The 9th season of the Sudden Valley Jazz series promises to be as exciting as past seasons with both new and old jazz acts added to the mix. An all four concert package, with a face value of $80, will be on sale for the special price of $60 at the final concert of this season, the Salute to Miles Davis on Saturday Nov. 10th at the Dance Barn in Sudden Valley. That’s equal to one free concert.
The 2019 season is as follows:
March 30th- The Pacific Northwest salutes Jazz At the Philharmonic starring Greta Matassa and the Julian MacDonough All-Stars. Jazz At the Philharmonic (or JATP as it was referred to by hip fans), was the creation of legendary jazz impresario, Norman Granz. Granz saw the availability of a number of great jazz musicians after World War 2 (caused mainly by the collapse of the swing band era and the failure of be-bop to capture the public’s imagination) as an opportunity to feature great musicians in a jam session format for a reasonable price. He put on shows at the Philharmonic Hall in Los Angeles that were a tremendous hit and always featured a set with a leading female jazz vocalist of the day, usually Ella Fitzgerald. We have hired the Pacific Northwest’s answer to Ella, Greta Matassa, to fill that spot in the program. She’ll be backed by Julian MacDonough’s trio, including Tony Foster on piano and Michael Glynn on bass. Musicians who may be included in the jam sessions are Jonathan Doyle, Thomas Harris, Brad Shigeta and Michael VanBebber although there may be personnel changes.
April 27th – Bossa Nova Brazil starring two Brazilian natives, Nilza Lessa and Marco de Carvalho playing and singing bossa nova songs backed by Jeff Johnson on bass and Jeff Busch on drums. Although we have devoted concerts to swing, dixie, be-bop and gypsy jazz, we have never given the full spot light to bossa nova, Brazil’s greatest contribution to the jazz lexicon. We’ll correct that at our April 27th concert. Marco is a Brazilian musician, originally from Rio de Janeiro. He graduated from the prestigious Music Conservatory of Rio de Janeiro under Juarez Carvalho and Sergio Vale. Nilza Lessa, a vocalist originally from Brazil, recently took part in Seattle’s Salute to the music of Carlos Jobim.
Oct. 12th- Brubeck Plays Brubeck honors the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dave Brubeck with a concert of his music led by his son, drummer Dan Brubeck, saxophonist Steve Kaldestad, bassist Miles Hill and the return to Sudden Valley of Miles Black on piano. The current plan is to recreate Dave’s Time Out album, one of the biggest selling albums in jazz history, from top to bottom.
Nov. 9th- Ron Jones’s Jazz Forest 12 piece jazz recordings orchestra. Jones is a Los Angeles arranger who has worked extensively in television and movies and has recently moved to Stanwood and set up a recording studio. He convinced fellow Los Angeles based musicians, the husband and wife team of tenor sax player Pete Christlieb and trombonist, Linda Small, to move to the area with him. He then recruited the best talent from Seattle, including vibes player, Susan Pascal, to fill out his 12 piece ensemble.This band, with special guest soloist, the drummer/vocalist, Dave Tull, will close out our 9th year.
For further information, contact Mr. K.C. Sulkin at 360-671-1709.
