A MirrorMirror andand FocusFocus fforor tthehe JJazzazz CCommunityommunity February 2009 Vol.Vol. 25, NNo.o. 2 EARSHOT JAZZSeattle,Seattle, WashingtonWashington Seattle Improvised Music Festival Wilson Shook, Wally Shoup, Gust Burns Photo by Daniel Sheehan around town, or work the door for Notes festival events, contact Gust Burns at EARSHOT J A Z Z [email protected]. Volun- A Mirror and Focus for the Jazz Community Affordable Health Care teers receive free entry to shows. Th e new Artist Clinic at Country Doc- Executive Director: John Gilbreath tor Community Clinic is off ering artist- Jack Straw Production Classes Earshot Jazz Editor: Elaine M. Hayes and musician-focused offi ce hours every Jack Straw Productions, the nonprofi t Contributing Writers: Paul Harding, Wednesday from 5:30-8:30 pm as part sound-arts organization, is holding Schraepfer Harvey, Elaine M. Hayes, Molly of the Artist Trust’s Washington Artist classes this winter that will cover basic M. Conant, Peter Monaghan, Kimberly M. Health Insurance Project (WAHIP). studio recording techniques, an intro- Reason, Chris Robinson, Peter Walton, Rik Under WAHIP, low-income and unin- duction to Pro Tools, and advanced Pro Wright sured artists and musicians can qualify Tools. Th e workshops are designed for Photography: Daniel Sheehan for low-cost health services. During aspiring and professional musicians, Layout: Karen Caropepe the program’s trial fi rst year, a limited sound artists, writers, journalists, docu- Mailing: Lola Pedrini number of subsidies are available on a mentarians, and fi lmmakers. All classes Program Manager: Karen Caropepe fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis. will be held in the professional record- Calendar Volunteers: Tim Swetonic, Rik Country Doctor Community Clinic is ing studios at Jack Straw Productions, Wright located at 500 19th Ave. E. in Capitol with instructors from various fi elds of Send Calendar Information to: Hill. Artists of all disciplines are encour- sound production. 3429 Fremont Place #309 aged to call (206) 299-1600 to make an For more information, call (206) 634- Seattle, WA 98103 appointment. 0919 or e-mail workshops@jackstraw. fax: (206) 547-6286 email: [email protected] For more information about WAHIP org. Early registration is recommended and program eligibility, visit www. and registration for each class closes Board of Directors: Paul Harding wahip.org. Th is website also includes a one week before the class date. Classes (president), Genesee Adkins (vice list of resources for musicians in need include: Beginning Pro Tools, Febru- president), Lola Pedrini (treasurer), Hideo of health insurance. Makihara (secretary), Clarence Acox, Fred ary 25-27, $250 members/$285 non- Gilbert, Rush Green, George Heidorn, Paul members; Studio Recording Workshop, Toliver, Cuong Vu Seattle OnHold Submissions March 12 & 13, $135/$160; and Earshot Jazz is published monthly by Th e Offi ce of Arts and Cultural Aff airs Intermediate Pro Tools, March 18-20, Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle and is seeks locally produced music for Seattle $250/$285. available online at www.earshot.org. OnHold. Th is program treats callers to Subscription (with membership): $35 local music when they call the city and CityArtist Project Grants 3429 Fremont Place #309 are placed on hold. More than 10,000 Th e Offi ce of Arts and Cultural Aff airs Seattle, WA 98103 city phone lines feature the music, and is now accepting applications from per- tel: (206) 547-6763; fax: (206) 547-6286 listeners can buy the music they hear forming artists for the 2009 CityArtist Earshot Jazz ISSN 1077-0984 on iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon. Projects. Th e program provides support Printed by Pacifi c Publishing Company. com. Th e OnHold website also off ers to individual Seattle artists to conceive, ©2008 Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle a free podcast of local music and in- develop, and present new, in-progress, cludes links to the websites of featured or fi nished works. Funding awards up Mission Statement musicians. to $10,000 are available. Musicians in all genres are encouraged Applications are due by 11:00 pm on Earshot Jazz is a non-profit arts and to submit recordings for consideration. service organization formed in 1986 to Tuesday, February 17. For more infor- cultivate a support system for jazz in the Visit www.seattle.gov/html/OnHold mation, an online application, and ap- community and to increase awareness for application requirements. Playlists plication guidelines, visit www.seattle. of jazz. Earshot Jazz pursues its mission rotate quarterly. gov/arts/funding/individual.asp. through publishing a monthly newsletter, Th e Offi ce of Arts and Cultural Af- presenting creative music, providing Call for SIMF Volunteers fairs is off ering opportunities for artists educational programs, identifying and Th e Seattle Improvised Music Festival to receive feedback on drafts of their filling career needs for jazz artists, increasing listenership, augmenting and needs help as it prepares for its annual applications from project managers complementing existing services and festival. If you can provide lodgings programs, and networking with the national for visiting musicians, put up posters continued on page 13 and international jazz community. 