Jazz at Centrum

John Clayton Tribute to Broadcast August 15

"The Cool Jazz Set," hosted Paul Pearce, will air a two-hour special honoring bassist, composer and bandleader John Clayton on Sunday, August 15th. The show will include music spanning four decades of John's recordings, from the Count Basie era to The Clayton Brothers and everything in between.

Listen to the show live at 4 PM PST at www.wdce.org, or later at www.cooljazzset.com.

Listen to 2010 JPT Festival Big Band Concert on KPLU

The All Star Festival Big Band is always one of the highlights of Jazz Port Townsend. This year's concert lived up to the tradition of mixing top Northwest resident musicians with visiting jazz stars and a sprinkling of guest artists and was conducted by John Clayton. Most of the artists are also members of the faculty for the week-long jazz workshop that precedes the Festival.

The concert was recorded for broadcast and will air exclusively on 88-5 KPLU on Sunday, August 8 at 1 PM Pacific Daylight Time. John Clayton led the orchestra and featured in solo turns were trumpet player and vocalist Byron Stripling, composer/arranger Ellen Rowe, singer Saschal Vasandani and drummer Butch Miles and other soloists from the band.

This is the first in a series of concerts from Jazz Port Townsend which will air on Jazz Northwest, Sundays at 1 on 88-5, KPLU. The concerts will be heard at monthly intervals.

Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke exclusively for KPLU and kplu.org. A podcast of each program is available on the Monday following the airdate at kplu.org.

Get Ready for Jazz in the Clubs in Port Townsend

Jazz in the Clubs is perhaps the signature component of the Jazz Port Townsend festival. Dozens of national and regional jazz artists perform throughout the historic downtown and uptown districts of Port Townsend, Washington's Victorian seaport and arts community.

The magic of Jazz in the Clubs lies in the amazing ensembles that Artistic Director John Clayton puts together. John finds all sorts of interesting ways to combine the musicians into exciting and dynamic combos that perform on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

One cover each night gives you access to all club venues. Tickets for Jazz in the Clubs, as well as all other Jazz Port Townsend performances, are available online, or by calling 800-746-1982. You can also purchase tickets at each club venue while the music is playing.

We strongly encourage you to support each club venue with your purchases of food and beverages.

Jazz in the Club venues are:

• Upstage Restaurant  
  
• The Public House
• Fins
• Key City Playhouse
• The Rose Theatre
• Castle Key Lounge
• Undertown Coffee and Wine Bar
• Northwest Maritime Center
  

Jazz Port Townsend Performance Preview: Saturday Evening, July 31

One thing is for sure. Saturday night will be legendary in 2010. One look at the performers for these two sets, and you know you are in for something truly special.

The Saturday night show is the final Pavilion show of Jazz Port Townsend, and with energy and verve, it launches audience members into the Jazz in the Clubs in downtown and uptown Port Townsend.

Tickets for the Saturday afternoon show, as well as all other Jazz Port Townsend performances, are available online, or by calling 800-746-1982.

Saturday, July 31
McCurdy Pavilion |  7:30 pm |  $18/$28/$35

Room for the Blues
     with special guest, Phil Wiggins

• Jeff Clayton, alto sax
• Bill Ramsay, baritone sax
• Byron Stripling, trumpet
• Wycliffe Gordon, trombone
• Benny Green, piano
• John Clayton, bass
• Butch Miles, drums
• Phil Wiggins, harmonica

The Heath Brothers

• Jimmy Heath, tenor sax
• Jeb Patton, piano
• David Wong, bass
• Tootie Heath, drums

Room For The Blues
Where to begin with this set? The Clayton Brothers are here, the legendary Butch Miles, Byron, Wycliffe, Benny, Bill - this is a "super-septet" if there ever was one. Each of these performers is known for their energy and virtuosity. Together, in one band, this is a special occasion for sure. However, Artistic Director John Clayton has kicked-it up even one notch higher, inviting blues harmonica legend Phil Wiggins to sit in as well.

