CityArtist Projects Awardees
Among the Office of Arts & Culture CityArtist awardees: Daniel Barry, compose, perform and document new music for jazz orchestra that incorporates elements of classical, jazz and Brazilian traditions, including an educational component; Steve Griggs, commission a 45-minute program of narration with composed and improvised jazz music to be performed at the sites of five sculptures by James Washington; Robin Holcomb, compose and record new music for piano, voice and cello for three public performances and a studio release as a two-CD set; Wayne Horvitz, complete a new 15-minute piece in three movements, focused on Pacific Northwest writers, for full orchestra with an improvising soloist to be performed by the Seattle Symphony; Christopher Icasiano, compose, produce and present a new recording with a student ensemble; Jessica Kenney, complete recording of a voice-on-voice performance of classical and contemporary Persian poetry, lecture, and song-melody from mystical literature, with four artists; Paul Kikuchi, development and design of an online interactive experience of a multi-faceted website combining original music, photos, writings, and historic recordings with a ‘Meet the Artist’ event to discuss the work; Greg Sinibaldi, create, record and premiere new music for a small jazz group and electronics, based on the poetry of Sylvia Plath’s book Ariel, with lecture and demonstrations; Paul Taub, commission and perform five new works for flute and up to five other instruments.
Steve Griggs Projects
Steve Griggs Ensemble received support from a 4Culture Historic Site Specific Grant, for Listen to Seattle, a program of narration and new music inspired by the life and words of Chief Seattle. The program will premiere at the Duwamish Long House in 2015 followed by free performances at historically significant sites throughout Seattle. The project expands Songs of Unsung Seattle, a portfolio of original music and narration performed by the ensemble during their residency at the Seattle Public Library supported by Chamber Music America. Other works in the portfolio include Panama Hotel Jazz, about the Japanese American endurance of injustice during WWII, A Cup of Joe Brazil, about the jazz saxophonist’s community building through music and struggle against racial discrimination in the 1970s, and a new work called Sound in Stone, about the creative force in the Seattle sculptures of James Winston Washington. The ensemble includes saxophonist Griggs, trumpeter Jay Thomas, vibraphonist Susan Pascal, guitarist Milo Petersen, and bassist Phil Sparks. Griggs’ previous work includes sold-out concerts of chamber jazz based on the work of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, an evening-length work for jazz ensemble and dancer at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, recordings with legendary drummer Elvin Jones, featured saxophone solos on the XBOX Halo 3: ODST videogame soundtrack and award-winning musical settings of poetry.
Jazz Radio
88.5 KPLU hosts Saturday Jazz Matinee, Jazz Sunday Side Up, Ken Wiley’s the Art of Jazz, and Jazz Northwest, in addition to its weekday NPR and late-night and prime-time jazz programs. For KPLU’s full jazz schedule, see kplu.org/schedule.
Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest, Sundays, 2pm, features the artists and events of the regional jazz scene. For JazzNW podcasts of archived programs, see jazznw.org.
90.3 KEXP, late-night Sundays, features Jazz Theater with John Gilbreath, 1am, and Sonarchy, midnight, a live-performance broadcast from the Jack Straw Productions studio, produced by Doug Haire. Full schedule information is available at kexp.org and jackstraw.org.
Sonarchy’s January schedule: January 4, Andrew Endres Collective, new jazz music by this Portland trio, with Endres (guitar), Sam Hallam (bass) and James Ford (drum kit); January 11, Eric Apoe & They, with Apoe (guitar, vocals), Alicia Dejoie (violin), Danny Godinez (electric guitar) and Tige DeCoster (bass); January 18, 94th Street, an archive show from 2001, with pop drum ‘n’ bass music played live, drummer KJ Sawka’s first band in Seattle; January 25, Bardo Basho, drone and techno influenced singer songwriter goes down her own electric trail.
91.3 KBCS, late Sundays and prime-time Mondays, features Floatation Device with John Seman and Jonathan Lawson; Straight, No Chaser with David Utevsky; Giant Steps with John Pai. More about jazz on KBCS at kbcs.fm.
94.9 KUOW, Saturdays, 7pm, features Amanda Wilde’s the Swing Years and Beyond, popular music from the 1920s to the 1950s. More at kuow.org/swing_years.php.
In One Ear News
Email news about Seattle-area jazz artists, for In One Ear, to editor@earshot.org.
