by Tom Simpson for OLY ARTS Olympia’s own Lavon Hardison was voted the 2017 Northwest Vocalist of the Year on Monday night by Earshot Jazz, a nationally known jazz non-profit organization in Seattle, Washington. “Thanks to Earshot Jazz and all of you who voted! I’m humbled by this honor,” said Hardison on her Facebook page. …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS “I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t play guitar.” — Vince Brown Olympians may well recognize Vince Brown as a guitarist who has thoroughly knitted himself into the fabric of the Pacific Northwest’s jazz scene. As a founding member of western-swing outfit Red Brown and the Tune …
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS After releasing its debut album Threes this past February, Oklahoma-based, Americana-and-jazz band Harumph brings its vintage-sounding tunes to Olympia’s Music in the Park. Formed by Olympia native Kate Dinsmore, who leads the group with her effortlessly robust vocals, and composer-pianist David Leach, Harumph is a contemporary twist on old-fashioned …
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS Sit back and relax with the soulful sound of a modern jazz legend as part of the Lacey in Tune summer-concert series. Award-winning horn player Dmitri Matheny will conclude the series with his smooth charm and masterful form on the flugelhorn. Born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised between Georgia …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS With cultures mixing and matching with increasing amorousness, it’s only natural for music to spread like dandelion flowers from one side of the world to another. It’s because of this cross-pollination that we arrive at groups like the John Welsh Band. A multicultural outfit, the John Welsh Band incorporates …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Nationally known pianist Scott Cossu, who recently received a lifetime-achievement award from One World Music Radio, was one of the original Windham Hill artists. He keeps a sense of humor about his place in the new-age canon, describing his music as “new-and-improved age” and “heavy mental.” His latest recording, …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS St. John’s Episcopal Church, long known for its classical-music series, is now a place for jazz. The church’s second jazz-cabaret dinner, set for Friday, features singer LaVon Hardison and flutist Nancy Curtis plus what the church is calling “a veritable jazz festival” of well-respected players from Olympia and beyond. …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Few genres inspire more passion and reverence for tradition than jazz. A quintessentially American art form, jazz and its permutations have been around in one form or another since the late 19th century, with roots in New Orleans. In the ’40s, jazz found a vibrant resurgence in the form …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Library concerts, once startling, have become commonplace. But PoetryMusic—which fuses literary classics with wide-ranging music—is truly at home among the stacks. The Port-Angeles-based chamber-jazz duo, performing Where Words and Music Meet at the Olympia Timberland Library this Thursday, has played libraries from California to Massachusetts. “They’re the main venues …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia loves Arts Walk, when businesses become galleries and people who crave culture stroll the streets. This Saturday, the city gets another walk: the first Olympia Jazz Walk, a fundraiser for JazzClubsNW, a North Bend-based nonprofit that aims to keep jazz alive and well through performance and education. Eleven …