Pharoah Sanders photo courtesy of Addeo Music International
October 10-November 11 The Earshot Jazz Festival swings into its 26th edition on October 10 and includes more than 50 distinctive concerts and events in venues all around the city through November 11. The festival brings jazz greats from around the world into creative collaboration with area audiences and artists. Earshot celebrates Seattle’s place in the world of jazz with mainstage concerts by our award-winning student ensembles and a strong representation by our renowned resident artists. This year, Earshot celebrates the “Masters, Monsters, and Mentors” of jazz. Among the headline artists to embody that theme are the legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders with his quartet, the all-star Joe Lovano Dave Douglas Sound Prints Quintet with Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh, and Joey Baron, Brooklyn-based producer and composer, Taylor McFerrin, son of Bobby McFerrin, vocalist Carmen Lundy, whose career spans three decades, and True Blues with Grammy Award-winning Alvin Youngblood Hart and MacArthur Fellow Corey Harris. The festival opens October 10 at Town Hall with a very special birthday party for Thelonious Monk, whose distinctive musical direction has mentored almost every jazz musician since. “Monk, 10/10” includes 10 of Seattle’s top jazz pianists performing one solo Monk piece each, followed by a 10-piece ensemble, conducted by Wayne Horvitz, reworking transcriptions, not coincidentally, of the famous 1959 Monk at Town Hall concert. Appearing in festival concerts and mentoring programs at Cornish College of the Arts are ensembles of the French pianist Jacky Terrasson, veteran saxophonist Greg Osby, legendary free-jazz drummer Barry Altschul, vocalist Johnaye Kendrick, MacArthur fellow Miguel Zenón, and NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman. Also part of the Cornish series will be the young sax monster Ben Flocks sharing the bill with his mentor, Lew Tabackin. International ensembles include the West African Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba at the Triple Door, Italian sextet OU at the Royal Room, and the world’s most revered Balkan brass band, the Boban & Marko Markovic Orchestra, in what is sure to be an unforgettable night of Roma celebration and dancing at Town Hall. Special festival programs by Seattle musicians include a concert and filming of the group Industrial Revelation at EMP; the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra with guest artist Grace Kelly and the winner of their second annual Women Jazz Composer competition; Daniel Barry’s Celestial Rhythms Orchestra; McTuff with Tulsa-based Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey at the Royal Room; and the all-star Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra reprising the Genius + Soul tribute to world-renowned Jackson Street legends Quincy Jones and Ray Charles. Also contributing special projects to this year’s festival are one-of-a-kind ensembles of Beth Fleenor, Jay Thomas, and Thomas Marriott, whose Human Spirit band includes New Yorkers pianist Orrin Evans and bassist Eric Revis. Former Seattleite and pianist Larry Fuller will return for a special run, as will other past residents: saxophonist Anton Schwartz, trumpeter Chad McCullough, and saxophonist/ vocalist Jessica Lurie in a reunion of Living Daylights. Seattle drummer John Bishop and bassist Jeff Johnson once again join veteran bebop pianist Hal Galper for another night of “furious rubato.” Neil Welch and many other Seattle saxophonists will make up a one-time saxophone choir and many “pop-up” saxophone solos all around the city in celebration of the 200th birthday of Adolphe Sax on November 6.