We tried to find a recording or video that would give you a sense of what to expect. That is impossible, however, since this amazing group of players only does this here! But if Claytons are involved, we know that there will be hard-charging, swinging tunes, and so we've decided to share with you a snippet of a recent performance of the Claytons and the Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra from the Detroit Jazz Festival. 

The Heath Brothers
We close the show with jazz royalty.For over 60 years, the legendary Heath Brothers have been synonymous with great jazz.

Tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger  Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath have more than a century in the jazz limelight to their credit. They have played and recorded with a near-endless list of jazz immortals and icons including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, and many more.

We're honored to have them with us this year, and we can't think of a better way to close the mainstage portion of the Festival.

Jazz Port Townsend Performance Preview: Saturday Afternoon, July 31

Saturday at Jazz Port Townsend is filled to the brim with music. At 1:30pm, we open the big hangar doors of McCurdy Pavilion and let the sun shine in for a swinging afternoon of straight-ahead jazz (we'll preview that show below). Then, after a brief dinner break, we head into our evening Pavilion show, before hitting Jazz in the Clubs. It's nearly 12 hours of music, and is a big part of the reason why people enjoy coming to Port Townsend in the middle of the summer.

Tickets for the Saturday afternoon show, as well as all other Jazz Port Townsend performances, are available online, or by calling 800-746-1982.

Saturday, July 31
McCurdy Pavilion | 1:30 pm | $20/$31/$40

Masterful Piano

• George Cables, solo piano

The Intrepid Fox: A Tribute to Freddie Hubbard

• Terell Stafford, trumpet
• George Cables, piano
• Ben Wolfe, bass
• Jon Wikan, drums

Introducing René Marie

• René Marie, voice
• Randy Halberstadt, piano
• Chuck Deardorf, bass
• Byron Vannoy, drums

All-Star Faculty Big Band, Directed by John Clayton

• Featuring charts from Ellen Rowe, and showcasing Byron Stripling and Terrel Stafford

George Cables
George, along with having played with Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon (and countless others), has led his own groups and trios. But John Clayton says it best about George: "His playing will blow your mind. This guy is full of heart, full of joy, and full of music. He's a little man with a big, big palette of music."

Indeed, that big heart led him to the great Freddie Hubbard, who passed away at the end of 2008. We'll be honoring that legacy on Saturday afternoon, but here is a video of George and friends playing a tribute version of the Hubbard classic "Red Clay" at a Harlem memorial service.

René Marie
We are excited to welcome Rene Marie to Port Townsend in 2010. René has proven herself to be one of the most daring vocalists around. She is fearless in singing about difficult situations or tackling a diverse songbook. Her releases have earned glowing reviews for Marie’s strong vocals and innovative material. John loves her singing, and we know you will too.

All-Star Faculty Big Band
The Big Band is a highlight of the entire weekend, and this year, we're sharing the talent and music of faculty members Ellen Rowe, Byron Stripling, and Terell Stafford.

Larry Goldings Performs at 2010 Jazz Port Townsend

Artistic Director John Clayton has a knack for putting together great ensembles at Jazz Port Townsend.

You see, we invite a few dozen of the nation's finest jazz musicians to spend a week in Port Townsend teaching nearly 200 aspiring jazz musicians. Then, John finds all sorts of interesting ways to combine these artists into exciting and dynamic combos that perform during the public performance component of the festival.

We often invite a special guest or two to spice up one of the performances. This year, John asked the organist/keyboardist Larry Goldings to join us, and we're looking forward to the combo John assembled to showcase this amazing musician. Larry will be joined by the great Jeff Hamilton on drums, and the up and coming guitar virtuoso Graham Dechter. They will play Friday night, July 30 - and that is a set you won't want to miss.

You can buy tickets online, or by calling us toll-free.

