I’m a block away when I hear Reptet rehearsing “Swanni” from their
upcoming disc, Chicken or Beef? (Monktail). Even from the middle
of the street, the sextet—just back from playing a dozen shows on
the East Coast—sounds tight. Trumpeter Samantha Boshnack pipes high above a churning Balkan-influenced riff; depending on how
you count the beat, you hear an accelerated waltz or a pulsing
four-on-the-floor groove.
Inside, the tiny living room is packed with all six musicians.
Drummer John Ewing sits to my left and I watch him place a pot
lid on his floor tom during “Do This!”—the title track from the
group’s first album. Despite the standard jazz-band frontline of
trumpet, trombone, and saxophones, every Reptet song has something
unusual, from group chants and polyrhythmic hand-clap intros to unusual
instruments including flute, tuba, and bass clarinet.
During a break, I peer around the room, spotting some
decades-out-of-print Impulse! LPs on the shelf along with Paul de
Barros‘s classic book on Seattle jazz, Jackson Street After
Hours. The back of a vintage magazine touts the “Piano
Publications” of one forgotten “Marvin Kahn.” I also spy a torn
poster of David Bowie in his mid-1970s quasi-fascist Station
to Station phase, and a set of 10-inch trio sides by Nat King
Cole, who, before he found fame as a crooner, was a leading
pianist.
All that stuff seems to suit Reptet, who make new music by merrily
hopping around the history of jazz. A stereotypical, finger-snapping
walking bass lick can smartly mingle with a dissonant free-jazz
freak-out, a moody, minor-key TV-cop-show melody, or an Anthony
Braxton–inspired lamination of simultaneous layers. Best of
all, Reptet make jazz fun. 
Catch Reptet Sun May 18, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer
Park, 1400 E Prospect St, 654-3100, 2 pm, free.
Thurs 5/15
BOBBY HUTCHERSON
Beloved for his great Blue Note LP Dialogue as well as for
his marvelous playing with greats like Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, and
Hank Mobley, vibraphonist Hutcherson returns with the spectacular,
soaring trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Through Sun May 18. Jazz Alley,
2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 7:30 and 9:30 pm (7:30 pm only on Sun),
$27.50.
Fri 5/16
PSYCHE
Unlike composers such as John Adams who stake out grand operas about
icons and contemporary events (Nixon in China, The Death
of Klinghoffer, Dr. Atomic), Garrett Fisher writes
intimate, eclectically scored chamber operas that reimagine mythic,
semiremembered figures such as Thomas Moore (The Passion of Saint
Thomas Moore) and Galileo (Stargazer). Scored for
harmonium, viola, taiko drums, bass, gongs, and singers, Fisher’s
latest opera, Psyche, recounts Aphrodite’s envy of Psyche, the
world’s most beautiful woman. Also Sat May 17. Fourth-floor Chapel
Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N,
800-838-3006, 8 pm, $12/$15.
SEATTLE OCCULTURAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
A portmanteau of “occult” and “culture,” this festival boasts an
interesting lineup of “esoteric, mystical & psychoacoustic musics.”
Maverick composer Phillip Arnautoff, a friend of Harry Partch, performs
his spacious and shimmering Soliloquy on his own Harmonic
Canon; Robin Holcomb sings her ethereal songs; and more. Sat May 17 (at
Dearborn on Woodland, not at Gallery 1412) features Paintings for
Animals, Tyler Potts, and Voodoo Israel. Fri May 23 and Sat May 24 have
a similarly attractive lineup that includes Tempered Steel, the
seldom-seen electroacoustic sound artist Matt Shoemaker, Red Squirrels,
and KRGA. See somf.info for venue and
performer details. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm,
$5—$15 suggested donation.
SEATTLE PRO MUSICA
Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C sharp minor may be his biggest
hit, but the choral Vespers remains the itinerant Russian
composer’s masterpiece. SPM should sound suitably transcendent in the
reverberant space of St. James. Don’t miss it. Also Sat May 17 at 8 pm.
St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 781-2766, 8:15 pm,
$10—$32.
Sat 5/17
INSIDE THE MUSIC
Pianist Geísa Dutra concludes this series of
piano-recitals-with-commentary and proffers several suites of Spanish
piano music: Manuel de Falla’s Danza Ritual del Fuego, the
Suite Española by Albéniz, Catalonian composer
Frederic Mompou’s Scenes d’Enfants, and more. I’m especially
intrigued by the inclusion of two Scarlatti sonatas, K. 396 and K. 446.
Sherman-Clay Piano & Organ, 1624 Fourth Ave, 800-838-3006,
6—8 pm, $9/$15.
Sun 5/18
JACK GOLD-MOLINA GROUP
Amid the dreamcatchers, overpriced food, and hodgepodge crafts,
drummer Gold and company blast out Emasculata Symphonica, a
symphony-sized, four-movement, free-jazz-inspired improvisation.
Sureshot Espresso, 4505 University Way NE, 632-3100, 2—4 pm,
free.
SEATTLE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
I worship Beethoven, but why can’t I keep the various overtures to
Beethoven’s only opera, Leonore (later renamed
Fidelio), straight? The SYSO performs the Leonore Overture
No. 3 along with Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration. Two
elegant, glittering gems by Ravel, La Valse and Valses
Nobles et Sentimentales, round out the program. Benaroya
Hall, 200 University St, 362-2300, 3 pm,
$8—$40.
Tues 5/20
HERB ALPERT AND LANI HALL
Two cocktail-culture icons make a rare stop in Seattle. Perhaps the
most handsome man to grace album covers in the 1960s—Sam Cooke is
another contender—Alpert had a knack for making his swanky,
insouciant trumpet leads on tunes like “The Lonely Bull” and “Tijuana
Taxi” sound totally improvised. Covocalist of Brasil ’66, Lani Hall
realized hits like “Fool on the Hill,” though I still prefer gutsier
album cuts like “Upa Neguinho.” Also Wed May 21. Jazz Alley, 2033
Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 7:30 pm, $45.
Wed 5/21
UW CONTEMPORARY GROUP
Students and faculty present selections of the avant, notably
Elliott Carter’s 1948 Sonata for Cello and Piano, an
impassioned—and relatively accessible—work that hints at
the fierce rhythmic complexity heard in his landmark string quartets of
the 1950s. In addition, Sean Osborn plays UW faculty composer
Joël-François Durand’s In the Mirror Land for
clarinet; percussionist Chris Lennard tackles the funky
Rebonds by Iannis Xenakis; and pianist Lee Hancock serves up
Nine New Bagatelles from one of the most notable composers to
emerge from UW, William Bolcom. Meany Hall, UW Campus, 543-4880,
7:30 pm, $10.
