collapse

* Member Info

 
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
He was a sinful boy, good-hearted but had no soul. His heart was hard and cold like ice - Willie McTell, Dying Crapshooter's Blues

Author Topic: Some Local Seattle History  (Read 1031 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Stuart

  • Member
  • Posts: 3177
  • "The Voice of Almiqui"
Some Local Seattle History
« on: February 07, 2022, 12:14:14 PM »
I happened to catch this last night. I knew a little bit about "The Penthouse" (on the ground floor) in Pioneer Square and the music played and recorded there, but the background re: the recording of John Coltrane's album, "A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle," was new to me. A few links:

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/your-voices-lost-masterpiece-by-saxophonist-john-coltrane-found-released/a61dca2b-7516-4a51-8873-322589da7508/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Penthouse_(Seattle)

https://www.dailyuw.com/arts_and_culture/ghosts-from-the-penthouse-seattle-s-forgotten-jazz-club/article_42dd3916-350f-11eb-ad09-cb3dd7227ea8.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Brazil

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/john-coltrane-a-love-supreme-live-in-seattle/

Naturally, Jazz isn't for everyone and neither is local history. But I have posted the above for those who enjoy jazz and find local history interesting.

"To each his own. Live and let live." (--This ex-NJ cab driver's motto)

Offline lindy

  • Member
  • Posts: 1241
  • I'm a llama!
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2022, 12:30:09 PM »
According to Quincy Jones (who moved to Seattle as a high school kid), Seattle in the 1940s was like New Orleans, a 24-hour town with lots of late-night clubs along Jackson Street. Ray Charles moved here when he was 16, and by the time he left in 1950 he was the Ray Charles we now recognize.

https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Genre-crossing-Ray-Charles-got-start-in-Seattle-1146973.php

A page about Jackson Street:

https://depts.washington.edu/depress/jazz_jackson_street_seattle.shtml

Offline Stuart

  • Member
  • Posts: 3177
  • "The Voice of Almiqui"
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2022, 02:34:43 PM »
Thank you for the links, Lindy. Paul de Barros' book, "Jackson Street After Hours," contains a wealth of information about Jazz in Seattle--as the title implies.

Several years ago when Greg Ruby was doing his Frank Waldron project, Paul gave a talk about Frank Waldron before the Camp Jitterbug dance off at Washington Hall. It was quite informative. I didn't see a video or transcript of his talk on-line, but here are a couple of videos of the dance off. (Greg and the band played a set of Frank Waldron's compositions before the  main event began.)





So music and dance were alive and well at Washington Hall. Let's hope it continues.

A few links re: Greg's project:

https://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/syncopated-classic-greg-ruby-and-the-rhythm-runners-play-frank-d-waldron/

https://www.earshot.org/project/greg-ruby-the-rhythm-runners-present-unrecorded-music-by-frank-d-waldron/

https://gregrubymusic.com/projects/frank-d-waldron-project/

There's a free download (in PDF) of the project available, with an essay by Paul and Greg. Greg also had Jacob Zimmerman and Dalton Ridenhour record Frank Waldron's compositions as they might have sounded back when they were composed and played.

I have to hand it to Greg, Paul and the musicians for doing the hard work of being top shelf "custodians of culture and history," as well as having the talent and passion to play the music and keep it alive. After all, it is timeless. The daily struggle continues...
« Last Edit: February 08, 2022, 05:03:29 PM by Stuart »

Offline David Kaatz

  • Member
  • Posts: 443
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2022, 05:18:34 PM »
There have been some other recordings from Penthouse sets released. Just heard about this one featuring Bola Sete:
https://www.fretboardjournal.com/columns/stream-a-previously-unreleased-live-version-of-bola-setes-one-note-samba/

And this, Wes Montgomery. Although I haven't heard it, I have doubts it can surpass the masterpiece of the same group on Wes' fantastic album, Smokin' at the Half Note.
https://www.amazon.com/Smokin-Seattle-Live-At-Penthouse/dp/B06XGTBNFN


Offline Slack

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 9213
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2022, 12:26:19 PM »
Thanks for posting these links - I had no idea.  I have not gotten to all of them - but the Seattle times story is fascinating and the Penthouse must have been a fantastic venue.  Although I'm listening to Ow! Live at the Penthouse and it sounds like about a dozen people are there. 

