In a wonderful sold out performance, Steve Griggs and his ensemble performed music from Rio de Janeiro, music written by composers from the “marvelous city” about their home. Performaned were works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Nazareth, Pixinguinha, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, among others. It was very delightful to hear the blend of instruments on tunes I remember being played only on guitar. The Ensemble is composed of Steve Griggs – saxophone, Louie Richmond – cello, Tom Varner – French Horn, Phil Sparks – bass, Jeff Busch – percussion, Marco de Carvalho – guitar, and Susan Pascal – vibraphone, marimba.

All photographs on this website are Daniel Sheehan © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Please inquire for permission to use.

Brian Marsella (piano, keyboards, balafon), Shanir Blumenkranz (acoustic/electric bass, oud, gimbre), Tim Keiper (drums, percussion), and Cyro Baptista (percussion, vocals) performed Monday at the Triple door for the Earshot Jazz Festival audience.

The iconoclastic Brazilian percussionist, and recent movie scene-stealer (Rachel Getting Married), stretched out in a perfect Day of the Dead celebration. His exuberant band mixes voices and instruments from a dizzying array of cultures, creating a thrilling spectacle for eye and ear. The “musical cannibals” of the ensemble put on an exuberant and engaging performance at one point getting the audience to participant along with the band.

Cyro Baptista’s quartet embodies the philosophy of Anthropofagia, a Brazilian cultural movement from the 1920s. The band “is a musical manifestation of the process of eating, swallowing, and digesting all the tendencies that are part of the sonic landscape and our environment. The music is the product of all sounds that they have collectively consumed over the years; some of them they’ve digested and others they have rejected. After that, it has been difficult to identify what belongs to what country, culture, or religion.”

In January of last year I photographed an Earshot concert of Ann Drummond playing with her group Som de Brazil at the EMP Skychurch. What a great sound they put out.

One of Seattle’s brightest jazz exports, now working in New York and touring internationally, presented her new group, featuring top Brazilian musicians Nilson Matta, bass; Klaus Mueller, piano; and brilliant drummer Duduka da Fonseca. Pianist Jovino Santos Neto opened the evening with his spirited quartet.

Photograph by Seattle Editorial Photographer and Seattle photojournalist Daniel Sheehan. Daniel specializes in portraits and photojournalism for publications and corporations. At night he shoots jazz musicians on assignment for Earshot Jazz. Please respect his work and ask for permission to use any pictures. He is also a Seattle wedding photographer. He photographs weddings with an unobtrusive, story-telling approach and creates artistic documentary wedding photojournalism.