Artist Profiles

Three Baritones
Peking House Restaurant – Map #1

A favorite at the North City Jazz Walk, Doug Reid brings fellow baritone sax players Jim DeJoie and Rich Cole with him this year to deliver what he calls “one very unique sound.”

The newly formed group, called The 3Baritones, is a unique grouping of instruments, according to Reid. “Each of the three of us come from very different backgrounds. We are combining our repertoire, playing some Jerry Mulligan, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Freddy Hubbard and original compositions by Jim DeJoie,” he said.

Combining ‘50s and ‘60s hard bop with post-Coltrane and more contemporary pop music influences, The 3Baritones don’t just play individually, Reid said. They play together, and that combination is what makes their sound so unusual.

Reid said the three of them are the “top call” baritone players in Seattle. “When someone is putting together a group that needs a baritone sax they call us, so we work with the top bands in town,” he said. Word has gotten out about their group — formed simply to play at the jazz walk — and they’ve been asked to perform in other venues.

While performing regularly, Reid is also involved in the local music scene as the director of instrumental music at Shoreline Community College. In the 20 years he has worked there, his groups have garnered national awards. Overseeing a big band, four combos, and numerous small ensembles for both classical and jazz instrumental music, Reid loves his job.

He also really appreciates the jazz scene in the north end. “The North City Jazz Walk is wonderful,” Reid said. “The merchants, the city of Shoreline, and the Arts Council are all very supportive. It’s a wonderful event for the community.”

Jazz Greatness on Film
Do North Theatre – Map #2

During the North City Jazz Walk, some of the greatest musicians and singers of the Golden Age of jazz will perform on the silver screen in a one-of-a-kind mini-film festival, “Jazz Greatness on Film.”

“My career in film started when I worked my way through the University of Washington as a projectionist at the Seattle Movie House. ... I was the head projectionist for the first three years of the Seattle International Film Festival,” said Dennis Nyback, a local film expert who curated dozens of 16mm short films to create four 35-minute compilation movies that will be screened during the jazz walk.

Nyback began assembling short programs made up of vintage film clips in 1994.

“I’ve created over 400 film programs,” he said. “My pursuit of film knowledge has taken me around the world. I have been a juror at three international short film festivals. I have been a featured guest at film festivals ranging from the Iceland International Film Festival in Reykjavik to the Pifan Festival in Puchon.”

Nyback searched his vast archive of over 10,000 film clips to put together four short movies showcasing some of the most renowned jazz performers of the 1930s through late 1950s, including Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday and Count Basie.

“They’re all sound films. I have films that predate what we think of as the birth of sound,” he said, adding that some of the film that will be run through the projector during the North City Jazz Walk is over 70 years old.

The mini-film festival kicks off with Great Instrumentalists, featuring performances by
Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Bunny Berigan, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Dickie Wells, Jo Jones and Roy Smeck.


Great Bands
displays the talents of Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Don Redman and Stan Kenton.

Great Singers

showcases the vocal stylings of Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Ruth Etting, Helen Morgan, Harlan Lattimore and Nat King Cole.



Jazz and Dancing features jitterbug and Lindy Hop dancing to music performed by Willie “The Lion” Smith, Slim Gaillard, Will Bradley, Ray McKinley, Jimmie McPartland and Pee Wee Russell.

“It’s about the most fabulous jitterbug dancing ever put down on film,” said Nyback, adding that he’s hesitant to name a favorite clip from any of the short films. “People are going to have to come see all four of these programs and afterward, their lives will be improved.”

To find out about other film programs created by Dennis Nyback,
visit www.dennisnybackfilms.com.

Brian Nova Trio
Laughing Ladies – Map #3

If it wasn’t for his girlfriend’s mother, Brian Nova may never have become a professional jazz musician. He was a fledgling rock ‘n’ roll funk guitar and bass player when she invited him to see Herb Ellis at the old Jazz Alley. He went, mainly because he was under age and thought it would be cool, he admitted.

