A Mirror and Focus for the Jazz Community September 2011 Vol. 27, No. 9 EARSHOT JAZZSeattle, Washington Julian Priester Photo by Daniel Sheehan NOTES EARSHOT JAZZ A Mirror and Focus for the Jazz Community Earshot Jazz Festival Tickets On Sale Take the Future of Music Coalition’s Survey Executive Director John Gilbreath Tickets for the 23rd Annual Earshot Managing Director Karen Caropepe Jazz Festival will be available in early The Future of Music Coalition was September. This year’s festival, which founded in 2000 by musicians, art- Earshot Jazz Editor Danielle Bias runs October 14 through November 6, ist advocates, technologists, and le- Assistant Editor Schraepfer Harvey presents some of the biggest names in gal experts and works to ensure that Contributing Writers Andrew Bartlett, jazz, including Keith Jarrett, Brad Me- musicians have a voice in the issues Nathan Bluford, John Ewing, Steve Griggs, hldau, The Bad Plus, Mulgrew Miller that affect their livelihood. Currently, Schraepfer Harvey, David Marriott, Peter and Jimmy Cobb. For a complete list FMC is focused on the Artist Rev- Monaghan, Greg Pincus, Eliot Winder of performers, show times, and ticket enue Streams project, a groundbreak- Calendar Editor Schraepfer Harvey information visit www.earshot.org or ing research initiative to document Calendar Volunteer Tim Swetonic call (206) 547-6763. the complex nature of being a musi- Photography Daniel Sheehan cian and composer in the 21st century. Layout Karen Caropepe Inaugural Bellwether Jazz Festival Mailing Lola Pedrini Brings Free Jazz Concerts to the The research is funded by the Doris Bellingham Waterfront Duke Charitable Foundation. In re- Send Calendar Information to: The inaugural Bellwether Jazz Festi- cent months, FMC has been conduct- 3429 Fremont Place #309 val kicks off on September 10, 2011, ing artist interviews and creating case Seattle, WA 98103 from 2-7pm with an afternoon of jazz studies of musicians and composers fax / (206) 547-6286 email / [email protected] on the Bellingham waterfront. Pre- working in all genres. The third phase sented by the Port of Bellingham and is an anonymous, online survey open Board of Directors Paul Toliver (president), The Jazz Project, this event will bring to US-based musicians and compos- Cuong Vu (vice-president), Lola Pedrini (treasurer), Hideo Makihara (secretary), a variety of jazz styles to Tom Glenn ers until October 28, 2011. The data from all the research will be released Clarence Acox, George Heidorn, Kenneth W. Common at the picturesque Bellweth- Masters, Renee Staton, Richard Thurston er on the Bay peninsula. All concerts in 2012 and will ideally help musicians are free, all-ages events. Proceeds from and composers learn more about how Earshot Jazz is published monthly by food and beverage sales will support others are generating income in the Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle and is The Jazz Project’s underwriting pro- digital era. To participate or for more available online at www.earshot.org. grams for the Bellingham Youth Jazz information, please visit futureofmu- Subscription (with membership): $35 Band, the Scholarship Lesson Fund, sic.org/ars. 3429 Fremont Place #309 The Piano Liberation Organization, Call for Festival Volunteers & Drivers Seattle, WA 98103 Medical Fund and other valuable Jazz As in previous years, the Earshot Jazz phone / (206) 547-6763 fax / (206) 547-6286 Project community services. Perform- Festival is seeking volunteers to help ers will include the Jennifer Scott make sure things run smoothly. If you Earshot Jazz ISSN 1077-0984 Quartet, featuring the Vancouver- can volunteer some time for general Printed by Pacific Publishing Company based pianist-vocalist Jennifer Scott, support, in our office during the day or © 2011 Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle Jud Sherwood drums, Chuck Kistler at the concerts, please sign up on the bass, and Josh Cook saxophone; and Earshot Jazz Festival web site. MISSION STATEMENT Sambatuque a Seattle-based samba Festival is seeking Production group performing a blend of music Earshot Jazz is a non-profit arts and service Interns and Production Assistant organization formed in 1984 to cultivate a support from Brazil and the Caribbean. To With hundreds of artists perform- system for jazz in the community and to increase find out more, please visit the port ing in more than 60 events during the awareness of jazz. Earshot Jazz pursues its website www.portofbellingham.com, three-week festival, this is an opportu- mission through publishing a monthly newsletter, The Jazz Project at www.jazzproject. nity for musicians, students of music presenting creative music, providing educational org, or follow the port on Facebook programs, identifying and filling career needs for or the music industry, or current pro- jazz artists, increasing listenership, augmenting for updates at www.facebook.com/ duction staffers to contribute to the portofbellingham. and complementing existing services and programs, and networking with the national and international jazz community. