In addition to performing on Sunday, members of the Westerlies (among others) will instruct classes on Saturday.
Three days of jazz appreciation — including listening, learning and playing — start Friday (May 24) to launch this year’s Jazz in the Methow weekend presented by Cascadia Music.
The Westerlies, a popular Seattle-based horn ensemble that has a Methow Valley following, will headline the weekend on Sunday (May 26).
Also appearing will be the Jacob Zimmerman Jazz Swing Band and the Methow Valley’s own Westendorf Jazz Trio. The schedule includes a jam session, Jazz Academy workshops and a dance.
Here’s what’s happening:
• Friday (May 24) — The Jacob Zimmerman Jazz Swing Band plays for a dance at The Barnyard Cinema in Winthrop at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 ($15 for Barnyard members), and will be available at the door or at barnyardcinema.com. Seattle-based saxophonist and clarinetist Jacob Zimmerman studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and Mills College. He was recognized as the 2013 “Emerging Artist of the Year” by Earshot Jazz.
• Saturday (May 25) — Take classes, including lectures and workshops on listening to, playing and singing jazz, at the Jazz Academy at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp from noon to 3 p.m. Costs range from $1 to $25; tuition can be paid at the door. Classes include brass, jazz vocal, jazz improvisation and jazz appreciation. Instructors will include members of the Westerlies, as well as musicians Nancy Zahn and Marcus Duke.
Also on Saturday, join a jazz jam session at the TwispWorks campus from 6 – 8:30 p.m., anchored by the Methow Valley’s own Westendorf Jazz Trio (Lynette Westendorf on piano, Howie Johnson on bass, Kirk Schumacher on drums). All ages and all instruments are welcome. The event is free; donations will be accepted.
• Sunday (May 26) — The Westerlies will present a concert at The Merc Playhouse in Twisp, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $1 for students. The ensemble includes two trumpeters and two trombonists, and has produced two critically acclaimed albums of genre-bending chamber music.
For information, email cascadiamv@gmail.com, or visit www.cascadiamusic.org/jazz-in-the-methow-2.
