and public radio's Prairie Home Companion and Fresh Air, Frishberg has become an increasingly familiar figure as a solo performer at festivals and clubs, on cabaret stages and in concert halls in America and abroad.
His current recordings are on the Arbors Jazz label. Earlier Frishberg albums are available on the Concord and Fantasy labels.

Sasha Dobson Kicks Off Folklife with a Seasons First: Front Porch Concert

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:40:44 -0700

Friday, July 11, 7:30 PM - Tickets $20
Sasha Dobson Trio
Kick off your Folklife Weekend with The Seasons first OUTDOOR Concert (on the steps of our front porch... wait till you see it!!!), complete with table seating, beer garden, and summer appetizers.
Dobson's live performances are rollicking rides showcasing her group's down-home sincerity as well as its virtuosic jazz sensibility.
"Her plangent, almost vibrato-free voice rides over a melange of island rhythms, bossa nova and folky acoustics [that] go down as easily as a frozen margarita." — Time
“Truly one of the brightest new stars in American vocal music.”
Although originally from Santa Cruz, California, where she grew up singing jazz professionally from the age of 16, Sasha Dobson, 26, now lives in New York City, performing original songs (by her and her band) in clubs around the Lower East Side. Her debut album, Modern Romance, a fusion of Brazilian groove/pop/jazz/American songbook, will be released on Secret Sun Recordings, the new label of singer/songwriter Jesse Harris. Harris produced the album along with singer/songwriter Richard Julian, and both contributed guitar work and songwriting. Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Willie Nelson) plays electric bass and Mauro Refosco (Bebel Gilberto, David Byrne) percussion.
Singer-songwriter Sasha Dobson carries on in the jazz tradition of past greats like Ella Fitzgerald, with a sultry voice and extensive performance experience, but she remains an unconventional performer. Now 26, Dobson has been performing professionally since she was 16, in the process crafting a unique fusion of Brazilian and American jazz.
The daughter of notable jazz musicians (pianist Smith Dobson and singer Gail Dobson) Sasha Dobson has the genes and a strong musical foundation to make powerful, uplifting music. With 10 years of professional experience under her belt — she's long performed with the Dobson Family Band and the Chris Byars Octet — Dobson likely has amazing success ahead of her. Modern Romance, Dobson's new album, is a fine collection of originals and genre-bending covers of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Modern Romance" and Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo."

The Seasons at The Seasons

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:32:05 -0700

Thursday, July 10, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
Music and More Summer Series
The Seasons ... at The Seasons

Janet Jett and Cathy Kloster, sopranos,
Anne Schilperoort piano; Peter Milicszky, violin
The program will be divided into four parts and will present music about the four seasons. We will begin with Autumn and progress through the year to Summer. During the intermission between Winter and Spring outdoor, garden music will be provided outside at the front of the building.

Steve Tyrell: Back to Bacharach for Washington Wine Country

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 01:46:04 -0700

6th Annual Wine Country Celebration Jazz Concert
(Please note: Concert date moved due to artist’s schedule)
Saturday, June 21, 8:00 PM - Tickets $25 VIP $75
Steve Tyrell
With hits like “The Way You Look Tonight” and “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” Steve Tyrell’s rich, sultry voice will take you back to the by-gone days of Ol’ Blue Eyes, when music was charming and sincere, open-hearted and compelling, “Nice ‘N’ Easy.” Tyrell will perform favorites from his previous six albums and from his upcoming CD release Back to Bacharach.

Want the red carpet treatment? With VIP admission, you’ll enjoy an exclusive reception prior to the concert. Nibble on gourmet delectables, sip luxurious wines, and talk shop with Steve Tyrell and his band - then sit back and enjoy front row seats for this unforgettable show.

