Students from Central Washington University and pianist Dawn Clement performed in our Seattle studios for a special School of Jazz performance. Bassist Domi Edson arranged the first tune, a lively fun rendition of Chick Corea’s “Spain.” She said she has most of her ideas for arrangements at night when trying to fall asleep. It was fun watching Owen Evans, Ryan McKnight and Henry Sparks trading solos on the alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and trombone. Next, they played “Dance A Little...

We welcomed an energetic and skilled high school combo into our studios with Mountlake Terrace. Band members included leader Ethan Pyke on trombone, Benjamin Leonard on tenor sax, Henry Smith-Hunt on trombone, Gian Neri on guitar, Josh Setala on drums and Dimitrio Neri on piano. In discussing inspirations, Pyke thanked his band directors and his grandmother who is a devout musician, Pianist Neri pointed to his brothers, Smith-Hunt said his band directors, Guitarist Neri picked Wynton...

The KNKX School of Jazz hit the road for a performance at Seattle Pacific University's beautiful Nickerson Studios and we were knocked out by the talented sextet that makes up the S.P.U. Jazz Ensemble. Guitarist Chase Rabideau told us that S.P.U. is one of the few places you can earn a degree in his chosen field, Music Therapy, right after showing off his beautiful acoustic guitar technique on the Antonio Carlos Jobim song "Look to the Sky." We heard from bassist Tim Bartlett that today's...

Tahoma High School along with trumpeter and mentor Bobby Medina kicked off their studio performance with a rendition of “Girl From Ipanema” with Medina on flugelhorn. Medina loves working with kids and travels extensively having been to over 20 countries while pursuing ethnomusicology. Drummer Caleb Hayes, 18, also enjoys rudimental drumming in drum line groups. Guitarist Zach Ceccato, 17, is a hardcore metal fan, which he says got him into jazz because of its shared attribute of complex...

They planned it out and executed flawlessly. The teens of drummer Elijah Baradi's Quintet were well prepared for their KNKX School of Jazz studio session. Unlike most groups of a high school age, this talented group from Interlake High in Bellevue played live on 88.5 without an adult mentor. They didn't need one. Drumming since age 6, Baradi drives a strong rhythm section. The sophomore teams with seniors Mert Selcuk on piano and Kai Wagner at the upright bass, an instrument this electric...

From their perch in the suburbs just northeast of Seattle, the jazz program at Bothell High School is producing some powerhouse musicians. This all-star ensemble’s performance with mentor Jim Sisko was a bold statement that these teens can keep up with anybody. The front line horns of Richard Connelley's trombone and Preston Lee's sax have earned valuable experience working with Sisko's big band, and they showed it. Both took daring solos and pushed each song with their enthusiasm. The...

Entering our studios to meet the early-arriving all-star jazz combo from Lake Stevens High School, our sessions engineer John Kessler tells me, "This might be the best School of Jazz band yet!" Well, all right!

A confident septet of teenagers from the jazz band at the Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences took over the KNKX studios with their mentor, Steve Treseler featured on sax. Treseler has a new tribute to trumpeter Kenny Wheeler ready for release in the New Year, but he had to keep his wits about him with this group. A talented pair of saxophones are featured up front, Alli Wickland on tenor and our School of Jazz guest DJ from last Winter, P.J. Colino on alto. Former drummer Zach Cohen showed...

Twenty-eight teenagers filled several rooms at KNKX's Seattle studios to perform in 4 groups as a sort of graduation from the Seattle JazzEd Summer Advanced Institute. On paper, it looked like disaster... but the kids made it work.

The energy in the KNKX studios was evident just days from graduation for three of the Shorecrest High School Jazz Band's Allstar quintet. With their mentor, saxophonist Mark Taylor's guidance, the fellows found the groove and wouldn't let go. Swinging rhythm met thoughtful solos and wide smiles from the band and our audience, as the bands director, Vince Caruso - in his 7th year at Shorecrest High, beamed with pride. Modern jazz is surely familiar to these musicians, as they showed on Roy...

