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Jazz Innovations, Part II

Thursday, November 14, 2019 - 7:30pm
FREE
  • Jazz student bassist (Photo: Steve Korn).

Student jazz ensembles pay homage to the icons of jazz and break new ground with original progressive jazz compositions.

3MnH
Ted Poor, ensemble advisor 

Blue Monk: Thelonious Monk

7.5: Bill Stewart

Sandu: Clifford Brown

Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me: Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey

PERSONNEL: Maximilian Czerwinski, alto saxophone; Henry Brown, tenor saxophone; Mariah Jones, bass; Miriel McFarland, drums


Meany Collective
Mark Seales, ensemble advisor

John DayChristian McBride

Witch Hunt: Wayne Shorter

Speak No Evil: Wayne Shorter

Sister Cheryl: Tony Williams

Sing a Song of Song: Kenny Garrett

PERSONNEL: Jay Gillespie, tenor saxophone; Katyrose Jordan, tenor saxophone; Jack Hillman, trombone; Jacob Linden, piano; Matthew Crissey, bass; Alek Gayton, drums

Marc Seales

A noted pianist, composer and leading figure in the Northwest jazz scene, Marc Seales has shared stages with many of the great players of the last two decades. He has played with nearly every visiting jazz celebrity from Joe Henderson and Art Pepper to Benny Carter, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. With the late Don Lanphere he performed in such places as London, England; Kobe, Japan; The Hague in the Netherlands; and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

The musicians he admires most are Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker, John Lewis, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Wynton Kelly, though he is quick to acknowledge that he owes the basically be-bop/post be-bop sound of his playing to his mentors, Don Lanphere and Floyd Standifer.

Critics have praised Seales variously for his "meaty piano solos," and "blues inflected, Hancock-inspired modernism." Winner of numerous Earshot awards (Instrumentalist of the Year in 1999 and Acoustic Jazz Group in 2000 and 2001; Jazz Hall of Fame, 2009), Seales is today promoting jazz awareness and molding young talents as a Professor of Music at the University of Washington, where he is a professor in the Jazz Studies Program. He teaches an array of courses, including History of Jazz, Jazz Piano, and Beginning and Advanced Improvisation, as well as leading various workshops and ensembles.

Ted Poor is a New York-born, Seattle-based drummer and composer whose adventurous, soulful playing has vaulted him to the stages of some of today’s most vital artists. Modern Drummer describes his playing as “adventurous, truly dynamic, and forward-thinking.” A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Ted has toured and recorded with renowned artists such as Paul Simon, Marcus Mumford, Bill Frisell, Rufus Wainwright, Pat Metheny, Blake Mills, Madison Cunningham, Chris Thile, John Scofield, Cuong Vu, My Brightest Diamond, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Gabriel Kahane. 

Having signed with Verve Records (UMG), his debut album, You Already Know, was released in 2020 to critical acclaim.  The album, which is co-produced with Blake Mills features Andrew D’Angelo, Andrew Bird, Rob Moose, Paul Kowert and Sebastian Steinberg. JazzTimes calls the album “profound and moving” and states, “intimate, involving, and lasting, You Already Know balms the senses, wakes them up, slaps them around, and offers positive affirmations.” 

Ted is a member of Los Angeles based singer/song-writer Andrew Bird’s band; appearing on and touring the albums Are You Serious and My Finest Work Yet (Loma Vista/Concord).  He also performed regularly in the house band on the live radio broadcast of Live From Here with Chris Thile (formerly A Prairie Home Companion). Ted is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and the acting Associate Director of the School of Music at the University of Washington in Seattle. 

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