"He sings the great songs the way they should be sung." -Woody Allen

All five of Tyrell’s American Standards albums have achieved top five statuses on Billboard’s Jazz charts and his first album A New Standard was amongst the best selling jazz albums for over five years. As a music producer and music supervisor for film and TV, Tyrell has been nominated for Emmy awards three times, and has collaborated with many famous artists including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Aaron Neville, LL Cool J, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler and Stevie Wonder.

Back to Bacharach will be released on Tyrell’s own New Design Records and distributed by Koch Records on June 24, 2008.

"I like to say Back to Bacharach was 40 years in the making," says Tyrell. "There is no other music like this in my life. And I am honored to share it with the world...my way."

Part of the 6th Annual Wine Country Celebration – a weekend of events in Washington Wine Country including Winemaker Dinners in the Vineyards and a Grand Gala Benefit Dinner and Auction, June 20-21, 2008. All proceeds go to Washington Wine Country, a non-profit organization that promotes tourism and economic growth in Washington’s award-winning vineyard region. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.winecountrycelebration.com or call 206.285.0514.

Kate McGarry Overwhelms with Positives

Fri, 9 May 2008 20:52:23 -0700

Saturday, June 14, 7:30 PM - Tickets $20
Kate McGarry

Critical Praise for “Target,” Kate’s latest CD.
Named One of the best jazz-vocal cds of 2007 by both Downbeat Magazine and The New York Times
A milestone of maturity. No matter how many liberties she takes with meter and interpretation, she exercises a fidelity to the meaning of the song. McGarry has the pure untrammeled voice of an ingénue who finds wonder in the simplest of things **** 4 Stars ~ Kirk Silsbee, DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE
Kate McGarry is called a jazz vocalist, but she's hard to pin down. She draws on the music of her youth to inspire her—from the Irish tunes of her family's roots to musical theater to pop songs ~ Michelle Norris, NPR’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
Kate McGarry is the best of a new breed of jazz vocalists whose pop sensibilities are integrated into their music. ~David R. Adler PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
When McGarry sings, you hear not only a distinctively sweet, flexible, and textured voice, but a generous spirit, open heart, and searching intelligence. The Target is a very special CD from an artist who grows with every new project: Kate McGarry's talent is unique and powerful, and it's blossoming. ~Judith Schlesinger, ALL ABOUT JAZZ
"The pristine and lightly quavering sound of Kate McGarry’s voice doesn’t send up any flares identifying her as a jazz singer. But she certainly deserves the designation, as she confirmed with a well-rounded performance at the Jazz Standard on Thursday. " ~ NEW YORK TIMES
"The Target is delightful; simply delightful. Sometimes You've just got to get straight to the point." ~ JAZZ IMPROV MAGAZINE
Growing up in a large Irish Catholic family in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Kate and her nine siblings were surrounded by diverse musical influences from Celtic folk songs to the Beatles. Music and theater was a family affair. Recalls Kate, “We’d have talent shows and play and sing, putting on shows for my parents - we loved singing together.” At the same time, Kate was attracted to the music she heard in the local Irish pub. “We befriended the musicians,” says Kate. “We would go as a family to hear them and sing along. Hearing live music as a child was as important to me as anything in my life. I never considered doing any other work than singing.” In addition to folk melodies, Kate remembers listening with her family to the Mills Brothers, Beatles, Al Jarreau, and the funk artists of the 70s such as George Duke and Earth, Wind and Fire.
And then along came jazz. Her piano teacher gave her a book of Bill Evans’ solos, “The chord and harmonic structures were mysterious and beautiful…I could hear how Bill ‘sang’ while playing.” Next her boyfriend introduced her to Keith Jarrett. “He played me Keith Jarrett’s My Song and for hours and hours I sang along with solos…it was like he was telling a story I’d never heard that was somehow still familiar.” Kate was particularly inspired by Jarrett’s interactions with the other musicians as if a back and forth conversation. “It made so much sense to me”.