“It was everything you’d expect. Herb was in his mid to late 50s, and he looked ancient. It took him forever to adjust his pants and shirt and collar, and I thought, ‘This guy is going to take forever.’ Then he started playing and my jaw dropped. I had no idea the guitar could be played like that,” Nova said.

Hooked from that moment on, Nova continued, “My most traumatic memories of childhood had to do with trying to get Herb’s attention. He came to town for a week or two back then, and I’d go every night and try to get his attention until finally I was able to squeak a cup of coffee out of him, and then lunch. And then after a few years he took me seriously and began to teach me how to really play the guitar.”

Nova was about 25 when he started hitting the road with Ellis, who became like a second grandfather to him.

“He was really sweet,” Nova said. “He introduced me to Joe Pass, and I did the same thing with him — chased him around until he finally decided to acknowledge my existence and have a conversation with me.”

Nova considers himself lucky to have grown up surrounded by great musicians who took him under their wings. Another mentor was Primo Kim, whom he describes as “one of Seattle’s biggest musical treasures.”

A pianist and vocalist, Nova said Kim helped him immensely because, “He came from the old school — he knew thousands of songs in every key. I sat in with him every night for several years and just learned tunes — hundreds. I learned how to voice them on guitar by listening to how he approached it when he accompanied.”

Nova’s large repertoire opened doors to play with other jazz musicians. “I not only knew the language [of jazz], I knew the context, the subject matter and the tunes,” he said. “I’ve always been fascinated with the guitar and with jazz, and enjoyed the idea of being able to have a conversation with someone on different levels. Jazz is just another language. It transcends vowels and consonants. I can hold a conversation anywhere in the world with another musician and enjoy it.”

Nova was the director of jazz and guitar studies at Seattle University for six years and played a key role in the development of Seattle’s jazz clubs. He feels one of his greater accomplishments was the preservation and expansion of the Seattle jazz scene. He currently tours for six months of the year.

Nova will perform at North City Jazz Walk with The Brian Nova Trio featuring Dan OBrien on bass and Steve Yusen on drums.

For more information visit www.briannova.com.

Student & Faculty All-Star Bands
Industrial Air-Showmobile – Map #4

A successful performance last year inspired Shoreline Jazz Camp students and faculty to perform again on the biggest stage of the Jazz Walk — the Industrial Air site. This group of new and experienced jazz players is a continuing delight to audiences.

“The entire faculty will play as a group, but only two tunes, maybe three. It really is a concert for the kids. All kids that were involved in the camp participate in the night concert. They will have already played an informal concert in the afternoon for friends and family,” said Jim Sisko, director of Shoreline Jazz Camp.

According to their website, the mission of the Shoreline Jazz Camp is to provide young musicians the opportunity to learn and play with some of the regions most accomplished teachers and performers. The program creates a safe and structured learning environment in which students of varying skill levels are able to share in the joy of playing jazz. The camp includes instruction in large and small ensembles, and a series of master classes that are designed to refine the individual’s skills and understanding of jazz.

Camp Director Jim Sisko has become one of the most sought after teachers and performers in the Northwest. The Jim Sisko Quintet has been featured at countless festivals and concert venues. He can be heard on over 40 motion picture soundtracks and many independent CD projects. His students are well versed in both classical and jazz styles, and are consistently recognized as some of the strongest players in the region. Sisko has served as a director for jazz camps throughout the Northwest since 1998 and is currently the jazz director at the Northwest School.

Other faculty include trombonist Jeff Hay, a Seattle native who has performed with Perry Como, Harry Connick Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., The 4 Tops, Manhattan Transfer, Bette Midler and David Sanborn. He has appeared many times in the pit orchestras for major theater venues, including The Fifth Avenue and Paramount theaters.

The saxophone specialist at this year’s camp is Stuart MacDonald, another Seattle native and graduate of Roosevelt High School. He has performed with the likes of Pete Christlieb; George Cables; Ingrid Jensen; and Medeski, Martin, and Wood. Stuart is a member of the Jim Knapp Orchestra, Chris Stover’s More Zero, and is the director of Roosevelt’s Jazz Band II.

