Community Calendar

Sponsored by KNKX. BIMA is proud to partner once again with Seattle’s Earshot Jazz to as part of the most prestigious jazz festival in the Pacific Northwest. Earshot Jazz dedicates itself year-round to cultivating a vibrant, diverse jazz community—championing artistic innovation, honoring the rich history and integrity of the genre, and fostering meaningful connections between musicians and audiences through the annual Earshot Jazz Festival.

The BIMA Annual Within/Earshot Jazz Festival is more than a concert series—it’s a dynamic, living conversation where sound, story, and visual art intersect. For the entire month of October, the Frank Buxton Auditorium transforms into a creative studio, a place where jazz musicians, storytellers, and visual artists come together to explore and celebrate the many facets of jazz.

Each artist brings their own unique voice to the festival, honoring jazz’s deep roots and its ever-evolving future. Some lean into poetic, modern grooves that push boundaries and invite reflection; others revive the exuberance of speakeasy-era swing, capturing the spirit of a bygone era. The pulse of Brazilian folk traditions adds rich textures and rhythms, while fresh voices from the Northwest highlight jazz’s ongoing innovation and cultural resonance.

Whether you attend a single event or immerse yourself in the full month-long experience, you’ll discover a vibrant tapestry of music, culture, and storytelling that showcases jazz’s timeless appeal and its power to inspire across generations and communities.

Stage of Fools Written by Joy McCullough Directed by Amy Poisson

A scrappy feminist theater company is about to go under when they receive an offer they can't refuse: has-been 80s action movie star Jake Stone will endow them with more money than they've ever dreamed of, if they'll produce King Lear, with him in the titular role. Never mind that he's an entitled, egotistical blowhard. These women can survive anything for the sake of the theater they love...right?

Evening and matinee performances.

Live Jazz!

It’s almost like being in love! Dance your way back in time to one of the most romantic musicals ever written, Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon. Americans Tommy and Jeff are hiking the Scottish Highlands, when out of the mists they stumble upon the enchanting village of Brigadoon, which appears for only one day every 100 years. But this dreamlike place is far more than it seems—and those who fall in love there might never be the same.

From the writers of My Fair Lady and Camelot comes this soaring love story, full of glorious ballet and favorite tunes like “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” “The Heather on the Hill” and “Almost Like Being in Love.” This production features an exquisite new adaptation, which enhances all the romance and magic that makes Brigadoon a truly timeless masterpiece.

Drawing on classic Poe tales like “The Black Cat,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” among others, this original story chronicles our Narrator’s dark descent into depravity.
After the death of her beloved Eleanora, the Narrator finds herself visited by a conspiracy of ravens who spur her to relive acts of cruelty, revenge, and of course, murder. Driven to the edge of madness, the Narrator must confront her worst impulses and be freed from grief and guilt nevermore.

Welcomed by KNKX. Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List:” for the Wall Street Journal.

His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three continents – and still growing – performing in some of the world’s most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.

Pasquale Grasso - It was the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of, and then some. In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine’s February 2016 cover story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who’d impressed him. “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso,” said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult. “Mostly what I hear now are guitar players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of [John Scofield] and a little bit of [Bill Frisell],” he continued. “What’s interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn’t sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his model—which is an incredible model to have—is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.”

Robin Spielberg performs enchanting pieces for solo piano from her vast repertoire of popular American melodies and original favorites. Known around the globe for her expressive style and concert rapport, Robin’s career at the piano has taken her from coast to coast. She has performed on PBS and CBS TV, as well as in Carnegie Hall.

Join us for the Puget Sound Jazz Orchestra directed by Jeff Chang performing with American jazz singer and 7X Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon. Freelon is a singer, composer, producer, and arranger who has worked with renowned artists such as Ellis Marsalis, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, and more.

For four decades, Freelon has performed on stages across the world, interpreting the jazz tradition with love, depth, and authenticity.

Multi Grammy-Award nominee Nnenna Freelon is known worldwide as a compelling and captivating live performer. Recently, Nnenna starred in the critically acclaimed show Georgia on My Mind: Celebrating the Music of Ray Charles - no stranger to the music of the master singer - she toured with Ray Charles, as well as many other great jazz artists including Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Earl Klugh, Take 6, and others.
Accolades and awards have abounded - performances at The White House, headlining the Asia Pacific Economic Summit for three hundred Presidents, Premiers and Heads of State, receiving the YWCA of North Carolina’s inaugural “Legend Award” for her outstanding artistry and her dedication to education, and so much more.

Educating young people, both musicians and non-musicians, and students of all ages has propelled her advocacy - Nnenna toured the United States as the National Spokesperson for Partners in Education. Her master classes and workshops, from “Sound Sculpture” to the ground-breaking “Babysong,” instruct adults and children that you too can change the world – even one person at a time - with her anthem “One Child at a Time” found on her “Soulcall” recording. From Partners in Education to the United Way, Freelon has been a tireless advocate and fundraiser for education and arts causes.

Six playwrights will translate six paintings to the stage in an evening of short works! If you liked what we did to Christmas Cards from merry, ole England, just wait 'til you see what we do with masterworks by a guy from Scandinavia!

Known for his striking imagery, Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is probably most famous for his painting The Scream. Or, rather, his two paintings and two pastels of The Scream. As a painter who often tended toward darkness, it seems only fitting that Latitude Theatre features Munch's art in the month of October.