My Blog
On any given day at any given school, a tween or teenager is being harassed because he/she is gay or perceived as such. They slam him against a locker and call him “faggot.” Taunts about her sexuality are scrawled across the walls in the girls’ bathroom. When they walk down the hallways of the school, they are subjected to mean commentary and vicious ridicule. With hormones run amok and ever shifting social dynamics, life for a young person coming of age is hard enough. But…
The other day, I bid on a holiday party for my quartet. It was for a corporate luncheon that was to take place on a Friday afternoon in December. It was slightly unusual in that the potential client, a woman I’ll call “Jodie,” only wanted us to play for the first fifteen minutes of the event and the last fifteen minutes. But she wanted the band on site for four hours. I might add that the gig was to take place in Tacoma. I crunched…
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the beautiful autumn celebration of communion, food and giving thanks. Many of you will be gathering with friends and family over sumptuous feasts and lively conversation. Some of you will be traveling, enduring icy roads or TSA pat downs to reach your waiting loved ones. I will be nestled into my apartment. My boys (Emmett, age 17 and Enzo, age 13) will be with their father, and the three of them are attending a soiree at the home of family friends. I…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve observed a few disparaging remarks about singers out there on the social media playground. More specifically, these were remarks made about jazz vocalists by jazz musicians. It actually surprised me a little. While there is definitely a common sentiment that musicians look down on vocalists, I guess I’ve never entirely bought into that idea. That said, I’m more than willing to entertain the notion that I might be kidding myself. It certainly seems like something worthy of investigating here.…
A few weeks ago, I posted about a scat workshop that I was starting with my teacher Greta Matassa. The four- week run of the workshop is complete and we are doing a showcase performance at Tula’s tomorrow night. Oh baby, what a fun we've had! Greta is pretty much known around these parts as the high priestess of vocal jazz. She deserves the status; she’s dedicated her life to perfecting her craft…
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT JAZZ WALK-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2010 One of the cool things about the Earshot Jazz Festival is the big line-up of outstanding artists and the plethora of performances to choose from. The downside is that it can be difficult to find the time to hit all the shows you want to and it can also get a little spendy. This is just one of the reasons that the University District Jazz Walk is such a great offering. This year, Earshot has teamed up with…
Earshot Jazz Festival: Randy Halberstadt Quintet-Wednesday, November 3 at Tula's Randy Halberstadt seems to move at the speed of light. It’s no wonder. As one of the top-call jazz pianists in the city, he’s one busy guy. He is a musical rainmaker, lending his touch and expertise to multiple bands, musicians and projects. He is a member of the esteemed Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. He is the accompanist and arranger for many Northwest vocalists, including…
It is with great enthusiasm that I send a virtual high five out to Seattle jazz musicians Jason Parker and Dave Marriott for their spanking new podcast Jazz Now! Seattle. Jazz Now! Seattle is a weekly podcast that features music from local jazz artists in the Seattle community. The mission of the podcast is twofold: (1) To put the spotlight on Seattle musicians and their projects and to help publicize their performances. (2) To present the thriving Seattle jazz scene to the rest of the…
A few months ago, I took on a new job that I knew wasn’t right for me. Fiscally-speaking, it offered low-hanging fruit, and my fears about economic insecurity won out over the small voice inside of me that kept whispering…..warning me…..that I was about to take a wrong turn. That small voice was right. This particular gig, while definitely enhancing my day-to-day financial situation, has become an enormous time and energy suck. It eats up several hours of my day, and when the time comes…
The Earshot Jazz Festival is in full swing with outstanding jazz performances taking place at clubs and concert venues across the city. The roster of artists is exquisite as usual. Although it will be impossible to hit all of the shows, I will be making noise about some of the performances that I think are worth checking out. I am all about the locals and I’m happy that Earshot is featuring many hometown artists in the festival this year.…