Here's a fun video of Larry playing with Pat Metheny and Michael Brecker a few years back.

Listen to MP3's of Jazz Audition Tunes

We hope you’re spending quality time in your practice room—or as John Clayton likes to remind us, your “performance room!”—preparing your audition for Jazz Port Townsend this summer. 

This year Jazz Night School has compiled a very helpful collection of MP3’s you can listen to as part of your preparation (many thanks to The Jazz Night School for doing this!). There are multiple versions of many of the tunes, many of which are the original or “definitive” recordings. 

Even if you already know these tunes, it’s worth listening to them again. Good luck in making your audition recording!

A Letter from John Clayton

Dear Jazz Family:

I’m excited about our Jazz Port Townsend 2010 workshop in July. I want to make sure you know that registration is now open and I hope you’re planning on joining us. It would be awesome if you could be there. We’ve put together a great faculty, with a combination of old and new friends. You can check out the link here to get started, and see the list of faculty here.

As always, we ask you to submit an audition recording. Please move on this now so that you are in time to meet to meet the April 16 deadline. This is especially important for pianists, since we always fill up on that instrument early. Please review our audition information, and start practicing (“performing,” right?!) now.

I also want to make sure you know about two other workshops at Centrum this spring.  There will be a Latin Jazz Intensive workshop (paired with a Salsa Dance Intensive) March 18-21 with Oscar and Paulo Stagnaro, and a Choro Intensive April 22-25 with Mike Marshall and Choro Famoso. Both are excellent ways to expand your musicianship and learn from amazing faculty, and make great music yourself.

Also coming up October 28-31 will be our second Big Band Intensive. The 2009 workshop was an instant hit.  We’re planning to have two full bands this time.

So, my friends, you have lots of opportunities to build on your musicianship. I hope you’ll take advantage of as many of these as you can. Program Manager Gregg Miller (gregg@centrum.org) will be glad to answer any questions you may have. I hope to see you in July at Jazz Port Townsend, or at one of the other workshops.

Your fan,
John

2010 Jazz Port Townsend Goes Live

Time to get your jazz on!

Registration is now live for the 2010 Jazz Port Townsend workshop week. Artistic Director John Clayton has invited an outstanding group of jazz artists to serve as your mentors July 25 - August 1, 2010.

In addition to returning faculty luminaries such as Benny Green, Terell Stafford, George Cables, Wycliffe Gordon and Jeff Clayton, there are several new faculty this year we're very excited about. 

These include the Heath Brothers Quartet (Jimmy and Tootie Heath, Jeb Patton and David Wong), Butch Miles (drums), Byron Stripling (trumpet), Ben Wolfe (bass), Christine Jensen (alto), Rene Marie (vocal), and Ellen Rowe (piano/composition). 

In all, more than 30 outstanding faculty will be on hand for a week of wall-to-wall jazz.

Jazz Port Townsend is combo-based, so we'll need an audition recording to place you in a group of similar players. Learn more about what you need to register, and then sign-up online.

We look forward to seeing you in Port Townsend

Big Band Workshop Recap

Our 2009 Big Band workshop in September was a big success!  John Clayton, together with Jay Thomas and Bill Ramsay, led 18 musicians in 3 days of intensive rehearsals and discussions.  The repertoire featured a number of John's compositions and arrangements, seasoned with a couple of classics from the Count Basie library. 

As Basie alumni, John and Bill felt right at home, and Jay was the rock of the sax section in the first tenor chair.  The weekend was capped by a sold-out concert in the Wheeler Theater, which ended with the audience leaping to its feet and shouting for more.

We'll definitely do another big band workshop in 2010, only next time with two bands!  The dates will be announced soon. 

Don't forget - we're hosting an amazing Jazz Improvisation workshop in a few weeks with the great Geoffrey Keezer. We have a few spaces left in this intensive workshop - sign up today - we promise you'll have a great time, and learn a lot.