Abe Beeson

Seattle bassist Abbey Blackwell may not know how exactly to describe the music of her new trio Rae, with guitarist Ronan Delisle and drummer Evan Woodle. But she knows what it is. Blackwell says "it's just about listening, it's just about groove, it's just about how it feels, really. That is what makes music, music to me. That's what makes it fun."

His Tacoma-based modern jazz band 322 became a favorite of New Cool fans since their beginnings as college kids at PLU. Five years later, the band's leader, saxophonist BrandonLee Cierley, moves in a new direction with his new release of jazz-meets-hip-hop, Here Comes a New Challenger.

Originally created for commercial use, hidden gems in music libraries have inspired a new generation of musicians producing their own versions of these odd but ubiquitous musical interludes. Among them are the Englishmen of ATA Records, and you’ll hear their new-but-retro creation Saturday on The New Cool.

Greg Kramer has worked with some of the brightest musical stars of the Northwest. With his debut EP released this week, Kramer steps forward on his own, presenting three songs of sweet summer soul cleverly mixed with hip-hop, funk and big band jazz. The original music on Tell Me deserves attention.

With their first new album in seven years, The Greyboy Allstars join forces once again to get you moving this holiday weekend. I spoke with the Allstars' guitarist, singer and songwriter Elgin Park about their latest release, their eventual return to touring, and reclaiming the boogaloo.

Organist Wil Blades was in Seattle for one of the last jazz concerts before the pandemic shutdown closed the clubs. He joined saxophonist Skerik and legendary drummer Mike Clark at The Royal Room on Feb. 28.

Two weeks later, the club was closed until further notice. To help ease the pain, get a full dose of Vitamin B3 from Blades’ Hammond organ (and clavinet and synthesizers) streaming live into your home Saturday night.

KNKX is proud to share the latest album from California-based singer Maria Schafer. No Broken Hearts is her second release (not including last year's holiday duets EP, Christmas in the City), and a more intimate view of Schafer's love of classic jazz and her impressive vocal skills. Abe Beeson spoke with her and guitarist Shane Savala recently about their continuing collaborations.

Quarantine Comes Alive — a streaming, online music festival — will benefit more than 60 musical combos and several philanthropic groups in an all-day event Saturday, May 30. The New Cool will highlight several modern jazz acts featured in the festival on KNKX that afternoon.

Paris-based pianist and composer Alex Monfort recently reminded me that it's been two years since the release of his excellent trio album Introspection. A little over a year ago, Monfort made his Seattle debut at Tula's. Hear Monfort on The New Cool Saturday, and listen close for a chance to win a copy of the CD.

Seattle's The New Triumph released their third album, Night Trip, this week. Like last week's release of the latest from Polyrhythmics, and so many more musicians, the band is hustling to make the best of presenting new music to an isolated world.

It can take several months to make an album, from writing to recording, mastering and all the other behind-the-scenes details. Of all the luck, the new Polyrhythmics album release date, May 8, finally rolled around in the middle of a nationwide pandemic shut down. Now what?

Livestreaming jazz performances continue to help, in mostly small ways, musicians make ends meet while unable to perform for live audiences. To get an audience these days, you have to go back in time. Snarky Puppy's March 2, 2018, concert at the SF Jazz Center in San Francisco will stream worldwide this Friday at 5 p.m.

It's not easy keeping up with the many musical pursuits of Tim Kennedy. The Seattle-based multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer isn't letting pandemic conditions slow him down, either. He's just released TK Special Trio featuring Home Team, created and produced at his place.

Fans of the modern jazz trio Tyrant Lizard know Ray Larsen as the owner of a beautiful trumpet sound and a love of American melodies and the tradition of musical improvisation. His new album continues to ignore musical category, while embracing the new designation as singer/songwriter.

You can hear a current of youthful energy flowing through everything Dylan Hayes plays. His newly released Songs for Rooms and People with his Electric Band really turns up the juice.

There are myriad ways to support musicians during this extended period of shuttered bars and jazz clubs. All day this Friday, the online musician hub bandcamp.com is rallying their worldwide community to put much needed money directly into artists' pockets.

Successful musicians often need to be creative hustlers to make a living as artists. With the COVID-19 outbreak leading to increasing concert cancellations, those hustling skills are being put to a serious test. One musician, pianist Marina Albero, is experimenting with a new way for musicians to connect with their audience — virtually.

Saturday night on Capitol Hill, the Seattle funk-jazz fusion group High Pulp performs their latest vocal collaborations EP Light Fix. They'll also plant another flag along their impressive journey to becoming one of the most intriguing improvisational outfits in the Northwest.

As your humble New Cool host, I'm out and about catching live jazz on a regular schedule. In fact, when I miss a show I feel a little guilty. So, while I'm out of town for a couple weeks, do me and yourself a favor. Enjoy some of the fantastic modern jazz concerts, featuring a ton of heavy-hitting drummers, heating up mid-winter in the Northwest.

Saxophonist Peter Daniel was excited to tell me about a new collaboration with his 45th St Brass band later this month. I heard what he told me, but I didn't quite understand. So we met up in Fremont to get to the bottom of an intriguing new way of hearing and playing music.

Our New York City-based Northwest neighbors, The Westerlies, return to Seattle for their second annual Westerlies Fest. The brass quartet created the festival to "engage students and audiences in Seattle and give back to the city that raised them." This week, the New Cool previews the festival performances, special guests, and the new Westerlies album, Wherein Lies the Good, released today.

The bill is set at Seattle's Nectar Lounge Thursday, Jan. 30. The South Sound sequel follows Jan. 31 at Rhythm & Rye in Olympia. A two-fisted organ trio battle pitting our hometown heroes McTuff facing off in musical combat with Portland's Trio Subtonic. The New Cool has the tale of the tape and we'll give away tickets during the radio show Saturday afternoon.

Pianist Julia Kadel is outgrowing one of the great cities of Europe. The young jazz star from Berlin is the first German artist to record for the legendary Blue Note Records since pianist Jutta Hipp in 1956. Her classical music roots mixed with daring improvisation are making her a budding international star.