Skerik Photo by Daniel Sheehan Letter from the Director Improvising with the Community
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A Mirror and Focus for the Jazz Community November 2015 Vol. 31, No. 11 EARSHOT JAZZSeattle, Washington Skerik Photo by Daniel Sheehan LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Improvising with the Community The Earshot Jazz Festival has an the most fascinating and dynamic update for you on the “Is Jazz Dead?” cultural expressions this planet has issue. ever produced. We’ll pay tribute to No. In fact, jazz isn’t even sick – far some of the masters, check in with from it. The work we’ve seen in the some of the innovators, welcome opening half of this year’s festival is back old friends, discover more ex- the strongest, most vibrant and en- citing new work, and bask in the cre- gaging music we’ve ever heard. ative flow of this serious beauty. From the jaw-dropping fireworks This is the Earshot Jazz organiza- of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and tion operating at its highest calling: the gorgeous new compositions serving the jazz artists, audiences, by Wayne Horvitz, to the exciting and educators of this region with discovery of an artist like Edmar prime examples of the music we all Castañeda and the hip mysticism love, and enriching the cultural am- of Charles Lloyd, Earshot’s opening bience of this entire city in the pro- week was a stunner. Moving forward cess. Please join us! through the schedule, and around We’ve added a couple of events and the city with a multiplicity of con- embellished some others. Details fol- bi-annual magazine, recognizing certs, this year’s Earshot Jazz Festival low herein. And check the Earshot those who are “Shaping America’s is revealing an art form that is famil- website, earshot.org, for daily up- Cultural Landscape.” Check out the iar yet brand new, exciting yet com- dates and ticket options. Earshot Jazz profile, “Improvising forting, localized yet global in scope, We are honored that our work with the Community,” on the NEA and absolutely alive! has been recognized in the special website, arts.gov. With a couple of weeks of events 50th-anniversary celebration of the And thank you for your support! still to come, there are plenty of op- National Endowment for the Arts, – John Gilbreath, Executive Director portunities to catch up with one of with a three-page feature in NEA’s 2 • Earshot Jazz • November 2015 EaRSHOT JAZZ NOTES A Mirror and Focus for the Jazz Community 2016 CMA/ASCAP Awards of the Introductory Ensemble, begins Executive Director John Gilbreath The CMA/ASCAP Awards for Ad- January 2016 and runs through May Managing Director Karen Caropepe venturous Programming recognize 2016. More information available at Program Manager Caitlin Peterkin ensembles and presenters for outstand- seattlejazzed.org. Earshot Jazz Editors Schraepfer Harvey, ing and innovative approaches to the On the Horizon Caitlin Peterkin programming of contemporary clas- Portland Jazz Festival sical, jazz, and world chamber music. February 18-28 Contributing Writers Halynn Blanchard, The 2016 award recipients will receive Connor Creighton, Brian Hepp, Bryan Various venues, Portland, OR Lineberry, Andrew Luthringer, Jean Mishler, $500 and a commemorative plaque, Peter Monaghan, Kathryn Sherman and will be honored in January at the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Dianne Calendar Editors Connor Creighton, Soohye Jang CMA National Conference in NYC. Reeves, Sonny Fortune Quartet, John Calendar Volunteer Tim Swetonic Deadline to apply is Friday, November Scofield/Joe Lovano Quartet, Ravi Photography Daniel Sheehan 13. Applications and more informa- Coltrane, Orrin Evans, Gary Peacock Layout Caitlin Peterkin tion available at chamber-music.org. Trio, Alicia Olatuja and Brian Blade & Distribution Earshot Jazz volunteers Seattle JazzED Big Band the Fellowship Band, Spanish Harlem send Calendar Information to: Orchestra, Pat Martino Trio, Kenny 3429 Fremont Place N, #309 Ensembles Auditions Seattle, WA 98103 Barron Trio, Bobby Torres Ensemble, email / [email protected] Seattle JazzED invites students in Aaron Goldberg, David Goldblatt, grades 4-12 to audition for its Big Chano Domínguez, and more. Visit Board of Directors Ruby Smith Love (president), Sue Coliton (vice president), Band Ensembles Program on Satur- portlandjazzfestival.org for more in- Sally Nichols (secretary), John W. day, November 21, at the MLK FAME formation. Comerford, Chris Icasiano, Danielle Leigh, Community Center. Ensembles range Write Hideo Makihara, Diane Wah, Viren Kamdar from introductory ensembles for those Earshot Jazz Emeritus Board Members Clarence Acox, new to their instruments, to high level The Earshot Jazz magazine reflects Kenneth W. Masters, Lola Pedrini, Paul Toliver, Cuong Vu ensembles exploring the intricacies of and shares the many ways that jazz improvisation. Students work with intersects with lives in the Northwest. Founded in 1984 by Paul de Barros, Earshot Jazz Gary Bannister, and Allen