Kate moved more seriously into jazz after high school, studying African American music with Dr. Horace Boyer and avant garde jazz with saxophonist Archie Shepp at the University of Massachusetts. After graduation, singing around Boston with the vocal group “One O’Clock Jump” led to appearances in Monterey, CA and the opportunity to be guest vocalist with Clark Terry and Hank Jones at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Soon Kate had relocated to Los Angeles and became a regular performer at such venues as Catalina’s, the Jazz Bakery, and Le Café. In the vicinity of Hollywood, she also did some vocals for film and commercials, including tracks for Imax Films, the Sony Pictures release Caught and the title track for Boiling Point. She released her debut recording, Easy to Love, on Vital Music in 1992. It was an auspicious beginning with Music Magazine calling her "...a strong improviser who shows taste and restraint worthy of the most mature jazz singer.”
In the mid 90s, Kate moved back east for a few years of meditation as well as teaching harmonium and voice at an ashram in the Catskills. Settling in New York City in 1999, her singing and songwriting kicked into high gear. After independently producing Show Me (2001), she became the first (and still only) vocalist signed by Palmetto, which re-released her second effort in 2003. Show Me rose to #15 on Jazz Week’s charts, with C. Michael Bailey (All About Jazz) declaring, “She scats like a dream without caricature.” Prophetically, Jazzizz Magazine noted, “with this near flawless album, she has arrived.”
In 2004, Kate married guitarist Keith Ganz, and for her next recording, she decided to switch from an organ trio to a band built around the acoustic guitar. Mercy Streets (Palmetto, 2005), featuring originals and arrangements by Kate and Keith as well as covers of Joni Mitchell and Peter Gabriel, was dubbed by C. Michael Bailey (All About Jazz) as “one of the most important vocal albums of the year.” Bailey further noted that, “In her singing, one can detect elements of Kurt Elling, Betty Carter, Joni Mitchell, Cassandra Wilson, and Norah Jones. In this respect, McGarry is pushing the boundaries of jazz vocals in a healthy and fundamental way.”
Throughout 2005, there was mounting evidence of Kate McGarry’s expanding palette. In addition to releasing Mercy Streets, she toured with acclaimed pianist Fred Hersch and master vocalist Kurt Elling, performing Hersch’s song cycle, “Leaves of Grass”, a setting of Walt Whitman’s poetry to music. The project earned Hersch a Guggenheim Award, and the ensemble performed “Leaves of Grass” to a sold out audience at Carnegie Hall in March 2005. Recorded a few years earlier, Kate was seen on Chick Corea’s 2005 DVD, Rendezvous, in an impromptu performance of “Smile” with Bobby McFerrin during Corea’s 60th birthday celebration at the Blue Note. Also in 2005, Kate performed over 50 concerts of The Different Moods of the Blues with Eli Yamin (piano), Bob Stewart (tuba) and LaFrae Sci (drums), as a Lincoln Center Institute touring artist.
The following year proved equally challenging and fulfilling, as Kate performed with the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra in April 2006 at the Manchester Craftsman’s Guild in Pittsburgh, where the ensemble recorded a live DVD of Schneider’s Grammy-award winning suite, “Concert in the Garden.” And following a collaboration with the Jazz Tap Ensemble at the Joyce Theater in New York, Kate began adding tap to her ensemble as another instrument whenever possible. In December 2006, she appeared as special guest on DeeDee Bridgewater’s NPR show, Jazz Set.
Returning more firmly to the jazz idiom, Kate’s 2007 release, The Target, features a hot organ ensemble with Gary Versace, the lyrical guitar of husband Keith Ganz, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Greg Hutchinson on drums, and guest tracks with tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin and Theo Bleckmann on voice loops. The cd went to #1 on the National Jazz Charts. was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and garnered international acclaim. Other current projects include writing, recording and producing (with Ganz) 63 children’s songs for the Heinle Picture Dictionary For Children - an international ESL release. In April of 2008 Kate will be touring with MOSS for Sunnyside records (featuring Peter Eldridge, Theo Bleckmann, Lauren Kinhan and Luciana Souza). Kate joined the jazz faculty of Manhattan School of Music in September of 2007. A new release for June of 2008 will be recorded in December.
Wherever Kate McGarry goes next, the words of JazzTimes are sure to follow:
“A bold, brave adventurer, McGarry has, by opting for the musical road less traveled, placed herself firmly on the road to ever-widening critical and popular success.”

