Faculty Feature: Richard Cole

We’re excited to announce the release of Richard Cole’s latest album “Inner Mission.”  Rich Cole is a member of the woodwind faculty at Music Works Northwest and offers lessons on the saxophone and clarinet.

As part of the 2010 Earshot Jazz Festival, Rich will be having an album release event at Tula’s Jazz Club on Wednesday, October 20th at 7:30 pm.  Rich will be joined by Thomas Marriott on trumpet, Bill Anschell on piano, Chuck Deardorf on bass, and Matt Jorgensen on drums.

Here’s a write-up on the release from Rich Cole:

Following up on 2007′s critically acclaimed Shade, Seattle-based saxophonist Richard Cole’s Inner Mission further solidifies his position among the important voices on the tenor saxophone. Once again utilizing the talents of long time-friend and trumpet giant, Randy Brecker, Cole leads the group through a maze of deconstructed jazz and pop standards, as well as several thought-provoking originals. “Come Together” gets a dark and smokey treatment, while Cole and pianist Bill Anschell’s co-written “Blame It On My Reed” sets the band into a burning spiral of rhythm changes. With a sideman cast that reads like a “who’s who” of Pacific Northwest jazz, Inner Mission documents another landmark in the seasoned career of this “brilliant, fertile” player (Earshot Jazz).

Check out Rich’s website for his complete discography.  Also, don’t forget to check out the Origin Records website for a sample of Inner Mission.

Faculty Feature: Greg Sinibaldi & Denali Williams

Greg Sinibaldi

One of the major assets that distinguishes Music Works Northwest from other music schools is our unique and talented faculty.  We are currently 46 faculty members strong, which means 46 highly talented members of our local, national, and global music community teach right under one roof. Each one of them has something exciting on the horizon, and this month, we’d like to give you a teaser of what is coming up for saxophone instructor Greg Sinibaldi and percussion instructor Denali Williams.

Greg Sinibaldi has recently finished scoring a piece for a percussion quartet and it is being premiered October 2, 2010 by the Seattle Percussion Collective.  The concert will be held at the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle.

Greg writes in his blog his feelings on composing this piece:

“I’m excited to hear it and really appreciate the opportunity to write it. It’s interesting finishing something like this. I worked countless hours on this and in the end I really don’t have much to show for it. I have a pretty score and parts but its manifestation doesn’t really come till its heard. And even then, its manifest for 10 minutes then gone. An odd thing. Maybe that’s why I like improvisation so much. Its in the now and reflects whats happening in the current space.”

Denali Williams

Honoring Greg with the performance of this piece is Denali Williams, a member of the Seattle Percussion Collective and percussion instructor at Music Works Northwest.

Denali will be performing with the Seattle Percussion Collective on both October 1st and 2nd.  Both nights look to have a promising set list.  The October 1st concert will be held at Gallery 1412 on Capitol Hill and will explore the music of John Cage.  The October 2nd concert as mentioned above will be held at the Chapel performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford and will feature the piece written by Greg Sinibaldi, as well as Mark Applebaum, and other composers from around the US and the world.

These are definitely two concerts that you do not want to miss!

October 1:

Gallery 1412: 1412 18th St, Seattle, WA 98122 (Capitol Hill/Central District neighborhood).  Suggested Donation $5 – $15.

October 2:

Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center: 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 4th Floor, Seattle, WA (Wallingford neighborhood).  Suggested Donation $5 – $15.

Faculty Feature: Jim Ellis

For this faculty feature, we would like to recognize a new guitar instructor at Music Works Northwest, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jim Ellis!

Playing electric, acoustic, 7-string guitar and double bass, guitarist Jim Ellis’ focus is improvisational music. He has played in notable big bands, combos, and performed extensively as a solo guitarist.

Jim earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music/Arts from the University of Maine, Famington and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern Maine. His teachers have included Walter Namuth, Gary Wittner, Butch Warren, Steve Novosel, and Joe Cohn.

An enthusiastic teacher with over ten years experience, Jim conveys a variety of picking style methods: fingerstyle, flat pick, and hybrid picking techniques while promoting a thorough understanding of the fingerboard and music theory concepts.

Student Feature: Rachael & Jordan Decker

One of the most rewarding aspects of working at Music Works Northwest is watching students grow and succeed in their musical endeavors both at Music Works NW and out in the community.  Many of our students participate in the Music Works Northwest Faculty Select Series which affords them the chance to perform in front of the community and their peers in a concert hall with stage lighting.

In the case of former Music Works Northwest student Rachael Decker, the performance opportunities she had at Music Works NW were a great supplement to her voice lessons with Susan Strick.  Susan’s voice lessons helped Rachael develop the skills necessary to project her voice on stage while still maintaining a quality tone.  In addition to taking voice lessons with Susan, Rachael had the desire to be able to play guitar and sing at the same time and turned to guitar instructor Brendan Bosworth.  Studying with Brendan helped her strengthen her abilities to both sing and play guitar at the same time.

Outside of Music Works NW, Rachael has starred in many musicals.  She has played the roles of Sandy in Grease, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Lucy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and now she is performing in the chorus in many roles in My Fair Lady.

Rachael’s brother Jordan Decker is a current student at Music Works Northwest and is studying guitar with Josh Ottum.  Since beginning lessons with Josh, Jordan’s confidence level has increased a tremendous amount and he is able to have a different feeling about what goes into every song.  Jordan has been an active participant in four Rock Shop Summer Camps at Music Works NW and he has enjoyed every moment.  Rock Shop is a weeklong camp during the summer that is taught by Music Works NW faculty members and is focused on rock and roll history and current rock and roll with a heavy music theory core.  Rock Shop offers plenty of chances to jam with fellow rockers and professional musicians and a camp ending performance for family and friends.

Jordan’s confidence from his lessons with Josh Ottum and his performances at Rock Shop have helped him immensely in his performances outside of Music Works Northwest.  Jordan has played the roles of Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Crazy “Dentist” in Little Shop of Horrors, and now he is performing as Freddy and singing the song “On the Street Where You Live” in the musical My Fair Lady.

Tonight is the final performance of My Fair Lady featuring Rachael and Jordan Decker.  The musical is being performed at the Kirkland Performance Center and tickets are free of cost!  You can print out tickets online through EventBrite by clicking the link here.