Community Calendar

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.”

Sponsored by KNKX. Kokoroko first formed in 2014 when Sheila Maurice-Grey (trumpet/flugelhorn/vocals) and Onome Edgeworth (percussion) met on an arts trip in Kenya, bonding over their shared tastes in music. A desire to connect young people in the African diaspora with genres like Afrobeat and Highlife would also fuel the band’s genesis. Before long they were playing gigs, riding a wave of the then nascent “London jazz scene”. In 2018, their breakthrough was secured when the sparse ‘Abusey Junction’ was included on Gilles Peterson’s ‘We Out Here’ compilation. An understated 7 minute ballad recorded in an afternoon, it quickly became a viral hit racking up 75 million streams.

The next few years were spent touring extensively, work-shopping their music and perfecting their sound. In 2019 they self-released their debut EP in 2019, selling over 20,000 copies on vinyl, before having its momentum halted by the pandemic. In 2022, after much heightened anticipation, and with the help of producer Miles James (Little Simz, Yussef Dayes, Tom Misch), they released their debut album ‘Could We Be More’.

Read more here.

Sponsored by KNKX. T-D Victoria International JazzFest, with 8 stages, 50 performers and over 200 musicians, including Pink Martini, Kokoroko, Miles Electric Band: M.E.B. – Celebrating 100 Years of Miles Davis, Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez: BEATrio, Brandon Woody’s Upendo and Sharan Blues Group etran de l’aÏr.

Full lineup at- https://jazzvictoria.ca/jazzfest-home/jazzfest-line-up/

Jazz Funk Soul began originally as a touring package idea formed in 2014 by GRAMMY nominated guitarist Chuck Loeb, along with GRAMMY nominated saxophonist Everette Harp, and GRAMMY winning keyboardist Jeff Lorber. JFS was signed immediately by Shanachie Records as the company realized something special was in the making. The result was their first release, GRAMMY nominated, Serious Business.

After Loeb’s untimely passing in 2017, GRAMMY nominated session guitar legend Paul Jackson Jr. agreed to join Jeff and Everette in continuing JFS’s vision creating a contemporary jazz sound that pushes the envelope. Along with Jackson Jr.’s celebrated sound and rhythm prowess, Harp’s sinuous emotionally charged playing, and Lorber’s ear bending and blistering fusion approach, these three certainly deliver on the expectations derived from the name of the group - Jazz Funk Soul.

Everette Harp has nine Billboard hit solo records and has toured or recorded with Anita Baker, Kenny Loggins, George Duke, Al Jarreau, Marcus Miller, Eros Ramazzotti, and Peter Maffay amongst others.

Jeff Lorber has been a vital musical force throughout a lengthy and successful career featuring multiple Billboard #1 hits.

Paul Jackson Jr. has multiple Billboard #1 solo hits and has been featured on recordings by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Luther Vandross, Barbra Streisand, The Weeknd, Zendaya, and Daft Punk.

A PREMIERE WEST COAST EXPERIENCE

The Vancouver International Jazz Festival is held in multiple locations across the beautiful city of Vancouver. Framed by mountains and the ocean, this idyllic location is the perfect place to get your musical fix.

Featuring- Tomoki Sanders Quartet with Todd Stewart Trio, The Ex with Grdina/Lillinger, Keyon Harrold “Foreverland and Songs For Miles,” Voodoo: The Music of D’Angelo, Isaiah Collier “Collier Plays Coltrane” and many others.

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Washington State Historical Society invites you to explore the history of building the State History Museum. 30 Years and Counting: The Making of the Washington State History Museum is a special exhibition that uncovers the vision, effort, and community spirit that brought this iconic Tacoma landmark to life.

Discover the bold ideas and architectural ingenuity that shaped the museum’s distinctive look. From early sketches to final blueprints, see how the building’s design reflects both innovation and reverence for Washington’s past. Go behind the scenes of the museum’s construction. Through photographs and artifacts from the building process, witness how a dream took shape—brick by brick, beam by beam.

Staff Picks: 30 Objects for 30 Years

In a special feature area, museum staff share their favorite objects from the collection—each one a personal reflection on the power of history to inspire, surprise, and connect us.

Dive into the whimsical world of Moominvalley and the life of its creator, Tove Jansson, with "Moomins’ Sea Adventures" and "Tove and the Sea".

"Moomins’ Sea Adventures" brings Moominvalley to life with illustrations and life-sized characters from the stories. In the center of the exhibit is an interactive island complete with a lighthouse and rowboats that invites visitors to imagine adventures of their own.

"Tove and the Sea" offers a more intimate counterpoint, tracing Tove Jansson’s lifelong relationship with the Finnish archipelago through large-scale photographs and reflective texts.

Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music unveils the profound legacy of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul artists who shaped the soundscape of American culture and used their music as instruments of resistance, identity, and representation.

Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul embody the profound influence of African American music on culture and history. From the spiritual foundations and transformative movements of Gospel hymns to the revolutionary improvisations of Jazz, the Blues’ Southern roots rising from the Mississippi Delta, and Soul’s powerful amplification of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these genres have defined the unique sound and undying spirit of a nation that continues to echo through contemporary Black music today.

This is a permanent exhibition. Since time immemorial, Tribal nations have existed in this place we call Washington. This Is Native Land invites visitors to understand Washington State through the lived experiences and voices of its Native people.

Tribal nations are sovereign nations. Today, Native history, culture, and community thrive in our state. Through everyday acts of sovereignty – big and small – Indigenous peoples demonstrate they are still here, they have persevered, and they will always be here.

This Is Native Land is guided by three teachings:
We are of the land and waters
With knowledge comes responsibility
Sovereignty protects people, lands, and waters

These teachings are shared through multimedia, artwork, and interactive objects designed for guest engagement. They represent a contemporary continuation of Tribal stories and traditions.

Over 100 Native contributors from more than 60 Tribes shaped the exhibition’s stories and content. We thank the Native Advisory Committee and all community participants for their contributions.

LeMay – America’s Car Museum proudly presents The Birth of the American Supercar, a groundbreaking exhibition guest curated by renowned automotive innovator Steve Saleen. This one-of-a-kind display invites guests on an exhilarating journey through the evolution of American supercars. From early speed pioneers to cutting-edge modern marvels, visitors will experience a stunning lineup of vehicles that have redefined engineering, speed, and style, built by a wide range of American automotive manufacturers like Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Saleen himself, and even some more obscure ones like Vector, Cunningham, and Hennessey. From roaring V8s to sleek carbon-fiber bodies, discover how American automakers pushed boundaries, challenged European rivals, and redefined what a supercar could be. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see some of the most thrilling and historically significant American-made performance vehicles ever built—all under one roof.