I had the pleasure of working with photographer Michael Riedel at the Waterfront Bridal Show last weekend. He’s an incredible talent not only as a photographer but as a digital retoucher as well, having recently been award a Guru Award from PhotoshopWorld. He was there photographing a model named Veronica for the make-up artist Illusions by Melanie. He ask if he could take some shots of the two of us and I said of course! I felt like Chet Baker in one of those old William Claxton photos. I hope to post more of these beautiful shots soon.
Slava! Ukrainian Carols in February?
My good friend Michael Owcharuk put together a wonderful and ambitious project called Slava! Ukrainian Carols and New Christmas Music that was snowed out during the big storm last December. We rehearsed it and were ready to go, and everyone was disappointed when we had to call it. Thankfully, the composers and musicians involved all agreed that the music was too good to go unheard, and Mike decided to put on the concert anyway. So breakout the eggnog and the mistletoe, because Christmas is coming again in February!
The reschedule concert will take place this Friday, February 27th at Trinity Church on First Hill in Seattle. Come hear new arrangements of traditional Ukrainian Carols and brand new Christmas music by seven of Seattle’s finest composers, played by seven of Seattle’s finest musicians. Oh, and its free!
New Tunes!
So I’ve been talking for a while about some new tunes that we’ll be debuting at our shows in the next couple months. The one’s that go well and feel the best will be recorded for our next CD in April at MOUSe Recording Studios. Today we had a rehearsal for our show at Egan’s tomorrow, and ran through a few of them. Much to my delight, they went great! Two that I’m particularly excited about are an arrangement I’ve been working on of Nick Drake’s “Three Hours” and our rendition of the Duke Pearson composition “Idle Moments”, which was originally made famous by the guitarist Grant Green. The boys had never seen or heard the Drake tune before, but totally nailed the concept I had in mind within minutes. I can’t wait to lay that tune on the folks at Egan’s tomorrow. And “Idle Moments”, which is a super-slow blues, is the perfect vehicle for Josh, who pulled out his finest Gene Harris licks and killed it! If you’re in Seattle and free tomorrow night, come down to Egan’s in Ballard and check us out from 7-9pm.
Jason Parker Quartet returns to Egan’s
Egan’s Ballard Jamhouse is everything a Jazz club should be…intimate, friendly and a great sounding room. We haven’t played there since October, and we’re happy to be returning on Tuesday, February 24th. Join us as we debut a few new tunes that we plan to record for our next CD in April, and a few old favorites. We play the early set, 7:00-8:30pm, so drop by after work for dinner and some great jazz!
Waterfront Bridal Show
Josh and I have been invited to play and exhibit at the Waterfront Bridal Show on the famed Skansonia Ferry Boat on Lake Union in Seattle. The show takes place this Sunday, February 22nd from 11:00-3:00 and will feature many of the area’s finest and most sought-after wedding vendors and professionals. If you’re planning your wedding, please come join us for some great music and a chance to chat up the people who just might be your perfect caterer, photographer, baker, officiant, etc…