Abe Beeson

Host, New Cool and Jazz at KNKX-FM (Tacoma, WA)

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Articles

Jacqueline Tabor and Marina Albero find strength in friendship and legendary women of jazz

2 weeks ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson |Stephanie Johnson

Over the past five years, singer Jacqueline Tabor and pianist Marina Albero have become a dynamic musical duo around the Northwest. Their most recent collaboration honors their deep friendship and the music of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Tabor and Albero became close during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, playing music together and also spending time in each other's daily lives.
Drummer Barrett Martin's globetrotting musical journey started with a player piano

2 weeks ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

Barrett Martin has a long musical history in the Northwest, mostly as a rock and roll drummer. However, in 2017 he brought his jazz fusion project, the Barrett Martin Group, to the KNKX studios. The rocking rhythms were thrilling, followed by a great conversation about his journey to jazz, and how his music is touched by his many travels around the world.
School of Jazz guest DJ for June: Luna Waller

3 weeks ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

Luna Waller has a lot going on. As the school year ends, Luna made time to share a diverse hour of her favorite jazz as the KNKX School of Jazz guest DJ for June. Finishing her junior year at Snohomish High School, under the direction of band leader and popular saxophonist Brent Jensen, Luna keeps busy as the vibraphonist in the school’s jazz band and also plays clarinet and bass clarinet in symphonic and orchestral settings. Luna Waller also plays a little guitar for fun, “I doodle around on it.
Duende Libre celebrates first album in five years at KNKX

1 month ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

For nearly a decade, the Seattle jazz fusion trio Duende Libre has been a ubiquitous presence on the Northwest music scene. But in this, their fourth KNKX studio session performance, the trio was celebrating music from their first new album in five years. Joined by bassist Farko Dosumov and drummer/percussionist Jeff Busch, Duende Libre’s pianist Alex Chadsey told the KNKX studio audience that the new album Invocation was born in the isolation of the pandemic.
Joey Alexander and Theo Croker join forces in the KNKX studios

1 month ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

The art of musical improvisation is most commonly a conversation between artists. During a series of concerts at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, pianist Joey Alexander and trumpeter Theo Croker made the most of their meeting on stage and also did some collaborating in the KNKX studios. Both have three Grammy nominations for their recordings as bandleaders. Croker augmented Alexander’s trio on half of the pianist’s 2023 album Continuance, but this live engagement in Seattle was a special occasion.
Footshooter and friends bring jazz energy to electronic beats

1 month ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

London producer, DJ and beat maker Footshooter (aka Barney Whittaker) finds organic partners for his new album of electronica. The Oasis brings the life and heat of humanity to the cold precision of digitally created rhythms. Footshooter’s “broken beat” style is rooted in the syncopation that made jazz swing and groove, and many of the guests featured on The Oasis have musical roots and careers in improvisation.
School of Jazz guest DJ for May: Sidney Mbugua

1 month ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

A senior tenor saxophone player with the Bellarmine Prep jazz band, Sidney Mbugua has a deep love for jazz. He’s also aware of the close connections of jazz and modern music. The first song Mbugua played on the show as this month's KNKX School of Jazz guest DJ is pianist Ahmad Jamal’s “I Love Music.” He explained that he actually first heard the tune sampled in “The World Is Yours” by rapper Nas. “A lot of hip-hop production uses these old jazz pieces, specifically piano," Mbugua shared.
Young quintet Knats bring a new sound to England's modern jazz scene

1 month ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

From England’s most northern city of Newcastle, the young group Knats are bringing a new perspective to London’s celebrated modern jazz scene. Their debut self-titled album incorporates Afrobeat, along with drum and bass dance rhythms, into the hard bop jazz legacy. The drum and bass genre evolved in 1990's England, characterized by fast tempos and heavy bass lines, influencing later electronically driven dance music like house, techno and dubstep.
Turning up the Seattle-New Orleans jazz connections

2 months ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

The KNKX Travel Club recently visited the birthplace of jazz and blues for the French Quarter Festival. The annual celebration highlighting local New Orleans musicians included a number of players with deep connections to the Seattle area. With nearly 100 jazz clubs, plus a number of hotel bars, and an array of live music in the streets, New Orleans has countless talented musicians with whom to collaborate.
School of Jazz guest DJs for April: Oren Sternberg and Isaac Plummer

2 months ago | knkx.org | Abe Beeson

Tenor sax players with the Eckstein Middle School jazz band, barely teenaged Isaac Plummer and Oren Sternberg have already spent many years listening to jazz. You can listen to an hour of their favorite jazz songs as April’s KNKX School of Jazz guest DJs.Plummer, a 13-year-old, was born into a jazz home. His father Bren Plummer is a professional bassist and composer in jazz and classical fields, and a song from Plummer’s 2018 KNKX Studio Session found its way onto Isaac and Oren’s playlist.