A reunion of an iconic Northwest group New Stories with L.A. saxophonist Ernie Watts headlines the Ballard Jazz Festival next week. Also featured is Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund in concert on Friday night. A preview of these and other artists playing at the four day festival in Ballard is the focus of this week's epsiode. Also on the show we include artists who are playing at The Bellevue Jazz and Blues Festival which runs concurrently. Mostly resident artists are featured in both festivals, so it's a good opportunity to get acquainted with our local talent.
The Ballard Jazz Festival includes a celebration of the drum, with three drummer-led groups on Wednesday, a guitar summit with three guitarist-led groups on Thursday, the main stage concert at the Nordic Museum auditorium on Friday, and the fabled Jazz Walk with 10 locations presenting live jazz on Saturday night. The Bellevue Jazz and Blues Festival includes numerous free performances by soloists and small groups in bars and restaurants, ticketed events at Bake's Place and Meydenbauer Center Theatre and numerous high school combos.
Jazz Northwest is recorded and produced by host Jim Wilke and airs Sundays at 2 p.m. Listeners may also subscribe to the podcast at KNKX, NPR, Apple, Google or Spotify.
