There's more attention given to recording and streaming with performance venues closed due to the pandemic. It provides an opportunity to grow, stretch out, create new music, exemplified by a couple of creative releases from Seattle musicians from different generations. Young trumpet player and composer Ray Larsen has proved worthy of attention with a number of recent projects, notably Songs to Fill The Air consisting of a dozen short original pieces. Veteran Seattle pianist Walt Wagner, who played solo at Canlis for 20 years, has a new EP with five original tunes played by a trio that debuted at Jazz Alley. Both new releases will be sampled this week on Jazz Northwest.
Also on this week's show are selections by Jay Thomas, Kiki Valera, Dan Balmer, Kelley Johnson and a couple of more historical recordings featuring tenor saxophonists Hadley Caliman, and Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis together from a live broadcast in Seattle in the 60s.
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, or Google.
