Seattle Jazz Fellowship: Wednesdays Starting October 20, 2021. 5pm and 7:30pm

| October 19, 2021
Julian Priester

Dear Friends, 

There is nothing like live music, especially when experienced with friends – that feeling of connection between musicians and audience, the uplifting of spirits and the shared feeling of community. On a good night, that experience is life-affirming – it makes us feel fully alive. For so many reasons we need that feeling now more than ever, but as we all know, lately it’s been hard to come by.

Today in Seattle, pandemic or no, our local audience and musicians don’t have a place where they come together on a regular basis. Many of our established performers aren’t connected with the new voices in our midst, and there aren’t opportunities for younger musicians to engage with a community of “old pros.” Most performance opportunities for local artists pay wages so low, many musicians don’t have much reason to take their music to another level. The next generation of music-makers can’t be inspired by jazz if the cost and location of the music is out of reach. This is where the Seattle Jazz Fellowship is working to make a difference.

The Seattle Jazz Fellowship was formed earlier this year with four goals in mind: building community, revitalizing the jazz mentorship cycle, incentivizing excellence and lowering barriers to both perform and hear live jazz. Our end goal is to establish our own space with six nights a week of scheduled events designed to stimulate our jazz community, increase mentorship, and encourage participation. Opening our own non-profit jazz club is a long-term endeavor, and we will get there – but our community needs help now. This is why I’m excited about our first venture: Fellowship Wednesdays at Vermillion.

Starting this Wednesday, October 20th, the Seattle Jazz Fellowship will host a weekly series of events at Capitol Hill’s Vermillion Art Bar & Gallery (1508 11th Ave). Featuring our current Artist- in-Residence, Julian Priester, every Fellowship Wednesday will start with an afternoon/after- school free listening session with Mr. Priester at 5 pm, as he plays and editorializes some of his favorite recordings. Each Wednesday evening beginning at 7:30 pm, two bands will be featured, with each band representing a different slice of our jazz community.

This weekly series is a small step toward achieving our goals but we need your help to do more. I hope you’ll consider joining us on Wednesday, October 20th for our opening show at Vermillion with Marc Seales and Xavier Lecouturier. You can find more information on the performance here. If you can’t make the show, consider visiting our website, making a donation, subscribing to our mailing list, or simply sharing this news with others. Together, we can make sure Seattle continues to have a thriving and growing jazz community. Join us!

I hope we see you at a Fellowship Wednesday soon. Many thanks, Thomas

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