© 2011-24 Anton Schwartz

Posts Tagged ‘anton schwartz’

Sep 2013
28 Saturday

Gail Pettis

Acclaimed Seattle vocalist Gail Pettis makes a very rare Bay Area appearance. Gail’s rich, warm vocals and understated phrasing inspire comparisons to Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn and Carmen McRae. A two-time winner of Northwest Vocalist of the Year, she has made a huge mark on the jazz scene of the Pacific Northwest, despite her relatively recent emergence as a professional vocalist. Her latest CD received a four-star review from DownBeat magazine and hit the Top Five on the national jazz radio charts. Listen to some tracks from that CD, Here In The Moment.

“What makes Gail’s musical overview so special is her remarkable combination of a sumptuous sound, a storyteller’s capacity to find the deepest layers in the lyrics of a song, and an irresistible rhythmic lift in her phrasing,” writes renowned jazz journalist, Don Heckman. “Add to that her gift for melodic paraphrasing, and a selective ear for finding a new way to sing old songs, and the results completely fulfill the definition of the word unique.”

Joining Gail and Anton are two linchpins of the Bay Area Jazz Scene: pianist Adam Shulman and bassist John Wiitala.

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Sep 2013
14 Saturday

Taylor Eigsti

Not yet thirty years old, Taylor Eigsti has established his place as one of the world’s foremost jazz pianists. He has performed as a featured soloist with jazz ensembles and symphony orchestras around the world, received multiple Grammy nominations, been the cover story of Keyboard Magazine and Jazziz and the subject of numerous television and radio specials, and has collaborated with most of the brightest stars in jazz today, including Esperanza Spalding, Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, James Moody, Nicholas Payton, Lee Konitz, Chris Potter and Hank Jones.

Taylor joined the faculty of the Stanford Jazz Workshop at age fifteen. That is where he and Anton and first met and collaborated. Taylor appears on Anton’s latest CD, Radiant Blue, as well has his upcoming one (stay tuned!)
Here are two videos of them in concert at Yoshi’s several years ago:

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Sep 2013
7 Saturday

Kathy Kosins

Detroit based vocalist Kathy Kosins will be passing through Seattle, and we’re hooking up for a show at the loft. Kosins is a six-time ASCAP award winner, and has performed at prestigious jazz clubs, festivals and concert series across the nation and around the world. The Chicago Tribune calls her “one of the most alluring voices in jazz.” And famed jazz critic Niel Tesser writes that she possesses “solid intonation, unwavering swing, and a voice that can conjure both the girl next door and her older, wiser sister.”

We are particularly lucky to be joined by Seattle’s own Paul Gabrielson on bass, and Portland phenomenon Randy Porter on piano.

Some may know pianist Randy Porter as saxophone great Charles McPherson’s longtime pianist. Others may know him from his annual performance and teaching at the Port Townsend Jazz Festival, or his performances with such greats as Freddy Hubbard, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Arturo Sandoval, Karrin Allyson, Sheila Jordan, Diane Schuur, Wynton Marsalis and numerous symphony orchestras. Based in Portland, Oregon, he is without a doubt one of the city’s major contributions to the international jazz scene.

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Aug 2013
17 Saturday

Gail Pettis

Gail Pettis’s rich, warm vocals and understated phrasing inspire comparisons to Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn and Carmen McRae. A two-time winner of Earshot Golden Ear Awards’ Northwest Vocalist of the Year, she has made a huge mark on the jazz scene of the Pacific Northwest, despite her relatively recent emergence as a professional vocalist. Her latest CD received a four-star review from DownBeat magazine and hit the Top Five on the national jazz radio charts.

“What makes Gail’s musical overview so special is her remarkable combination of a sumptuous sound, a storyteller’s capacity to find the deepest layers in the lyrics of a song, and an irresistible rhythmic lift in her phrasing,” writes renowned jazz journalist, Don Heckman. “Add to that her gift for melodic paraphrasing, and a selective ear for finding a new way to sing old songs, and the results completely fulfill the definition of the word unique.”