Youngblood. professional musicians and educators is seeking submissions Earshot Jazz is published monthly by in a hands-on environment, and every from writers: Please email story pitch- Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle and is ensemble has performance opportuni- es, comments, news and announce- available online at www.earshot.org. ties. The season, with the exception ments to [email protected]. subscription (with membership): $35 3429 Fremont Place #309 Seattle, WA 98103 IN ONE EAR phone / (206) 547-6763 Earshot Jazz ISSN 1077-0984 Jazz Radio 90.3 KEXP, kexp.org, late-night Printed by Pacific Publishing Company © 2015 Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle 88.5 KPLU, kplu.org, hosts Satur- Sundays features Jazz Theater with day Jazz Matinee, Jazz Sunday Side Up, John Gilbreath, 1am, and Sonarchy, M I ss I O N S T A TEMENT Ken Wiley’s the Art of Jazz, and Jazz midnight, a live-performance broad- Earshot Jazz is a non-profit arts and service Northwest, in addition to its weekday cast from the Jack Straw Productions organization formed in 1984 to cultivate a NPR and late-night and prime-time studio, produced by Doug Haire, now support system for jazz in the community into its 20th year on air. Full sched- and to increase awareness of jazz. Earshot jazz programs. For KPLU’s full jazz Jazz pursues its mission through publishing a schedule, see kplu.org/schedule. ule information is available at kexp.org monthly newsletter, presenting creative music, Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest, Sun- and jackstraw.org. providing educational programs, identifying and days, 2pm, features the artists and Sonarchy’s November schedule: filling career needs for jazz artists, increasing November 1, Lou Lou Hernandez, listenership, augmenting and complementing events of the regional jazz scene. For existing services and programs, and networking JazzNW podcasts of archived pro- electro-noise pop that ignores all the with the national and international jazz grams, see jazznw.org. community. CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 November 2015 • Earshot Jazz • 3 PROFILE Skerik: A Hint of Revolution SKERIK PHOTO BY MICHAEL WEINTROB By Andrew Luthringer to what’s missing in today’s jazz educa- you could spend so much time learn- tion. ing how to mimic someone and stop “One of the biggest differences be- Skerik is as thoughtful a talker as he there, and not want to know who that tween contemporary jazz musicians is a player. His opinion is that learn- person was, and why they’re doing and the people that created this mu- ing jazz has degenerated into insular what they’re doing.” sic – Thelonious Monk, Charlie Park- stylistic imitation, an overemphasis on Skerik puts the focus on life experi- er, and people like that – is that the technique and a lack of context about ence to inform the music. For an art- contemporary people aren’t rebelling the ideas behind the music. He feels ist who has developed his sound and against anything. There’s not even a strongly that young musicians should concepts over many years of travel, hint, or a concept, of revolution.” not study the modern players first. It’s gigging, and hard work across the Within minutes of arriving at Sker- important to get back to the original U.S. and around the globe, he is in a ik’s backyard studio, my orderly plans sources, and it shouldn’t be hard: position to speak from experience. A for a linear interview were pretty much “I don’t get it – the information is so purely scholastic environment leaves out the window. Seattle’s “Dark Lord readily available. Listen to interviews out some real learning opportunities. of the Saxophone,” a longtime local with Charles Mingus, read things “Charlie Hunter calls it the ‘jazz icon (and 2003 Earshot Jazz North- written by Eddie Harris or Yusef La- arms race.’ Just building up all this west Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year) teef. They’re telling you all about it knowledge that has no context … had quickly veered off into a broad right there! I don’t understand how Study the world, study art; it will af- swath of topics, from musical rebellion 4 • Earshot Jazz • November 2015 fect your music. There’s a lot of things labra (featuring Andy Coe, Evan Flo- “The ‘playing with people that are to study in life that are not music, but ry-Barnes, and D’Vonne Lewis). Up- better than you’ thing can be great that will have profound effects upon coming dates include Omaha Diner, … I’ve been real lucky that the local your music.” reimagining the Top-40 canon (“If it musicians have let me play with them, Skerik also points to the importance didn’t make it to #1, we don’t play it”) like the Bandalabra guys … Playing of having a philosophy and a concept, with Charlie Hunter, Steve Bernstein, with Wayne Horvitz and Hans Teu- something beyond mere virtuosity. and Bobby Previte, and DRKWAV, ber, they’re all like teachers of mine, “A band like Talking Heads – they a trio with Adam Deitch and John mentors.” weren’t musicians who were shredding Medeski.