Posts Tagged ‘vocalist’
A WAITING LIST is available.
Vocalist Ed Reed is a master singer and storyteller, and one of the jazz world’s living treasures. With an uncanny history working with and learning from many of jazz’s legends (ever since, growing up in Watts, L.A., he was taught harmony by Charles Mingus when Mingus would come to baby sit at the house across the street), he amazed the jazz world when he came out with his highly acclaimed debut CD at age 78. Since then he has earned a Top Ten spot on the DownBeat Critics Poll eleven times, including First Place on their Rising Star Male Vocalist list for 2014. He was awarded a Jazz Hero award by the Jazz Journalists’ Association, and was the subject of an hourlong episode of NPR’s Piano Jazz.
For this concert, Ed and host/saxophonist Anton Schwartz are joined by Portland-based pianist Randy Porter, who recently was the featured soloist with the Seattle Symphony for their performances of La La Land, and whose most recent CD, Porter Plays Porter, was nominated last year for a Grammy.
Randy and Anton have performed and recorded extensively with Ed, including his on CDs I’m a Shy Guy and Born to be Blue, about which renowned jazz journalist Andrew Gilbert writes:
Given his track record of exponential creative growth over the past four years it might be premature to say that “Born to Be Blue ” is Reed’s definitive statement, but his third album possesses all the distilled emotion and narrative coherence of a jazz masterpiece.
Learn more about Ed Reed.
Read MoreThis show is SOLD OUT.
A WAITING LIST is available.
We’re proud to have Denise Donatelli joining us from Los Angeles!
“Donatelli makes it sound so natural to hit the dead center of each note, you can almost forget how rarely it occurs in the rest of the world. Her intonation combines accuracy with ease in a way most singers can only imagine.” —Neil Tesser
Her last three albums have received four Grammy nominations, including her latest nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her most recent album Find A Heart. She has been voted into the Downbeat Critics Poll as Female Vocalist Rising Star for the past three years, and was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year by the Los Angeles Jazz Society.
Joining Denise and host Anton Schwartz (saxophone) are pianist Bill Anschell and bassist Michael Glynn.
Read MoreThis show is SOLD OUT.
A WAITING LIST is available.
“One of the outstanding jazz vocalists of her generation and, quite possibly, of all time… rivaling the dexterous sass of Sarah Vaughan, the instinctive smarts of Carmen McRae and the scintillating verve of Diana Krall.”
– Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
Vocalist Jackie Ryan has soared to national attention in recent years, as her three most recent CDs have dominated the jazz radio charts, each spending copious time as #1 in the nation. And it’s no wonder why. She boast huge control over a 3½ octave range and has honed her craft through years of performance across multiple genres (swing, latin jazz, r&b…) alongside a long roster of musical greats that includes Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Buddy DeFranco, Scott Hamilton, John Clayton, Gerald Clayton, Jon Mayer, Barry Harris and Jon Hendricks… to mention but a few.
Jackie joins Anton as well as Bay Area jazz luminaries Larry Dunlap (piano) and John Wiitala (bass) for two special nights at the loft.
(See also Friday’s performance.)
This show is SOLD OUT.
A WAITING LIST is available.
“One of the outstanding jazz vocalists of her generation and, quite possibly, of all time… rivaling the dexterous sass of Sarah Vaughan, the instinctive smarts of Carmen McRae and the scintillating verve of Diana Krall.”
– Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
Vocalist Jackie Ryan has soared to national attention in recent years, as her three most recent CDs have dominated the jazz radio charts, each spending copious time as #1 in the nation. And it’s no wonder why. She boast huge control over a 3½ octave range and has honed her craft through years of performance across multiple genres (swing, latin jazz, r&b…) alongside a long roster of musical greats that includes Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, Buddy DeFranco, Scott Hamilton, John Clayton, Gerald Clayton, Jon Mayer, Barry Harris and Jon Hendricks… to mention but a few.
Jackie joins Anton as well as Bay Area jazz luminaries Larry Dunlap (piano) and John Wiitala (bass) for two special nights at the loft.
(See also Saturday’s performance.)
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.
Read MoreDetroit 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.
Read MoreThis 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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