Belinda Underwood Uncurls with Benny Green

Thu, 8 May 2008 22:36:51 -0700

Friday, June 6, 7:30 PM - Tickets $15
Belinda Underwood,Jazz Vocals
With Benny Green, piano
“Benny Green could be the monster pianist of the 21st century.” Thus prophesized no less than the incomparable Joanne Brackeen in describing the Oscar Peterson protégé. Now 44, Green followed his lineage (dad was a jazz saxophonist), playing with Eddie Henderson as a teenager before joining Betty Carter, then Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and then Freddie Hubbard. In 1993 Oscar Peterson chose Greem as the first recipient of the City of Toronto's Glen Gould International Protégé Prize in Music. Shortly thereafter, Green replaced Gene Harris in Ray Brown's Trio, working with the veteran bassist until 1997. From that point on, Benny resumed his freelance career, leading his own trios and performing solo piano. After recording for Criss Cross and Blue Note in the 1990s, Green moved to Telarc in 2000. His most recent releases are two duo sets with guitarist Russell Malone, with whom he tours when not busy with Belinda Underwood’s ensemble and his own solo efforts. Citing his key influences as Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Hank Jones, Ahmad Jamal, Phineas Newborn, Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson, Green summarizes his approach to jazz as “…to just swing and have fun, and share those feelings with the audience … and if I'm able to convey that, then I feel like I'm doing something positive.”
The collaboration of Belinda Underwood and Benny Green promises a “dynamic musical team characterized by unmistakable onstage chemistry”. Individually, their artistry commands attention. The opportunity to hear them together, live on the Seasons stage, is one of the best bets for early summer music.
Belinda's first exposures to music occurred five nights a week while she was captive in her jazz-pianist-mother's womb. With birth, the nightly exposure continued while she napped under the piano in a car seat.
After a childhood of violin lessons, harp lessons, orchestras and choirs, music became her choice when she fell in love with the upright bass at age sixteen. In high school she traveled as a bass player (on scholarship) to Australia with the Monterey Jazz Festival Honor Band, and in college she played and traveled with the UC Berkeley Wednesday Band. Singing professionally didn't occur to her until years later when she was playing the bass at the Jazz School in Berkeley, where she studied with Mark Levine, Ledisi, Raz Kennedy, Stephanie Bruce, Brian Pardo, Glenn Richman, and Frank Martin. It was there too that she met David Friesen during a workshop and decided to go to Portland for bass lessons (after a quick trip to Cuba to study music and dance at the University of Havana). When asked what she valued most from her lessons with Friesen, she replied, "He encouraged me to write songs."
Her debut album was launched nationally in March 2005. Entitled "Underwood Uncurling", it features David Friesen, Airto Moreira, John Gross, Dan Balmer, Clay Giberson, Chad Wagner, Jason Levis, and Pink Martini members Phil Baker and Martin Zarzar. She sings (and plays some bass too) on the album, which is comprised of six original jazz compositions and six jazz standards. Her new album (with Benny Green - piano, Phil Baker - bass, and Martin Zarzar - drums and percussion) is scheduled for release in early 2008. The new album features six more of Belinda's originals, including a blues in 9 and a song from the perspective of Polar Bears (co-written with her sister.) Other guests on the album include vocalist Nancy King and her sister, vocalist/saxophonist MelissaUnderwood.
Between tours she sings and plays around Portland with Beliss (a sister duo), Underwood and Friends (jazz quartet), and Sarab (Middle Eastern music).