This show will be special in that Gail will team up with saxophonist Anton Schwartz. Her performances almost always feature her alone with a rhythm section, so the interplay with Schwartz here will provide an exciting new setting for her formidable expressive skills. Joining Gail and Anton are two linchpins of the Seattle Jazz Scene: pianist Randy Halberstadt and bassist Clipper Anderson.

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Jul 2013
20 Saturday

Laila Smith

This concert features Laila Smith, an exceptional young singer and composer from San Jose, California who’s been gaining great attention as she emerges on the jazz scene. She will be performing jazz standards, as well as compositions of her own.

Just eighteen years old, Laila has not wasted any time pursuing her passion for music, nor has the world failed to take note of her phenomenal ability. She began playing piano at age four. She made her first appearance at the San Jose Jazz Festival at age six and has performed there every year since. She is the winner of six DownBeat awards, two ASCAP Young Composer Awards, sang first soprano in the GRAMMY Jazz Choir and was the vocalist for the Monterey Jazz Next Generation Orchestra (2012) and the SFJAZZ High School All-Star Orchestra (2010-2012). In the fall she will attend a joint degree program at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Often the performance opportunities that are given to exceptional young artists showcase their ability to impress rather than to really communicate. This concert will be the opposite—a relaxed, intimate setting where creativity can flow and we’ll have the chance to see extraordinary talent in the process of development.

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May 2013
29 Wednesday

CD Session

This show is SOLD OUT.
A WAITING LIST is available.

On May 30, Anton will bring his band into Fantasy Studios to record his next CD. The prior evening, they will perform one special concert together at the Loft, featuring the music of the new CD. This is that concert. As you can see, the requested donation is higher than our other concerts. About the musicians:

Taylor Eigsti

Not yet thirty years old, Taylor Eigsti has established his place as one of the world’s foremost jazz pianists. He has performed as a featured soloist with jazz ensembles and symphony orchestras around the world, received Grammy nominations, been the cover story of Keyboard Magazine and Jazziz and the subject of numerous television and radio specials, and has collaborated with most of the brightest stars in jazz today, including Esperanza Spalding, Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, James Moody, Nicholas Payton, Lee Konitz, Chris Potter and Hank Jones. Taylor performed on Anton’s previous release, Radiant Blue.

Dominick Farinacci

Twelve years ago, when Farinacci moved to NYC to attend Juilliard, Wynton Marsalis offered him a featured performance at Lincoln Center. By the time he graduated from Juilliard, he had received two Gold Disc Awards, the International New Star Award, had won first place in the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition, and had toured to Japan over a dozen times. Dominick Farinacci has a huge, beautiful sound. His playing combines the fire of Freddy Hubbard with the elegant clarity of Clifford Brown.

John Shifflett

John Shifflett and Anton Schwartz have performed together at well over three hundred concerts in the last twenty years. A San Jose resident, bassist Shifflett is among the Bay Area’s most in-demand jazz musicians and it’s easy to understand why: he is a wellspring of creativity and sets down a rock-solid groove. He has performed extensively with artists such as Kurt Elling, Mel Torme, Madeleine Peyroux, Boz Scaggs, Dave Liebman, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Ernie Watts, Red Holloway, Tom Harrell, Will Bernard and Bobby Hutcherson. John appears on three of Anton’s previous CDs.

Lorca Hart

Drummer Lorca Hart has performed with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Jordan, Craig Handy, Kyle Eastwood, Bennie Maupin, Don Menza, Red Holloway and Hugh Masekela. Born in Santa Fe into a musical family—his father is the legendary drummer, Billy Hart—he had exposure early on to many styles of music and many masterful musicians. Assimilating it all, he has developed a uniquely natural feel and deep understanding of the music.

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