Instructor Dan Kramlich is one of the “first call” pianists in the region. Kramlich is a member of the faculty at both Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle Pacific University. He also teaches private and group piano lessons at Creative Music Adventures in Seattle.

Bassist Jon Hamar is a staple of the Northwest music scene, performing in multiple genres ranging from jazz to classical music. Hamar performs regularly with Ernestine Anderson and the Jim Knapp Orchestra as well as many others, and is active in the recording industry on solo projects as well as orchestral sessions for Hollywood movies and video games.

Matt Jorgensen is the drum instructor at camp. He is an integral part of the Northwest jazz scene and a “first call” for artists visiting the West Coast, having performed with Eric Alexander, Bill Mays, Steve Wilson, Joe Locke, Sam Yahel, Tim Ries and more.

For more information about Shoreline Jazz Camp visit www.shorelinearts.net or e-mail shorelinejazzcamp@gmail.com.

Greta Matassa with Critical Mass Big Band
St. Mark Church & School – Map #5

Greta Matassa is one of those people who were born to sing.

As a child, her jazz-loving parents encouraged her exploration of the household names of jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. Her father, a visual artist, helped her hunt down recordings of these and more obscure artists, which she sang along with, developing her distinctive and fearless vocal style.

When Matassa was in middle school, she and her family moved to Bainbridge Island. She dropped out of high school as a junior and went to work singing at a country club in Oregon with a professional pianist.

Upon her return to Seattle, she got her feet wet working in heavy metal bands, but quickly returned to the world of jazz as a wedding singer. She performed with musicians Marc Seales, Barney McClure and Michael Powers, then formed her own trio in the mid-1980s.

Matassa has been a fixture in the Seattle jazz scene ever since, performing at a variety of local venues, including Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Tula’s, Meydenbauer Center, Benaroya Hall and Teatro ZinZanni, as well as festivals such as the Port Townsend Jazz Festival and Bumbershoot.

Gaining an international reputation with tours of Russia, Singapore, Hawaii and Japan, Matassa has released nine CDs, the latest of which, I Wanna Be Loved (Resonance Records), was on the national jazz charts for three months.

Last year, Matassa was voted “Northwest Vocalist of the Year” for the sixth time by Seattle’s preeminent jazz magazine, Earshot Jazz.

During the North City Jazz Walk, Matassa will perform backed by a full jazz orchestra, Critical Mass, under the direction of Keith McClelland. She might even take a few requests.

To see videos of Greta Matassa in concert or order CDs, visit www.gretamatassa.com.

Critical Mass Big Band

The 18-piece jazz orchestra Critical Mass got its start approximately a decade ago. Since the beginning, it has been made up almost entirely of accomplished amateur and semi-professional musicians who continued playing following graduation from high school or college.

The band’s play list includes jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Maynard Ferguson; as well as material by contemporary composers such as Pat Metheny, Gordon Goodwin and George Stone. The band’s material is described as “contemporary big band swing.”

An arranger, conductor and performer for more than 50 years, Keith McClelland has been the musical director of Critical Mass for over seven years. The band also features jazz vocalist Greta Matassa and vibraphonist Susan Pascal.

Critical Mass performs several times a year at Tula’s in Seattle and has been the headliner for the North City Jazz Walk since its inception.

Hot Club Sandwich
Brown’s Coffee – Map #6

Hot Club Sandwich brings a unique character to the acoustic swing and Gypsy jazz pioneered by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli’s Quintet of the Hot Club of France. The band draws on a diverse musical background encompassing many parts of the music world, adding original compositions, light hearted vocal numbers and elements of Latin American acoustic music.

The members of Hot Club Sandwich come from a diverse range of musical backgrounds.

Ray Wood has played the guitar professionally for over half a century. He has performed around the world, playing bebop and doo-wop with acts such as The Coasters, and the Louvin Brothers.

