Yellow Pages
With a stellar lineup that includes a Grammy nominated vocalist, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and returning regional favorites, the Anacortes Jazz & Blues Festival has pulled out all the stops to make the 2009 event a sensational one.
For organizers, the cherry on the top is the immediate vindication of their decision to move the vulnerable concert series indoors. The event would have been dismal indeed if it had taken place at Curtis Wharf over this year’s soggy Labor Day weekend.
“I was so thankful that we did not have a Jazz Festival out on the wharf,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mitch Everton. “The only people we would have had on the wharf would have been the entertainers.”
The port warehouse still offers a waterfront location with a number of benefits. If weather is good, the doors can be opened to the scenic Guemes Channel. If not, performers and audience members will still stay warm and dry inside. Everton said the venue has great acoustics and a smaller, more intimate setting as well.
“It’s a much more comfortable environment,” he said.
The opening night Gala and Concert at the port warehouse featuring Grammy-nominated singer Dena DeRose is 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. Admission is $50.
DeRose is a dynamic vocalist and assertive, swinging pianist who delighted the crowd at the 2006 festival. She appears with the great New York rhythm team of Matt Wilson on drums and Christ Lightcap on bass.
Lauded by Joel Siegel as “the most creative and compelling singer-pianist since Shirley Horn,” she has been categorized with Norah Jones and Diana Krall.
“Dena DeRose sings jazz as if she had been at it her whole life long, and then some,” wrote Terry Teachout of the New York Times.
DeRose brings vitality and innovation to her performances with accomplished arrangements of diverse music, from John Lennon’s “Imagine” to Ellington standards. She has performed at legendary venues such as Blue Note, Iridium and the Jazz Standard in New York, Jazz Alley in Seattle and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at festivals in Rome, Istanbul and Tokyo, with the likes of Ray Brown, Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson, Rufus Reid and Slide Hampton. Her CDs “A Walk In The Park” and “Dena DeRose — Live at Jazz Standard” have garnered Grammy nominations.
Downbeat Magazine writer Fred Bouchard called DeRose a double threat, “an energetic pianist and an ebullient vocalist — crowned with a rakish tiara of piano/vocal scat.”
Saturday’s show starts at 6 p.m. with Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone. The Allen Toussaint Band follows from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
A legendary New Orleans pianist and singer, Toussaint’s work as composer, producer, arranger and performer, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, helped shape R&B, soul and funk. He wrote a number of classics including Herb Alpert’s “Whipped Cream,” Lee Dorsey’s “Working in a Coal Mine,” Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother-in-Law,” the Dave Clark Five’s “I Like it Like That” and the Pointer Sisters’ “Yes We Can Can.” He produced Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” and Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade.”
His behind-the-scenes work led to his 1998 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the “non-performer” category, but he is also an engaging entertainer who brings an easy-going charm and humor to his repertoire, along with the seductive, percolating rhythms of New Orleans. He has collaborated memorably with a diverse range of artists including Jerry Garcia, the Band and Paul McCartney.
Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone, a new band on the Seattle scene, is fronted by internationally celebrated harmonica player, guitarist and singer Kim Field.
Following Friday and Saturday’s shows, a joint cover Jazz Walk is 9 p.m. to midnight at seven downtown venues. Performers include Gadjo Gypsies, Trish Hatley, Mia Vermillion, Mambo Cadillac and Thomas Marriott Trio. Admission is $10.
On Sunday, Stephanie Porter performs at 1 p.m. and Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra follows from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Following last year’s successful “Kansas City Suite” tribute to Benny Carter, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra is back for its fourth appearance at the Anacortes festival with a focus on the work of Quincy Jones and Ray Charles. Founded in 1995, this 17-piece big band includes many of the region’s most prominent jazz soloists. The orchestra is co-directed by drummer Clarence Acox and saxophonist/arranger Michael Brockman, and band members comprise a who’s who of Seattle jazz, including Jay Thomas, Hadley Caliman, Bill Ramsay, Thomas Marriott, Mark Taylor, Randy Halberstadt and Phil Sparks. Special guest singers plus Hammond B3 organ player Joe Doria join the orchestra for the Anacortes festival.
Stephanie Porter, a treasured figure on the Northwest jazz scene, who has performed for more than 15 years in some of the top rooms in the region, including Jazz Alley, the Triple Door and Tula’s. An outstanding jazz vocalist with a clear and sultry tone, she has a bright and appealing stage presence.
Tickets on sale
Tickets are available now for the three-day Anacortes Jazz & Blues Festival Oct. 16-18 at the port warehouse.
The event kicks off with a Friday dinner gala and show with Dena DeRose Trio, $50. Saturday evening’s concert features Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone, then the great Allen Toussaint Band, $25. Sunday’s afternoon concert stars Stephanie Porter, then the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, $20.
A pass for all three days is $85; a two-day Saturday and Sunday pass is $40.
Tickets are sold at the Chamber of Commerce office, at 293-7911 and online at http://www.anacortes.org/jazzfestival.cfm.
A Jazz Walk hosted by seven downtown bars and restaurants, is $10 per night; pay at the venues.
Festival schedule
Friday, Oct. 16
6 p.m. — Gala & Concert at the port warehouse featuring Dena DeRose
9 p.m. to midnight — Jazz Walk
Saturday, Oct. 17
6-7 p.m. — Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone
7:30-9 p.m. — Allen Toussaint Band
9 p.m. to midnight — Jazz Walk
Sunday, Oct. 18
1-2 p.m. — Stephanie Porter
2:30-4 p.m. — Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra
