Preview- Virtuosic Jazz Quartet, Oregon, Appears at Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA, October 11th and 12th, 2011

By E. Joyce Glasgow, www.artsandculturescene.com

Oregon, www.oregonband.com, the sublime jazz quartet, will appear for two nights at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, www.jazzalley.com, on October 11th and 12th. They are some of the most virtuosic and creative musicians on the planet, always pushing the envelope of improvisation and playing complex, original, memorable compositions, with an elegant, classical, chamber feel. The group is entering their forty-second year together and I've been following them every step of the way! This is a tremendous opportunity to hear this incredibly sophisticated quartet live and they are not to be missed!

Oregon is : Ralph Towner (guitars/piano/ synthesizers/composer), Paul McCandless (oboe/English horn/saxophones/bass clarinet/whistles/composer), Glen Moore (bass/composer) and Mark Walker (drums/percussion/composer).

Included here is Jazz Alley's information on their two night appearance and two You tube videos of Oregon in live performance.

			OREGON October 11-12, 2011 $23.50 Make a reservation for this show. The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents OREGON, touring in support of their latest release In Stride. Band members include Ralph Towner (guitar), Paul McCandless (reed instrumentalist), Glen Moore (bassist), and Mark Walker (percussion). Set times on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm Tuesday and 5:30pm Wednesday. “While new talent sprouts, veteran shapers of the future continue to harvest their fertile legacy, OREGON remains an example of a group so completely musical and original that they leave no easy comparisons. Long survived and mastering all the musical convention which they so easily disintegrate in a phrase or measure, Oregon never slows with age, never ceases to celebrate their singularity, and never misses a chance to defy commerciality. Their influence on American and international music has proven nothing less than monumental.” —Christopher Hoard, Jazziz Celebrating their 40th year, OREGON has inspired audiences in renowned concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, and Vienna’s Mozartsaal; at international jazz clubs and major festivals such as Montreux, Pori, Berlin, Montreal, and Newport Jazz; and on tours throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, Eastern and Western Europe, etc. In Stride (2010) the group’s latest CD envelopes the entire history of this band; it enhances the compositional talent of these four musicians, magnifies their voices as soloists and, above all, recalls in case you need reminding that strange and magical alchemy which transformed this quartet into OREGON. In Stride is nothing but sure indication that, rather than winding down with age, OREGON has plenty of promise still ahead. OREGON began in 1960 at the University of Oregon with undergraduate students Ralph Towner and Glen Moore who formed a musical friendship on bass and piano inspired by Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro and later by Brazilian music. Moore earned a degree in history and literature and Towner completed his in composition, taking up guitar in the process. In the mid 60’s, they both traveled to Europe. Towner studied classical guitar in Vienna with Karl Scheit; Moore studied classical bass in Copenhagen and sat in with such greats as Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon. By 1969, both were living in New York City, playing with a community of young musicians who formed the great fusion bands of the ‘70’s including Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. OREGON Website

Preview-The Family Stone to Appear at Seattle's Jazz Alley, October 6th-9th, 2011

By E. Joyce Glasgow www.artsandculturescene.com Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, The Family Stone, comprised of three of the original Sly and the Family Stone members, Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Jerry Martini (sax), Greg Errico (drums) and four newer members will appear for four nights, October 6th through 9th, 2011, at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle, WA. Their songs have weathered the decades. Paving the way through the tumultuous sixties and heroes of the counter-culture, their music took on timely issues including racism and politics and their original pop blend of rock, soul, funk and psychedelia thrilled their audiences. They were also the first integrated and multi-generational major rock band. Their iconic Woodstock performance is captured forever in the Woodstock documentary film. Included here is Jazz Alley's information about the Family Stone's four night appearance. The Family Stone embodies all the verve and spunk of Sly and the Family Stone and sounds as contemporary,exciting and fresh over four decades after the original band became a pop-culture phenomenon. The Family Stone October 6-9, 2011 $26.50 Live in studio on KJR 95.7FM Friday, 10/7 around 9am. TUNE IN! Make a reservation for this show. The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and original founding members of Sly & The Family Stone, Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Jerry Martini (sax) and Greg Errico (drums): The Family Stone. Band member include: Alex Davis & Trina Johnson Finn (vocals), Nate Wingfield (guitar) and Blaise Sison (bass). Set times Thursday and Sunday at 7:30pm. Friday - Saturday at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Doors open at 6pm on Thursday and 5:30pm Friday – Sunday. Keeping the legacy true to its original sound and raw funk groove, these Everyday People will leave you Taken Higher. They present a set of their classic hits like: "I Want to Take You Higher", "Everyday People", "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin", "Dance To The Music", "Hot Fun In The Summertime", "Family Affair", "Sing a Simple Song" and many more. Jerry Martini is the original founder of Sly & the Family Stone; calling upon Sly Stone to become the leader of the first inter-racial, multi-gender major American Band. He has also performed with countless luminaries including Mike Bloomfield, Carlos Santana, Prince, Rolling Stone Bill Wymann, Robert Cray, Willie Lomax, Prince, Graham Central Station, and Van Morrison. Cynthia Robinson, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is back on the throne! Cynthia, along with Sly, was part of "Sly and The Stoners" in 1966. Through her years with Sly & The Family Stone, she was notable for being an early, black, female trumpet player in a major American band. In recent years, you may have seen her performing with George Clinton, Larry Graham, and Prince to name a few. Greg Errico, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and R&B Foundation “Pioneer Award” recipient. Errico’s list of credits include his ability to play a broad range of musical styles with such legends as Joe Zawinul (Weather Report), Jerry Garcia Band, Grateful Dead and Santana. Alex Davis, accomplished lead singer, drummer, and multi-instrumentalist, has done just about everything there is to do in the music industry. Starting out in the early 70s with (at that time) local funksters "The Ohio Players" as a sub, Alex has toured or performed all over the world. Trina Johnson Finn studied Voice Performance and Theater at the UMKC Conservatory of Music. She has appeared on show such as the Grammy Award, Oprah, The American Music Awards, and has also graced the stage with great entertainers from Barbra Streisand to MC Hammer. Nate Wingfield - An accomplished guitarist, early on with sessions at Sigma Sound with the famous R&B producers/songwriters Gamble & Huff. Blaise Sison - bass - is musical director and has been working with Jerry Martini for twenty years he brings the funk to the bass and the music of The Family Stone. The Family Stone The Family Stone interview and history The Family Stone LIVE VIDEO Electric Picnic

Preview- Jazz Vibraphonist, Gary Burton and his New Quartet Come to Seattle's Jazz Alley for Two Exciting Performances on October 4th and 5th, 2011

New Gary Burton Quartet to Appear at Jazz Alley, www.jazzalley.com, Seattle, Wa., October 4th and 5th, 2011.

By E. Joyce Glasgow

Gary Burton, an icon of the jazz vibraphone for almost fifty years, will make a rare appearance in Seattle with three superb musicians; Julian Lage (guitar), Scott Colley (bass) and Antonio Sanchez (drums) in what promises to be two exciting evenings of uplifting, energized jazz. Burton, a multi- Grammy Award winner is also a composer, educator and mentor to many musicians and has collaborated with some of the greats of jazz, including Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Ralph Towner, Chick Corea, Steve Swallow, Richard Galliano and Makoto Ozone. The New Gary Burton Quartet, who began playing together, as a group, in August 2010, is touring performing music from their 2011 CD release, Common Ground. www.garyburton.com

Burton's playing is beautiful, lyrical, elegant, joyful and sublime. Don't miss this!

Following are two youtube videos. One is The New Gary Burton Quartet, playing Afro Blue in Vienna. The other is a brief video of Gary Burton talking about his New Quartet.

Also included here is Jazz Alley's information about Gary Burton's two night appearance this week.

Gary Burton Quartet featuring Julian Lage, Scott Colley and Antonio Sanchez October 4-5, 2011 $26.50 Make a reservation for this show. The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents The Gary Burton Quartet featuring Gary Burton (vibes), Julian Lage (guitar), Scott Colley (bass)) and Antonio Sanchez (drums). Set times on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm Tuesday and 5:30pm Wednesday. As a member of Stan Getz’s quartet, Burton won Down Beat magazine’s Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition award in 1965. By the time he left Getz to form his own quartet in 1967, Burton had also recorded three albums under his name for RCA. Borrowing rhythms and sonorities from rock music, while maintaining jazz’s emphasis on improvisation and harmonic complexity, Burton’s first quartet attracted large audiences from both sides of the jazz-rock spectrum. Such albums as Duster and Lofty Fake Anagram established Burton and his band as progenitors of the jazz fusion phenomenon. Burton’s burgeoning popularity was quickly validated by Down Beat magazine, which awarded him its Jazzman of the Year award in 1968, the youngest ever to receive that honor. During his subsequent association with the ECM label (1973-1988) the Burton Quartet expanded to include the young Pat Metheny on guitar, and the band began to explore a repertoire of modern compositions. In the ’70s, Burton also began to focus on more intimate contexts for his music. His 1971 album Alone at Last, a solo vibraphone concert recorded at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival, was honored with his first Grammy Award. Burton also turned to the rarely heard duo format, recording with bassist Steve Swallow, guitarist Ralph Towner, and most notably with pianist Chick Corea, thus cementing a long personal and professional relationship that has garnered an additional four Grammy Awards. In the past few years, Gary has focused his recording and performing efforts on collaborations, with old friends and new, including tours and recordings with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Makoto Ozone, Polo Orti, and Richard Galliano. Armistad Suite with Polo Orti and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra was released in spring 2007. L’hymne a L’amour with Richard Galliano was released on the Camjazz label in August 2007. The double-CD live concert recording with Chick Corea, The New Crystal Silence, came out in 2008, resulting in the sixth Grammy for Gary Burton at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Chick and Gary toured full-time from September 2006 through spring 2008, and continued off and on playing concerts in the USA and Europe in 2009. June 2011 saw the release of Common Ground, Gary's first release on Mack Avenue Records featuring the New Gary Burton Quartet. The new group reunites the vibist with guitar star Julian Lage with the addition of drummer Antonio Sanchez and bassist Scott Colley. The group will be busy touring throughout 2011. Gary Burton Website Julian Lage Website Scott Colley Website Antonio Sanchez Website