Kevin Connor sings standards and plays the Cuban tres guitar.

Greg Ruby played rhythm guitar with Pearl Django, Howard Alden, Frank Vignola and Patrick Saussois.

Bassist James Schneider is an acoustic roots musician. He also plays banjo and guitar and with the hot jazz group The Tune Stranglers.

Mandolininst Matt Sircely has performed with David Grisman, Paul Anastasio, Margot Leverett and The Klezmer Mountain Boys.

Violinist Tim Wetmiller travels to Mexico every year to study with the country’s greatest violinists. He also performs with the Latin American roots music band Los Flacos and the bluegrass band Dysfunction Junction.

Janette West Trio
North Seattle Eagles Club – Map #7

Janette West has performed in and around Seattle since the early 1970s. Her recent bookings have included Ste. Michelle Winery, the Columbia Tower Club, the Triple Door, Kirkland Performing Arts Center and Seattle Repertory Theatre. She also regularly performs in small bistro settings, such as Boxely’s located in North Bend.

West frequently shares the stage with Seattle’s finest jazz musicians, including drummer (and West’s husband) Marty Tuttle, Eric Verlinde, Chuck Kistler, Ruel Lubaug and Ricardo Guity. She is currently recording a new CD to be released in the fall.

Susan Pascal
The North City Bistro & Wine Bar – Map #8

Many preschoolers have the makings of a professional percussionist in them, but few maintain the vision necessary to actually make it to the stage when they grow up. Susan Pascal is an exception.

“I have played percussion since preschool,” Pascal said, adding that she learned to read music at age 6 while playing a little xylophone.

“I always thought it was cool and intuitive, so I kept with it. When I realized I could play jazz on [the vibraphone] I was attracted to it and wanted to go with that,” she said.

The vibraphone or vibraharp evolved from other mallet instruments, including the marimba and xylophone. They are played with yarn-wound mallets on metal bars, have a damper pedal, and use a system of butterfly valves — one on top of each resonator tube — that create a vibrato effect. Lionel Hampton was the first musician to use the instrument in a jazz recording.

Pascal is involved in music on many levels — as a performer, private instructor, coach and arranger. She tours frequently and is heading to Singapore this winter for the fourth time.

In addition to Pascal on vibes, The Susan Pascal Quartet includes Dave Peterson on guitar, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Mark Ivester on drums. Pascal describes the group’s sound as, “pretty eclectic, melodic with hot soloing, combining Latin and contemporary jazz influences.”

“I want to stress the quality of the music in this group I have,” Pascal said. “I love playing with these musicians. They are really the highest quality jazz players in the region. I love what they bring to the band and to the audiences. It is an exciting to deeply moving musical experience.”

Thrilled to play only a short distance from where she grew up, Pascal said the jazz walk has been growing each year.

“I am so enjoying it and so excited that the North City Jazz Walk has evolved into the wonderful little festival it is. I am originally from the area and my mom still lives there. It’s cool to see my childhood neighborhood transforming and having this event,” Pascal said. “Anyone who comes to our events there will be happy they did.”

For more information visit www.susanpascal.com.

Jimmy Holden Trio
North City Lounge – Map #9

Audiences at the North City Jazz Walk this month will have an opportunity to hear jazz legends Jimmy Holden, Tim Haines and Zane Rudolph play at North City Lounge. The trio has played together for over 40 years, on and off, according to Haines, the drummer.

A veteran professional of the music industry, Haines’ soulful voice and driving, funky drumming earned him a place on stage with some of the most memorable names in the music business, including Little Richard, The Coasters, The Platters, Lou Rawls, The Righteous Brothers, Big Mama Thornton and Sara Vaughn. He has also performed with many regional greats.

Zane Rudolph, guitarist, began his music career in LA performing with and recording with Nooney Rickett, of "Shindig"; worked with Bobby Dee and Eddy Armenderiz and Staff at Capitol Records. In 1970 Zane came to Seattle to be with the Johnny Rusk Band.