2 • Earshot Jazz • February 2009 In One Ear We are sad to report the passing of Baker adds the ambient textures of a descriptions appearing above. Th e show drummer Th eodore “Teo” Sutton Jr. fretless electric guitar. airs on KEXP 90.3 FM from midnight on January 15, at the VA Medical Center On February 28, the Andrew Oliver to 1 am every Saturday night (in other in Tomah, Wisconsin. Originally from Kora Band combines elements of jazz words, the fi rst hour of Sunday). Philadelphia, Sutton was a sideman on and traditional West African music to If you miss the show, you can always the Seattle free-jazz scene during the late create a soul-stirring sound. With An- fi nd it for two weeks on KEXP’s website. 1980s. He performed with trumpeter drew Oliver on piano; Kane Mathis Th is month’s shows will also be available Barbara Donald, saxophonist Hadley on kora and guitar; Jim Knodle on one week after they air as podcasts at Caliman, and bassist Michael Bisio and trumpet; Brady Millard-Kish on bass; www.kexp.org/podcasting.asp. can be heard on Bisio’s 1987 album, and Mark DiFlorio on drums. Do you want to take your band to In Seattle. Here, Sutton’s complex, yet Sound wiz Doug Haire produces the people? Call Doug Haire at 206- subtle drumming created the perfect Sonarchy and comes up with the band 634-1019. backdrop for Bisio’s improvisations. Teo Sutton was 64. Congratulations to the Washington Blues Society (WBS) who celebrates its twentieth anniversary this month. And to top it off , they will receive the 2009 Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation, a national organization. Th e award, which will be presented on February 7 in Memphis, honors WBS for its ongoing eff orts to support and promote the blues through- out our state. To learn more about WBS and their activities visit www.wablues. org. Sonarchy, recorded live in the studios of Jack Straw Productions, a sound- arts nonprofit, kicks off the month with Matt Shoemaker on February 7. Employing microphones, recorders, computers, and acoustic instruments, Shoemaker creates compositions that uniquely imagine a space encrypted to the point of vanishing. On February 14, Manghis Kahn per- forms African and Caribbean inspired jazz with Yaw Amponsah on Ashanti drums and djembe; Tony Grasso on trumpet; Viren Kamdar on cajon and congas; and Tim Carey on bass. On February 21, the Baker-Moore Duo presents a complex meditation on sound. Dean Moore reveals the interior world of gongs and metal, while Tom February 2009 • Earshot Jazz • 3 Passing Chuck Smart He moved to the Seattle area in the late 1980s, settling in the Kitsap pen- insula, where Dawn grew up. He came to public attention, especially the jazz-loving public, as a host on KBCS-FM, 91.3, and at Bud’s Jazz Records, on 1st and Jackson. He also participated in world- percussion programs and performed with several ensembles mixing perfor- mance poetry with multi- media jazz and world mu- sic. Chuck Smart was one of the pioneers of digital Self portrait digitally enhanced by Chuck Smart mixed-media visual art in this region. He developed Our old friend Chuck Smart passed a remarkably organic vocabulary using away on December 29. Th e Seattle- the computer to reimagine the potential area artist and frequent Earshot Jazz for photographic collages that often contributor was 67-years-old and died related to his passions for music, travel, from pancreatic cancer, in hospice care, cultural exploration, and personal ex- with his brother, Sydney, and his wife, pression. Chuck provided the artwork Dawn, at his side. for the 1996 Earshot Jazz Festival, cover Chuck Smart self-identified as an art for several Earshot Jazz publications, artist without hesitation. His broad and travel stories on the Havana Jazz and deeply held cultural sensibilities Festival, among other things. were expressed with equal parts joy Chuck could tell a story. I won’t go and bone-chilling seriousness, through into them here. He had a singular music, travel, poetry, and visual art, and personal style; evident in the way he seemed to revolve around an axis of jazz dressed, spoke, created, and processed music, which, in turn, revolved around musical and interpersonal information. his particular power cell of drums and He was an artist. And the world needs percussion. artists. Chuck grew up in Cleveland and was -John Gilbreath schooled in music and performing arts at the Cleveland Institute of Music and A memorial gathering will be held on the Karamu House Th eater for Dance Friday, February 6, 2009, from 5-9pm as and Music.