Sol Disk is proud to present Northwest Free Jazz Festival 2005. Taking place from Tuesday May 17 thru Saturday June 10, what sets the Northwest Free Jazz Festival apart from all of the other jazz festivals in the Pacific Northwest is that it is the only festival dedicated to the more adventurous, creative side of jazz free from the constructs of traditional jazz performance.
Tuesday May 17
The Julian Priester/Marc Smason Ensemble
in preview performance to "Priester's Cue" at Cornish College of Music Sunday May 22
Diller/Crane
ToST
513 N 36th Street (In Fremont)
Seattle, WA
(206) 547-0240
9:00 PM, $5
21 and over
To start things off, two brilliant trombonists, Marc Smason and the legendary Julian Priester, will be performing with their fascinating ensemble in a preview performance to “Priester’s Cue” being performed on Sunday May 22 at Cornish College of Music. This group also features free jazz stalwarts Craig Hoyer playing keyboards and Greg Campbell playing drums. Marc Smason has been described in the press as “amazingly versatile…poignant.” Julian Priester has been noted as “a master of jazz…free spirited.” Opening the night will be Diller/Crane. Improvised music featuring Adam Diller playing saxophone and Matt Crane playing drums, their critically acclaimed performances have been described in the press as “registering the character of a gritty urban soundscape” and “unleashing a rumbling, shuddering, shambling avalanche of saxophone squalls...catapulted by incantatory cannonades of cymbals and drums.”
Saturday May 21
Monktail Creative Music Concern
The Jack Gold Quintet
The Blue Moon
712 NE 45th Street
Seattle, WA
(206) 633-6267
9:00 PM, No Cover
21 and over
Headlining the evening is Monktail Creative Music Concern’s Non Grata, which features “about 20 of us now,” including bassist John Seman and drummer Mark Ostrowski, who are self-described as “a chamber orchestra that plays jazz, a jazz band that plays metal, a metal band that plays country, a country band that plays funk, a funk band that plays punk, a punk band that plays music, musicians having a good time...the retarded children of art music and we’re running with scissors.” Starting the night off will be the Jack Gold Quintet featuring Michael Monhart and Brian Kent playing saxophones, Jim Knodle playing trumpet, Michael Bisio playing bass, and Jack Gold playing drums. Critically acclaimed, this group has been described as “sounding fiery and on edge, by turns pushing things toward chaos then reigning the sound back in structure's direction.”
Wednesday May 25
The Gregg Keplinger Trio
Paul Rucker
ToST
513 N 36th Street (In Fremont)
Seattle, WA
(206) 547-0240
9:00 PM, $5
21 and over
Headlining tonight’s performances will be the Gregg Keplinger Trio. Solid, hard swinging, free improvised jazz, their music has been described in the press as “Not show tunes…urban renewal…flowing like chunks of concrete being ripped up out of a parking lot.” This group features Michael Monhart playing saxophone, Bay Area organist Richard Phillips, and Gregg Keplinger playing drums. Starting the evening off will be a solo performance by critically acclaimed cellist Paul Rucker. Recent recipient of the Earshot Golden Ear Award for “Best Emerging Artist of the Year,” Rucker’s CD entitled "Oil" was nominated for the Earshot Jazz Northwest CD of the year in 2003. That same year the Paul Rucker Large Ensemble was nominated for the Earshot Jazz “Best Outside Jazz Group” award.
Saturday June 4
Amy Denio
The Ficus Trio
Gallery 1412
1412 18th Ave E
Seattle, WA
(206) 322-1533
8:00 PM, $5-15 sliding scale
All ages
Amy Denio headlines tonight’s event, bringing her own eclectic, worldly vision to the free jazz stage. An unparalleled performer, she promises to delight, entice, and enthrall her audience. Critically acclaimed, here is what the press has had to say about her:
“This consummate musician uses her skills to merge a crazy range of traditions - from groove-heavy jazz and funk to European folk and odd-metered rock -- into a surprisingly accessible style.” - Sam Prestianni, San Francisco Weekly
“Not many musicians can even envision the kind of musical gamut Denio so offhandedly enjoys exploring, and even few do it with such gusto, humor, and wit.” - Elizabeth Vincentelli, Request Magazine
The Ficus Trio, featuring Gregory Reynolds playing saxophone, Gust Burns playing piano, and Greg Campbell playing percussion, opens the evening. The Ficus Trio has been described as “a unique group capable of reaching sublime spaces through impossible displays of density as well as through an uncanny use of space and minimalism.”
Friday June 10
Ion Zoo
2 Bit Trio
Gallery 1412
1412 18th Ave E
Seattle, WA
(206) 322-1533
8:00 PM, $5-15 sliding scale
All ages
Closing the festival will be Vancouver, B.C.’s Ion Zoo which features Steve Bagnell playing reeds and percussion, Paul Rucker playing cello, Clyde Reed playing bass, and vocalist Carol Sawyer. Also joining them from Montreal, Quebec will Marianne Trudell playing piano. Formed in October 2001 by Steve Bagnell and Carol Sawyer as a vehicle to explore song forms as the basis for improvised music, as well as performing at venues around the Vancouver, B.C. area they have contributed live music to dance improvisation workshops and produced live improvised film soundtracks at The Blinding Light! Cinema under the auspices of the Eye of Newt collective. Ion Zoo draws inspiration from a wide range of musical ingredients including bebop, noise, baroque classical, blues, and Weimar cabaret to create an aural feast of haunting melodies, strange atmospheric textures, and spontaneous arias. Starting the night off will be Seattle’s own 2 Bit Trio which features saxophonist Seth Alexander, bassist Birch Pereira, and Ethan Cudaback playing drums. Their music is self-described as “primordial growls that can take one into the depths of their own psyche for a game of emotional kick-the-can.”
Price of admission can be paid at the door for all performances.