Zane has performed with many of the Northwests top musicians. More recently Zane performed with Kevin Mohogany at the 2009 Anacortes Jazz Festival. Worked with Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Olympics, The Chiffons , The Marcels and The Olympics. Arlene Schnitzer Theatre Portland Oregon.
Zane has many years of solid rhythm & blues guitar and is a tasty addition to the "Jimmy Holden Trio."

Beginning his professional career when he was 17 years old at “the center of the musical universe” — the Black & Tan off Jackson Street in Seattle — Jimmy Holden has played his Hammond B-3 in the limelight with the likes of Oscar Holden, Floyd Stanifer, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Jabbo Ward, Ed Lee, John Lewis, Buddy Catlett, Jimmy Hendrix and a long list of other Seattle greats. Later Holden formed his own bands, playing in L.A., Portland and eventually around the world. Now back in Seattle, he is a constant in the Seattle rhythm and blues scene, performing to crowds throughout the Northwest.

The trio will play favorites like “Summertime,” “Respect Yourself,” “Fever,” “Wonderful World” and “I Feel Good,” among other tunes.

Pearl Django
Sim’s Other Place – Map #10

The world famous quintet Pearl Django appears to have it all — 16 years of performance history, nine CD releases, and regular appearances at prestigious music festivals around the globe. They’ve got two guitarists, a bassist, a violinist and even an accordion player.

But wait — where’s the drummer?
Pearl Django doesn’t need a drummer because they play Gypsy jazz.

Originating in France in the 1930s, Gypsy jazz makes use of rhythm guitar for percussion, not unlike American bluegrass music. It’s also know as “Jazz manouche” or “Hot Club” after the Quintette du Hot Club de France group founded by the creators of Gypsy jazz, Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.

Originally a trio that formed in Tacoma in 1994, Seattle’s premier purveyors of Gypsy jazz blend the music of Reinhardt and Grappelli with American swing music. With a new CD out this year titled Systeme D, as well as a compilation of their first four (now out of print) CDs titled Hotel New Yorker, Pearl Django’s repertoire has expanded to include many original compositions in addition to traditional Gypsy jazz tunes. This diversification has allowed the band to extend beyond the world of jazz to reach fans of bluegrass, world music and swing dance. The band has performed throughout North America, as well as in France and Iceland.

Learn more about Pearl Django and Gypsy jazz at www.pearldjango.com.

Sonando
Yoga Meditation Building – Map #11

Take the usual suspects — flute, saxophone, trombone, piano, bass and drums — and throw in a batá, a shekere and maybe a marímbula or two, and you’ve got the unique sound of Sonando.

This local Latin jazz sextet, founded by pianist and tres guitarist Fred Hoadley, has been performing its inimitable blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and hot Latin jazz at festivals, clubs and concerts throughout the Northwest for decades. Their history as a spicy Seattle favorite culminated in a 2008 Golden Ear award for Best Northwest Acoustic Jazz Ensemble, bestowed by Earshot Jazz.

Originally from New England, Hoadley studied music at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and Berklee College of Music in Boston. He founded the Seattle salsa band Bochinche in 1983. Hoadley gained an appreciation for African rhythms while touring nationally with the West African band Kukrudu, then founded Sonando in 1990. Adding to the distinctly Latin flavor of the band, Hoadley journeyed to Cuba several times to study piano, tres guitar (a rhythm guitar from Cuba) and musical arrangement.

Known for shifting rhythms and improvisation, Sonando’s repertoire includes traditional and modern interpretations of Afro-Cuban musical styles such as Son Cubano, Changüí and Batá-rumba. The group produces an authentic sound through their incorporation of indigenous “folkloric” instruments, including batá drum, marímbula finger instrument, tres guitar, conga drum and hollow gourd shekere.

The band has released three recordings: Sonando (1995), La Rumba Esta Buena (1998), and Tres (2006). You can explore Sonando’s Afro-Cuban jazz at www.sonando.org.