Seattle’s biggest jazz festival, Earshot, celebrates its 22nd year starting today at noon at City Hall, with Jay Thomas & East/West Double Trio. The festival will encompass over 60 events-from live shows to film screenings to artist workshops-over 18 days between Oct. 19 and Nov. 5.
The diverse lineup includes such notable figures as Wynton Marsalis, Andrew Hill, Rashied Ali, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Jimmy Heath, as well as those who toil on the outer edges of convention, like Annette Peacock and John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet. In addition to the numerous concerts being held, the Northwest Film Forum will present new documentaries on Cecil Taylor and Jackie Paris, a selection of rare jazz performances from the ’60s and Paris Blues, a film that examines the racial, social and aesthetic issues relevant to jazz culture. And to top it off, Earshot will present two shows of jazz photography by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Daniel Sheehan.
Tickets for the Earshot Jazz Festival are available through Earshot Jazz and at all TicketMaster locations, Bud’s Jazz Records in Pioneer Square and Wall of Sound on Capitol Hill. For the diehards, a special pass is available through Earshot for entrance to all festival events (except the Marsalis concert) and costs $350 ($300 for members) and includes preferred seating, a commemorative T-shirt and invitations to meet-the-artist receptions. For further information, please visit the Web site at earshot.org.
Originally Published