Offline David Kaatz

  • Member
  • Posts: 443
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2022, 03:32:20 PM »
Wow, I had no idea those recordings are available on the internet archive! Thanks, Stuart. Checking out Wes now. The live at the Half Note album is one of my favorites by Wes, I'll have to compare them.

Dave

Offline Stuart

  • Member
  • Posts: 3177
  • "The Voice of Almiqui"
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2022, 05:55:01 PM »
Hi Dave: You--and Lindy--are much more knowledgeable in this area than I am, so I'll be interested in what you think about the "Live At The Penthouse" release.

Considering all of the music that was played there, there must have been a lot of great performances, including moments, "when the magic happens," captured on the 350 reels of tape that are mentioned in the article. I'm looking forward to listening to them as they become available.

I saw that Jim Wilke plays some Bola Sete songs recorded when he performed at The Penthouse on one of his available shows. Here's the link:

https://www.knkx.org/people/jim-wilke

Another one of my favorite KPLU/KNKX programs has been Ken Wiley's "The Art of Jazz." It has allowed me to move my knowledge of Jazz from between "none and none" to between "slim and none." (The same thing I've been hoping for in a few other areas--One can dream...)  ;)

Offline David Kaatz

  • Member
  • Posts: 443
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2022, 01:42:04 PM »
I was very pleased to be able to download the Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly sets from the Internet Archive site.

Several Live at the Penthouse recordings are available on Amazon Prime music, I just found Cannonball Adderley, Three Sounds feat. Gene Harris, Ow! and the Bola Sete recordings and added those to my jazz playlist there.

Are you folks like me, in that I add myriad potentially great things to my playlist or my personal mp3 collection, but never find the time to really listen to everything? So much good music, so little time! And try to play/practice my own instrument too! Whew.

Stuart, the Wes recording sounds quite good, as do the other recordings from the Penthouse that I have sampled. A Wes fan might be disappointed if they pay for this and get 4 of 10 tracks that are only the piano trio, and two Wes tunes fade out because of musician's union broadcast rules at that time.

Offline Rivers

  • Tech Support
  • Member
  • Posts: 7274
  • I like chicken pie
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2022, 04:55:22 PM »
For those that don't know, Wes and The Wynton Kelly Trio feature on another great live album "Smokin’ at the Half Note", recently (er, well maybe 15 years or so ago by now) rereleased on Verve, remastered and with additional tracks. They also back Wes on the "Full House" album, but "Smokin’ at the Half Note" is a flat out classic in my opinion. Look for the rereleased release.

Offline Stuart

  • Member
  • Posts: 3177
  • "The Voice of Almiqui"
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2022, 10:19:01 AM »
"Bola Sete  Samba in Seattle : Live at the Penthouse 1966​-​1968" is available for listening at Bandcamp:

https://tompkinssquare.bandcamp.com/album/samba-in-seattle-live-at-the-penthouse-1966-1968


Offline Stuart

  • Member
  • Posts: 3177
  • "The Voice of Almiqui"
Re: Some Local Seattle History
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2023, 10:40:31 AM »
Yesterday I received an e-blurb from Tompkins Square re: their recent releases and other music available at Bandcamp. I happened to see that the Bola Sete 3 CD set is $18 (including downloads), which cheaper than the digital only version. (S&H is extra for the CDs.) I didn't check any of Tompkins Square's other titles, but I thought it was worth a mention, just in case anyone's interested in checking out what's available.

Tags:
 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal