I negelected to do a post last week on the regular jam session at The Owl and Thistle, and since I would be totally remiss if I didn't cover this, and am a regular court-holder down there, here's a little info from both last night and last Tuesday.
If you aren't aware of Bebop and Destruction's Tuesday night gig and jam session at Post Alley's The Owl and Thistle, you may have been living in a hole since 1995. Bebop and Destruction, certainly one of Seattle's longest-running groups, has had a regular gig and jam session in at least one club for about 10 years, and, in the parlance of the new millenium, they keep it real. From their own vast array of originals, to covers from Miles Davis to Led Zeppelin to Ornette Coleman, this band is always a trip and a half. The scene at the Owl is all it's own, and these four guys -- Marc Fendel, Ryan Burns, Jose Martinez, and Geoff Harper -- take it to another level. They appear at The Owl every Tuesday, play their first set at around 10pm, and afterwards the jam session starts. In the last two weeks, I've seen the following array of Seattle players join the jam session: Travis Ranney, Victor Noriega, Steve Tressler, Dawn Clement, Lamar Lofton, Geoff Cooke, and a whole host of folks I've never met or heard before.
One such person that I "discovered" last week was an old friend from high school that I hadn't heard play in ten years. He walked in with his alto, plus the drummer and bass player he's been working with the most, and proceeded to turn many heads when they took to the bandstand as a group. The trio is called 2-Bit Trio, and my old friend Seth Alexander, for lack of a beter term, blew me away! Seattle has always had a kind-of bipolar jazz scene -- inside, beboppers and outside, avantgard-ists -- and yet, when I go to The Owl and Thistle, it's just one melting pot of music. The 2-Bit Trio played what I can only assume was one of their own compositions after accompanying a singer on an old standard, and the transition from one tune to the next was totally natural despite the stylistic differences. While seemingly influenced Ornette and Dolphy, Seth has checked out so much music from many styles, and the supreme concept of melody -- regardless of stylistic influence -- really comes out in his playing. Complimented by Ethan Cudaback on drums and Birch Pereira on bass, this trio is sure to get your attention after your first listen. I've only heard them play one tune live, but I've listened to their mp3 tracks on their website, and you can, too, at: http://www.2bittrio.com. You won't be disappointed.
So that's that for The Owl and Thistle. If you've never been down, next week is always a good time to start: cheap drinks, great people, and killing music never hurt anyone...
Week 4 of the Band Battle III extravaganza at Jillian's was short and sweet last night, with Below Average Productions taking home the win on the night. I had a super busy day, so I only got to hear ten minutes of the first act, a local MC named Ian who guested with Project Live a few weeks back. The second band was Below Average Productions, and from the get-go they had the crowd with them. While I'm not versed in the terminology associated with the many sub-genre names in rock music, I can certainly tell you that these guys play with alot of energy, soul, and focus. The third band, whose name excapes me at the moment, was full of variety in both styles and instrumentation -- most of the band memebers played more than one instrument, allowing them to change their "palette" at will. However, for my tastes, the stylistic variety was a little too accross the board; at the end of their set, I couldn't really figure out what they did well, or what the musical intent was. Below Average Productions didn't seem to have that problem -- we got the picture, and so did the judges! If you'd like to heard more of this band, or just find out more about them, visit their website and check out their tunes!
The Project Live story continues! After our big win at the Band Battle III semi-final last week, we were invited to play live this morning on KISS 106.1 during the Jackie and Bender Show. Despite not being able to bring a drumset in the studio and substituting two congas instead, the performance went off great! With the lighter vibe and open sound, I think the listening audience got a nice taste of Project Live without us giving away all the different things we do. Sammi was even kind enough to mention us in her 
Another installment of 
Marc Seales never ceases to amaze me - I've been listening to him for almost 15 years, and I've never heard him play more inspired than last night with New Stories and Brent Jensen at the Triple Door's Musicquarium. The billing listed them as playing music from their new album featuring the music of pianist Elmo Hope - an unsung hero in the jazz canon -- but instead, with Marc playing keyboards, the tunes were slightly revamped from the album versions and mixed with some band-member originals. Of particular notice were two of Marc's tunes, 
The Sea Monster is a new venue to me in Seattle, but I'm sure that I'll be going back after my experience last night with Lamar Lofton's Middle Passage, an interesting mix of reggae and jazz styles with original music and traditional jazz standards. A fun gig with more than its share of strange moments, the real trivia moment on the gig was the realization that 4-out-of-5 members of the band graduated from Garfield High School: Lamar Lofton (80s), myself (early 90s), Chris Patin (mid 90s), and Carter Yasutake (new millenium). Add Marc Fendel to the mix (from Portland) and you've got Middle Passage! Lamar has been playing around town for years in both jazz and reggae situations, and if you don't know his playing you might've heard him with Clinton Fearon and Boogie Brown Band. If not, keep an eye out for Lamar (you can't miss him!) and this great band -- hopefully we will be playing together again soon.
Brainchild of Matt Cavinto, Project Live took to the stage at Jillian's last night for their inaugural performance and proceeded to win their Band Battle III. With the finals coming up on August 4th, they called me yesterday to add a little spice to the mix in the hopes of getting a spot on that final show. Whether I helped at all or not, we won! A couple of great rock bands opened up the night, followed by a sorta-jive rapper, but Project Live managed to take home the gold from the judges. Stay tuned for a follow up report after the finals on August 4th at Jillian's -- if you want to help cheer us on, come on down!
If you've never been to Tula's on a Tuesday night, you may have been missing out. Unofficially dubbed