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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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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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Water Babies Are Back, Baby!

worhalwbposterAfter almost a year off, I’m thrilled that my band Water Babies returns to the stage tonight at Lo-Fi Performance Gallery! It’s been too long since we’ve dropped our signature brand of Spontaneous Funk on the good people of Seattle, and we’re ready to blow the roof off the sucka!

Check out our debut album “Draw Me A Bath” to get an idea of the funky goodness that will fill the air tonight, and then get yer booty to Lo-Fi! We’ll play a couple sets between 9-12, and then The Teaching will take over for The Hang.

Water Babies is:

Jason Parker – trumpet & flugelhorn
Josh Rawlings – Fender rhodes
Aaron Kassover – electric & acoustic bass
Brad Gibson – drums & percussion

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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.

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We Rocked Egan’s!

n1611003490_166395_6986I just got back from our gig at Egan’s and I’m pumped! Once again the band was amazing. I feel so privileged to play with Josh, Evan and D’Vonne. They make every minute on stage and absolute joy and make me sound better than I ever could have imagined. We debuted the new tunes and they went great. Plus, we were joined by the wonderful tenor player Cynthia Mullis, who I’ve been wanted to play with for a long time now. She joined us on Wayne Shorter’s “Adam’s Apple” and tore it up! I hope to play with Cynthia more soon. Perhaps she might end up on the JPQ CD?

Thanks to all who showed up for the gig. It mean so much to have friends both old and new in the audience supporting us. Moises, great to see you buddy. Next time you better bring your horn! And thanks to Margie for the photo.