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Drummer Adam Kessler Finds Community In Jazz

The Phil Sparks/Adam Kessler band has been playing live jazz at the Barca Lounge on Capitol Hill for more than 10 years now, and just released "Live at Barca, Vol 1" to celebrate.

The album features live recordings from Kessler and bassist Phil Sparks, along with lots of their friends who join them on this long running regular Thursday-night gig.

Though Sparks was unable to play our studio session this time around, Kessler built his band with Geoff Harper, the "other" bassist on the new release, and other Barca regulars Alexey Nikolaev on sax and Bernie Jacobs sax and vocals, with one of the area's favorite pianists, John Hansen.

The comradery they find in the club came through clearly as Kessler urged his band mates through Nat Adderley's "Work Song", the Tin Pan Alley gem "Sunday" and a funky finisher in the soulful "Funky Mama" by organist Big John Patton.

It was a celebration of the Northwest jazz community, highlighted by Kessler's reminder that "Live at Barca, Vol 1" is sending all proceeds of album sales to Sanctuary Art Center, providing a safe environment for homeless youth to experience creativity and success through the arts.

To learn more about Sanctuary Art Center, click here

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The Band 

Adam Kessler (drums), Geoff Harper (bass), John Hansen (piano), Alexey Nikolaev (tenor sax), Bernie Jacobs (vocals, alto sax)

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Abe grew up in Western Washington, a 3rd generation Seattle/Tacoma kid. It was as a student at Pacific Lutheran University that Abe landed his first job at KNKX, editing and producing audio for news stories. It was a Christmas Day shift no one else wanted that gave Abe his first on-air experience which led to overnights, then Saturday afternoons, and started hosting Evening Jazz in 1998.