Based in Centralia, flugelhorn player and band leader Dmitri Matheny teamed up as a mentor with the Kelso High School all-star jazz combo in the KNKX studios and told us that smaller towns can provide great opportunities for musicians willing to look for them. These teens from the south end of the state made the most of their opportunity to play live on KNKX. On the day that the nation's biggest high school jazz competition, Essentially Ellington, began in New York City, band leader Daniel...

When the teenage all-stars of Five Feet Up came to play live on 88.5 recently, we were excited to see three old/young friends: Bell Thompson and Margaux Bouchegnies on trumpet and bass had performed in our studios as half of the 10 O'Clock Quartet. Guitarist Julia Tanner had played live on 88.5 with her bandmates from the Melba Liston All-Star Combo. Both groups were comprised entirely of female musicians, but for this visit the ladies brought a pair of talented young men. Drummer Henry...

In his fourth visit to the KNKX Studio Sessions, we finally put saxman Anton Schwartz together with one of our School of Jazz all-star combos. Lynnwood High School was the beneficiary of Anton's mentoring, and his advice to the teenage musicians sounded just as applicable to life: "You gotta be where you are, not where you want to be. By perfecting where you are, you'll get to where you want to go." The jazz students at Lynnwood High are well on their way, with terrific chemistry within...

The all-star combo from Juanita High School's jazz band made their studio session on 88.5 with young trumpeter and educator Jared Hall featured on trumpet, and proved they're ready to take their place among the promising teen jazz ensembles around the Northwest. Mr. Hall, himself a native of Spokane, has only recently relocated to the Seattle area after his own jazz education segued into teaching opportunities at the University of Miami. He was impressed with the young eastside swingers,...

Until very recently, Decatur High School in Federal Way didn’t have a jazz combo. What they had was a full jazz big band. When knkx put out the call to regional school jazz programs to send us demo tapes so we could select groups for live studio sessions, Decatur’s band director, Jeff Chang, recorded the big band and sent it in. We liked it, but had to tell Mr. Chang that our performance space is too small to accommodate a group of that size. So Mr. Chang and his students decided to put...

The Glacier Peak High School Jazz Band director Tad Morris has raised some talented musicians under his care, with a largely senior class combo well-equipped with skills and a deep understanding of the importance of jazz. Asked what this music means to them, bassist Alex Sturlaugson talked about how jazz transcends race, religion and politics and connects us on a deep level. Then there was the music. With experienced educator and thrilling sax player Steve Treseler taking the lead, we...

They're not the first all-female jazz band to perform in the knkx studios, but after hearing the teens from Seattle JazzEd, it's about time it stops feeling like a special occasion. Featuring their mentor Susan Pascal on vibes, the ladies thrilled our packed studio audience with jazz, soul, and a song by the modern jazz outfit Snarky Puppy, and made us forget about girls vs. boys. Speaking with these all-stars, it was clear that they're aware of the historic male domination of jazz, but...

Mercer Island High School has a remarkable jazz orchestra, so we were very much looking forward to this live distillation of that band—the Mercer Island Jazz Combo. You’ll hear the students on saxophone, trombone, bass, drums and piano. Their mentor, Thomas Marriott is the featured trumpet player. This live KNKX Studio Session is hosted by our own Mary McCann. Hit ‘play.’ https://youtu.be/KU35uukcDyc

Named for their practice room at Pacific Lutheran University, 322 brought 4 of their 5 band members to the knkx studios for an afternoon of cool tunes they wrote themselves. Drawing on their jazz education in standards to the wide variety of music available to college kids, the band clearly finds as much inspiration from modern rock 'n' soul as they do the Great American Songbook.

Puget Sound Community School is a private school with just 53 students. So the school’s excellent jazz studies program only has a few participants. So few, in fact, that the instructors often have to serve as performers, just to round things out. But don’t let numbers fool you. The group is small but mighty. For this studio session, the all-star trio enlisted D’Vonne Lewis, one of the West Coast’s hottest jazz drummers, as their mentor and drummer. The result was stunning. From the...