I phoned Seattle trumpeter Thomas Marriott with just one question
about his latest disc, Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson (Origin): Why Willie Nelson?
As if anticipating my question, Marriott reflected, “In jazz, we
have a lexicon of songs—the repertory of standard tunes. Many of
them,” he added, “come from movies made in the 1930s. The repertory
needs updating.”
And why not with country songs? Aside from experimental music, I
can’t think of any other genre so damaged by easy
clichés. The outsize cowboy hats, the big (and usually bad)
hair, and visions of Bud Light–swilling fans who have never
stacked bales of hay or slopped hogs (I did both growing up) belie
the sophisticated construction and melodic richness of country
music.
Having combed through Nelson’s albums, Marriott agrees: “There’s so
much there. I picked tunes that would lend themselves to different
treatments.”
Crazy does much more than merely update Nelson classics such
as “Crazy” and “On the Road Again.” The trumpeter and his
bandmates—bassist Geoff Harper, drummer Matt Jorgensen,
saxophonist Mark Taylor, and Ryan Burns on keyboards—rebuild the
songs entirely.
“Write Your Own Songs,” begins with a rubbery synth line borrowed
from Weather Report’s “Black Market.” But Marriott and Taylor heat up
the tune into riotous, Dixieland-inspired polyphony; both solo
simultaneously until guest keyboardist Wayne Horvitz unleashes an
amazing ring-modulated solo that whoops and sizzles.
By contrast, “On the Road Again” opens with an annunciatory gong.
While Burns’s Moog warbles and wobbles in the background, Marriott
drenches his trumpet in slow-motion echo. The result is a valedictory
farewell as well as a hymn-like fanfare celebrating the rediscovery
of music that is fresh and new. 
Catch the Willie Nelson Project on Wed Feb 27, The Triple Door,
216 Union St, 838-4333, 7:30 pm, $15.
Thurs 2/21
BUDDY CATLETT
This fine bassist has gigged with just about everybody, most notably
Count Basie and Frank Sinatra. Here, Catlett anchors a quintet stocked
with fellow Seattle jazz legends Clarence Acox (drums), Hadley Caliman
(saxophone), Bob Hammer (piano), and Julian Priester (trombone).
Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave, 684-7171, noon—1 pm,
free.
Fri 2/22
SIDE BY SIDE
Not the Stephen Sondheim musical revue, but a free coperformance of
Mahler’s titanic Symphony No. 1 by the Seattle Symphony and
the UW’s University Symphony. Meany is just the right size for a Mahler
symphony to roar (as it should) right into your ears. Rie Ando is the
piano soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. Meany
Theater, UW Campus, 543-4880, 7:30 pm, free.
HOPE WECHKIN
Chiefly known for singing with the much-missed chamber group
Sorelle, Wechkin stars in a one-woman show, Charisma. The
soprano portrays a hospital patient who sings and plays the violin
simultaneously while coping with a cavalcade of unusual characters.
Also Sat Feb 23, Fri Feb 29, and Sat March 1. ACT Theatre, 700
Union St, 292-7676, 8 pm, $10/$20.
YANN NOVAK
Dragon’s Eye Recordings honcho Novak shares a triple bill with
labelmates Kamran Sadeghi (aka Son of Rose) and Wyndel Hunt. All
perform with video and in sumptuous quadraphonic sound. Novak riffs on
his latest release, In Residence, a gorgeous collection of
drones and striated textures. Fourth floor Chapel Performance
Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8 pm, $5—$15
sliding scale donation.
Sun 2/24
JACK GOLD-MOLINA GROUP
A passionate advocate of freely improvised music, drummer
Gold-Molina teams up with composer/guitarist Chris Pugh, Sunship
saxophonist Michael Monhart, and PK on bass. Sureshot Espresso,
4505 University Way NE, 632-3100, 2—4 pm, free.
BREAKING BARRIERS
The composer-as-critic has a noble but invisible lineage. Hector
Berlioz, Claude Debussy, Roberto Gerhard, and many other composers
great and small wrote about music to clarify and propagate their
aesthetic beliefs, discover and publicize fellow musicians, and of
course, put food on the table. Until recently, most readers usually
remember the critic, not the composer; now the composer-critic’s bio
lurks just a mouse click away. Frank Oteri, editor of the essential
NewMusicBox.org, presents two of
his compositions, including a song cycle based on the poetry of
Margaret Atwood. Harpsichordist Trudy Chan, the Seattle Chamber
Players, and a slew of Cornish faculty also tackle pieces by alumnae
Eyvind Kang, Gretta Harley, and Zachary Watkins. PONCHO Concert
Hall at Cornish College, 710 E Roy, 325-6500, 8 pm, $7.50/$15.
Tues 2/26
BALTIMORE CONSORT
Wryly billed as “hot Latin music, circa 1500,” the Early Music Guild
has imported this outfit to showcase work by Juan de Encina, Diego
Ortiz, Miguel de Fuenllana, and anonymous Sephardic Jewish composers.
With countertenor Jose Lémos. Preconcert talk starts at 7 pm.
Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 325-7066, 8 pm, $15—$35.
HARSH
The ear-bleeding series resurfaces with a collaboration between
Herpes Hideaway and Red Squirrels. Bring earplugs. Rendezvous, 2320
Second Ave, 441-5823, 10 pm, $5.
