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Beth & Chad’s Beautiful Wedding

3396538564_c6a9b9c97eWe had the pleasure of celebrating Beth & Chad’s wedding last night at Ray’s Boathouse in Ballard. I met with them at their house about a month ago and they immediately felt like friends. They are warm and welcoming, and we talked about weddings, music, living in Seattle and their new kitty Gus. Beth was extremely organized and a pleasure to work with and told me that they just wanted us to do our thing, which is always great to hear.

So last night Josh, D’Vonne, Evan and I were joined by the lovely Katrina Wible on vocals. Katrina is one of my favorite singers in town because she’s a true musician, and she can sing just about anything, from Ella Fitzgerald to Stevie Wonder and everything in between! Check out her band Soul Kata for some great tunes.

Everyone at the wedding was just as nice as the happy couple themselves, and we received many great compliments. The best was from the mother of the bride, who told me that they’ve had 4 weddings for their 3 children and we’re the best band of them all! Once the dance floor was opened up it was crowded all night long.

Big thanks to Kaycee Parker of Parker Events and her assistant Tali for a great job coordinating the evening. Kaycee is a pro and kept everything running smoothly and calmly all night long. And I had the pleasure of meeting a new photographer, Ashwin Rao, who takes gorgeous pictures. He and his assistant Chris were fun and lively, and got some amazing shots of the band. All the photos you see here are Ashwin’s. He’s is a full-time sports medicine physician, and only shoots a handful of weddings each year, but if you’re lucky to hire him you won’t be disappointed. You can view a slide show of his photos of the JPQ and Katrina here.

Thanks also to the staff at Ray’s for taking such good care of us. I had an amazing plate of Gnocchi for dinner!

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$1000 Mark Reached in the Micropatronage Program!

On February 28th I made this post and launched the Micropatronage program for the forthcoming Jason Parker Quartet CD. Today, with your generous support, we reached the $1000 mark! And I mean “we”, because I couldn’t have done it without you.

I have been humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from my family, friends and colleagues. With this support we will be able to make the record I’ve always dreamed of making, and document my amazing band two years into our development. I can’t tell you how much this means to me, and I hope you will feel a great deal of ownership and pride in the project, as do I.

If you haven’t yet become a Patron, believe me when I tell you that every $10 makes a huge difference. One patron at a time we will reach our goals and by the end of the summer I will present to you the fruits of our labors. I can’t wait to share the new music with you and show you exactly what your support will allow us to accomplish.

My deepest love and gratitude goes out to you. Thank you.

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University District Jazz Walk

lucidinsideemailI’m excited to take part in the first University District Jazz Walk. On April 2nd, 12 different venues in the U-District will feature jazz acts all night long, and Josh Rawlings and I will be playing as a duo at Herkimer Coffee from 6-8pm.

This is the first jazz walk to be held in the U-District and is being put on by the good folks at Lucid Jazz Club as part of their celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month. Every show is free (except at Galway Arms), and there’s even free parking at the University Heights Community Center.

Come on out, walk The Ave, hear some great music, and be a part of the celebration of Americ’a original art form!

And a reminder – The Jason Parker Quartet will be playing at Lucid on April 4th. Come check out the full band at Seattle’s newest jazz club and try our signature cocktail, “Parker’s Mood”.

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Lucid Was a Blast!

dsc00313We had a most amazing show at Lucid on Saturday night! It was our first time playing at Seattle’s newest jazz club and honestly I had no idea what to expect. I had met the owner, David, and had seen the room, but you never know what’s going to happen on your maiden voyage at a new venue. Will anyone show up? Will the sound be good? Will the band adapt to the new setting? Well, what happened blew my mind!

Even before we started playing the room was starting to fill, and by the time we finished our first set it was standing room only! The vibe in the room was warm and friendly, the drinks were flowing liberally, and the band was ON.

We ran through some of the new tunes we’re working on for the recording and dusted off some old favorites as well. The new stuff went over well and our arrangements worked great in the live setting. It was fun playing “Dos Gardenias”, “Three Hours” and “Idle Moments”. And “Bashert” was particularly inspired, perhaps because Darrah and her family were in the house.

It was also nice to be able to invite some friends up to join us, including Richelle Gay, who sang beautifully on our mash-up of “Footprints/Summertime”. My soon-to-be-cousin Keith Beesley joined us on soprano sax on “If I Were a Bell” and tore it up. Harold Rosenkrans brought is signature tenor style to Wayne Shorter’s “Adam’s Apple”. And Randy Powers busted out his flugel for an inspired version of Miles Davis’s “All Blues”.

It was a beautiful night of music and the love in the room was palpable. David has created the kind of club that every musician wants to play and I hope you’ll go check it out when you get the chance (we’ll be back at Lucid on April 4th). And I can’t thank him enough for creating our new signature cocktail, “Parker’s Mood”, and donating $1 from each sale to the Micropatronage program.

And as always, it is inspiring and a true joy to play with my incredible band. Thank you Josh, Evan and D’Vonne for bringing your fire, your spirit and your love to the JPQ.