Regional connections run deep for these centennial jazz artists

A sizable list of jazz artists, including the late Miles Davis, one of jazz’s biggest icons, are hitting their centennials this year.

While most of these artists — all born in 1926 — toured through Seattle during their day, several have more intimate connections to clubs and musicians in the region or even called the Pacific Northwest home.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month, a perfect time to revisit a few of the ways the Pacific Northwest is linked to these legends of jazz, as we recognize this Black American tradition and how it’s spread across the country and globe.

John Coltrane and Live in Seattle

Coltrane, born Sept. 23, 1926, is synonymous with Philadelphia and New York City, where he spent the most time living and recording during life, but he also has a couple unique links to the Seattle area.

In 1965, Coltrane had multiple shows at The Penthouse, Seattle’s premiere jazz club in the Pioneer Square neighborhood from 1962 until 1968, run by proprietor Charlie Puzzo.

During his run at the club, Coltrane made three recordings. The first was Live in Seattle, a live double album that included a set by Coltrane’s quartet including saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and a second bassist Donald Garrett. It was released posthumously in 1971 on Impulse! Records.

The following day, Coltrane met up with Joe Brazil and his expanded group at a recording studio in Lynnwood, and recorded Om, also released in 1971.

Much later, in 2021, another live recording of Coltrane performing an extended version of his seminal masterpiece A Love Supreme on Saturday, Oct. 2, 1965, was released as Live in Seattle: A Love Supreme.

All three records — and the influence the trailblazing tenor saxophonist had on regionally-based musicians — irrevocably tie part of Coltrane’s legacy to the Emerald City.

“I really caught the Coltrane bug in my late teens, and oh, I couldn't get enough of it,” Seattle-based jazz multi-instrumentalist Jay Thomas told KNKX. “That's when you know all his albums were coming out on Impulse!, but I had listened to him previously with Miles Davis, and it was always so different and so impressive.”

Ray Brown and Brian Nova

Brian Nova, a Seattle-born guitarist and vocalist, has made a name for himself touring with jazz legends like Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, and one of this year’s centennial jazz greats: the bassist Ray Brown.

Nova first met Brown, who was born Oct. 13, 1926, when he was 19 and working with another late, great bassist, Seattle’s Buddy Catlett. The two became collaborators soon after.

“Every band had like five guitar players, no bass player. So, I decided maybe I should play bass, because no one played bass in any of these bands...,” Nova told KNKX. “And lo and behold, before you knew it, I was playing bass in a band every weekend, and it wasn't until I met Buddy, I was about 19...Ray Brown sort of came into my life. And when I heard him play, I just thought, that's how I want to go. That's the sound I'm looking for.”

Parker Miles Blohm

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KNKX

Nova went on to tour extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe with Brown. Along the way, Brown taught him “how to run a business, how to carry yourself in a business, and how to carry yourself as a musician.”

Nova must have taken that advice to heart, as he’s gone on to collaborate with countless elite jazz musicians, record extensively, and appear on Grammy award-winning records, like Arturo Sandoval’s Dear Diz.

Soul jazz legends in the PNW

Nova isn’t the only regional musician to have worked with a centennial great.

Brian Kirk, the percussionist and founder of the jazz program at Seattle Central College, toured with both alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and organist Jack McDuff, two soul jazz pioneers born in 1926. At the time, Kirk hadn’t yet settled in Seattle, but he ultimately moved to the city in 1991.

McDuff also made a memorable recording in the PNW. In 2022, a performance from the Hammond-B3 player at the Seattle club, Parnell’s, was unearthed and released.

Parnell’s, operated by proprietor Roy Parnell, existed in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood from 1976 until 1980. During its time, the Parnell’s stage welcomed a variety of jazz artists, including Bill Evans, Chet Baker, and Anita O’Day.

McDuff performed at the club in 1982, and Scott Hawthorn, a jazz organist and the sound and lighting man at Parnell’s, recorded some of the performance on cassette tapes. Greg Boraman at Soul Bank Music eventually discovered, cleaned up and digitized the 15-track record, which showcases McDuff’s sense of groove and skill in a variety of styles.

Jack McDuff Live at Parnell’s is the only commercially released recording from the iconic Seattle jazz club.

Bud Shank and Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend

Bud Shank, born May 27, 1926, is typically remembered as an influential jazz alto saxophonist and flautist who worked with Stan Kenton, and for his pioneering work with Los Angeles-based jazz quartet, the L.A. Four. As a studio musician, he played the famous alto flute solo on “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas. But, he also has deep roots in the Pacific Northwest.

In 1983, Shank, who was born in Dayton, Ohio and lived most of his adult life in California, moved to Port Townsend. Shortly after relocating, he began the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop, an educational jazz experience and festival at the Army base turned state park, Fort Warden.

The workshop, put on by the arts nonprofit and educational organization Centrum, now draws local and national jazz musicians and fans each summer as a week-long immersive camp and festival.

Jim Levitt

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Centrum Foundation

“He believed strongly that the most important credential for our faculty was that they be outstanding performers, and that they could also communicate the magic of what they do through their teaching. The program grew tremendously under this model, and we continue to follow it today. Bud's legacy here is deep,” said Centrum’s Jazz Program Manager Gregg Miller in a remembrance when Shank died in 2009.

Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend continues to play a key role in shaping the jazz scene in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The annual event is well-attended by student musicians in Seattle’s nationally recognized high school jazz programs, and by local jazz musicians who’ve gone on to be successful on the national jazz stage, such as The Westerlies.

Jazz has always traveled, soaking up the character of the cities and communities it touches. This Jazz Appreciation Month, it's worth remembering that Seattle and the wider Pacific Northwest are more than just a tour stop — it is part of the music’s fabric.

KNKX is celebrating jazz centennials all April long for Jazz Appreciation Month. Discover the lasting influence of the jazz legends born in 1926 on air during our music shows and at knkx.org/jam