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 2 • EARSHOT JAZZ • September 2011 IN ONE EAR Pianist David Haney Purchases Cadence tributing to email him directly at ca- the Sounds Outside concert series for Magazine [email protected]. five years, and currently performs with It has been a busy summer for Da- John Seman featured in Composer many Monktail ensembles, as well as vid Haney, pianist, composer, and Spotlight Ask the Ages and others. Ostrowski sometimes Seattleite. In July, he com- On Wednesday, September 14, at studied composition at the Berklee pleted his 13th and 14th albums for 7:30pm, Jack Straw Productions pres- School of Music, has toured the coun- the New York-based C.I.M.P. Records ents a free concert with John Seman, try with several ensembles, and per- and Cadence Jazz Records, featuring director of Seattle’s Monktail Creative forms regularly in Seattle with Monk- Andrew Cyrille drum legend and Music Concern, as the latest install- tail, Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand, and Dominic Duval bassist . He was also ment in its Washington Composer’s the Wally Shoup Quartet. Fandrich featured on the July cover of Cadence spotlight. Seman will be joined by has a degree from Cornish College magazine. Not long after, Haney pur- fellow Monktail composers Mark of the Arts, composes, performs, and chased Cadence upon learning that it Ostrowski and Stephen Fandrich records with Gamelan Pacifica, and is had plans to cease publication. Ca- for a detailed exploration of the com- director of Seattle Harmonic Voices, dence is a thorough on-going docu- positional elements that are common which released a double-disc set on mentation of the improvised music and unique to their compositions for the Monktail label. Founded in 1990 scene for this and future generations. piano. Pianist Fandrich will perform by Seman and Ostrowski and rooted Since 1976, Cadence has reviewed pieces they have composed over the in Seattle since 2000, the Monktail some 54,000 different books, records, last year for the Monktail Compos- Creative Music Concern exists to pro- CDs, videos, DVDs, and tapes and of- ers Series at the Good Shepherd Cha- vide, propagate, promote, produce and fered monthly worldwide coverage to pel and for a 2011 Jack Straw Artist preserve creative, experimental and a worldwide readership. Haney plans Residency. Seman is an active com- exploratory music and associated art to continue both online and printed poser, producer, bassist, and archivist forms in its community through pub- editions as well as educational features in Seattle, with a degree in Composi- lic performance, public and private ed- geared more towards universities and tion from the Oberlin Conservatory ucational forums, broadcasts, musical colleges. Notably, Haney has 25 years of Music and postgraduate work in and visual recordings, and any other experience in the magazine publishing Ethnomusicology at the University of means of documentation appropriate field. He hopes for more coverage of Maryland. He has produced several and/or available at any time. For more Seattle events and encourages writers CDs and numerous digital releases on and others who are interested in con- the Monktail label, was an organizer of CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 Presented in collaboration with Earshot Jazz arT OF JaZZ The Teaching Experience the immersive, spontaneous jazz of Seattle’s deep groove trio, The Teaching. Thursday, September 8, 5:30–7:30 pm SEaTTlE arT MuSEuM DOWNTOWN 1st avenue & union Street all ages Art of Jazz Seating is limited and available Sponsors: on a first-come, first-served basis. seattleartmuseum.org September 2011 • EARSHOT JAZZ • 3 4 • EARSHOT JAZZ • September 2011 FEATURE Julian Priester: Spirit Child By Steve Griggs discography of improvis- Outside room ing with these 209, on the sec- and other cre- ond floor of Kerry ative artists Hall at Cornish for more than College, flattened fifty years au- cardboard boxes t h e n t i c a t e s and a hand cart the lineage of lean against the jazz offered to wall. They await students in his Julian Priester, “spontaneous professor of trom- composition” bone and jazz his- ensembles. tory. He retired To teach on May 14 this “spontaneous year with an hon- composition” orary doctorate he helped stu- of fine arts after JULIAN PRIESTER PHOTO BY DANIEL SHEEHAN dents iden- thirty-two years tify what they of service. With length of experience, depth of artistry, heard so that the help of a student, the boxes will and breadth of creativity Priester car- they could respond musically. One transport Priester’s teaching materials ries forward into every situation. technique involved instructing a stu- from his studio back to his south Se- Humility gained from Captain Wal- dent how to relate to pitch through attle home. ter Dyett at Chicago’s DuSable High their voice. First, a student learns to Inside the studio, nine boxes full of School, the pit orchestra of New York’s identify the lowest note they can hum.