Just a few weeks before graduation, four talented seniors with the jazz band at the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences strode confidently into the KNKX Seattle studios to perform.
Sebastian Huang (piano, keys, vocals), Zach Fringer (guitar), Trammell Whitfield (bass) and Jack Matson (drums) performed a pair of original tunes and an early-'70s jazz fusion classic—proof that this quartet take a modern view of the jazz world.
Their mentor, guitarist Andy Coe, recalled his own education at Roosevelt High School, the transition to a premiere jazz department at the University of North Texas, and a brief stay in New York City. Coe says those experiences connected him with countless musicians around the world. He encouraged his mentees to expect the same.
Stuart MacDonald, a saxophonist and fellow graduate of Roosevelt, has been directing the jazz band at S.A.A.S. for six years. He acknowledged his fellow arts educators for setting these musicians up for success.
MacDonald's generation of jazz students didn’t have the opportunities his students have to see and play live jazz in the Northwest. He called the jazz scene today an “embarrassment of riches.”
With Coe lending the support of his experience and a few tasty guitar solos, the musicians in this Seattle Academy jazz band showed an affinity for modern grooves.
A bouncy cover of the Billy Cobham hit “Red Baron” showed the band’s cohesion, with each player listening and reacting to their bandmates.
Coe explained that the band’s opening number, tentatively titled “The Whole Enchilada,” was arranged at one of just two practices leading up to this KNKX session. Modern pop and soul elements give this song a fresh sound.
Huang switched between acoustic piano and electric keyboards throughout the performance and sang an original called “Riptide.” He said the song was written at Matson’s house for another funk-forward band he, Matson, and Fringer are in called Paper Cuts.
Each of these seniors has big plans for next year. Huang is headed to New York University, Matson will also be in New York at the New School, Fringer’s off to Drexler University in Philadelphia, and Trammell said he’ll be studying engineering in the Bay Area.
Their sound is remarkably mature. Odds are we’ll hear more music from these cats down the road.
Musicians:
- Sebastian Huang - piano/keys/vocals
- Zach Fringer - guitar
- Trammell Whitfield - bass
- Jack Matson - drums
- Andy Coe (mentor) - guitar
Songs:
- The Whole Enchilada (Huang/Fringer/Whitfield/Matson/Coe)
- Red Baron (Billy Cobham)
- Riptide (Huang/Fringer/Whitfield/Matson)
