Listen up, y’all. October’s about to hit a high note now that Seattle’s Earshot Jazz Festival is back for its 34th annual edition. Starting Sat., Oct. 8, there will be 40 head-bopping events across 30 days featuring world-renowned artists — and local legends.
That’s obviously a lot of in-person shows and virtual concerts to choose from, so we’re riffing on the ones that’ll have the most sax appeal — no matter what you’re into.
If you’re still a local jazz newbie 🎷
The Holden Legacy | Sun., Oct. 23 | 6 p.m. | Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute | $10+ | Late clarinetist/pianist Oscar Holden was known as the “Patriarch of Seattle Jazz” — his family members will take the stage for a musical history lesson.
If you wanna get those feet moving 👠
Alex Dugdale: Deca Dance | Thurs., Oct. 13 | 9 p.m.| Sea Monster Lounge, 2202 N. 45th St. | $12 | Get all funked up with the festival’s artist-in-residence, a tap-dancing saxophonist who created some ten-piece band arrangements made for cutting a rug at clubs + parties.
If you like to get weird 🥽
Christian Pincock’s Scrambler | Thurs., Oct. 27 | 8 p.m. | Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. | $10+ | Conducting in an improv style called Soundpainting, this trombonist leads his Seattle-based ensemble in unique interpretations of everything from “The Nutcracker” to 80s pop hits.
If you just wanna chill out 🎹
Darrell Grant “MJ New” Quartet | Thurs., Oct. 27 | 7:30 p.m. | Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave. + virtual | $10+ | Those who love Miles Davis-like jam sessions may dig the Portland pianist, whose soothing sound mixes in Bach fugues one minute — blues the next.
If you think the bigger the band, the better 🎺
Count Basie Orchestra with the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band | Fri., Oct. 15 | 7:30 p.m. | Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave. | $10+ | One of Seattle’s musical youth institutions gets to open for the legendary, Grammy Award-winning big band orchestra that’s still thriving 30 years after its founder’s death.
