‘Tis the season! This year’s KNKX Holiday Jam features two Northwest favorites: singer-songwriter Stephanie Anne Johnson and jazz fusion band Velocity. Watch their performance recorded at Seattle Town Hall now.
Velocity gets funky with some traditional holiday tunes and Johnson joined the band for soulful renditions of holiday songs by Stevie Wonder and Albert King.
About the artists
Stephanie Anne Johnsonis a Tacoma native who has been singing since they were young. They’re a classically trained vocalist who’s also a fine guitar player and songwriter. Johnson attended Pacific Lutheran University and heads the group, The Hi Dogs, performing Americana, soul, country, folk, and gospel.
They also host KNKX’s Grooveyard show Saturday afternoons, which digs into the history of soul jazz from the '60s and '70s and blends it with contemporary soul, blues, and jazz that grooves.
Johnson has opened for acts that include Mavis Staples, Cedric Burnside, and Black Joe Lewis. Their mantra is “Find your joy and go there” which applies whether they’re singing the Black national anthem—“Lift Every Voice and Sing”—to a packed auditorium, or whether they're cooing acoustic lullabies to Saturday night tavern regulars. Their latest LP, Take This Love, is a blend of the late, great Loretta Lynn and Valerie June. It’s a stunning catalogue of surprise and satisfaction.
Velocityis a prog instrumental fusion band based out of Tacoma. The band melds together a variety of musical styles including funk, prog rock, hip hop, and jazz.
The music combines hard-hitting grooves and hook melodies with open improvisation. The energetic original compositions are largely written by keyboardist Peter Adams, with each member contributing to the arrangements and sound of the music.
Common time is uncommon with Velocity. Melodies are twisted and warped around each other. Solos are aggressive, yet bind the compositions to a set of defined rules and formulas. The sounds that you expect are not the sounds you get. And that’s just the way they like it.
Joining Peter Adams are saxophonist Cliff Colón, drummer Brian Smith, and bassist Rob Hutchinson. Magnetar is Velocity’s third full length studio-recorded album, following their debut self-titled album and second release, Displacement Over Time.
