Photo Credit: Joe Christian, My Edmonds News

Attending a jazz walk is a tremendous pleasure. We are lucky to have two regular walks here in the Seattle metro, in North Bend and Edmonds. A new launch is coming up this July in Everett.

There have also been two walks in Pioneer Square, Seattle, called Jazz Night in Pioneer Square (July 2025 and February 2026.)

In a jazz walk, up to 18 jazz ensembles perform in a range of venues (bars, restaurants, galleries, shops) in a downtown area, close enough together so that it is easy to walk from one to the next. One price gets you into all of them with your wristband, which comes with a map. The evening is divided into 2–3 time slots. It is a mini jazz festival.

It is magical to walk along the street with music wafting around you and the quality of musicians in our area is high. By the end of the evening, you are floating. We need live music now more than ever in this uneasy time.

We attended the Edmonds Jazz Walk on Saturday May 30 from 6 to midnight. One ticket gave entry to sixteen venues with 26 bands. All proceeds went to support music and student programming. As it was not possible to attend all of them, we had to choose ahead of time and plan our itinerary. There was a large and upbeat crowd.

We enjoyed veteran pianist Reuel Lubag with singer Trish Hatley playing in a record shop. Lubag’s masterful playing is in classical jazz mode and he and Trish focused on standards. An old hand, he has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williems and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. A block away from 5-8, we heard the Richard Cole Quartet in the Cole Gallery (no relation.) Richard was on sax with Bill Anschell on keyboard, Chirs Symer on bass, and Bard Boal on drums in a muscular musical sound.

Across the street at a wine bar, we heard Pearl Django’s precision gypsy jazz 6-9. Pearl Django is always a pleasure, and we catch them whenever we can. Their approach is based on the music made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stefan Grapelli in France.  Use of the accordion and violin are unusual in American jazz and provide a nostalgic heart-stirring sound. Pearl Django has been performing for over 30 years with 15 CDs and has played around the world.

Photo Credit: Joe Christian, My Edmonds News

Moving on a block away to Rick Steves Europe, we heard the Golden Earrings Jazz Band, specializing in a spirited blend of vintage swing, New Orleans jazz, and jazz songs from the 20s and 30s. The band featured Kevin Buster on sax and Casey McGill, outstanding twenties-style vocalist on bass. Kevin dances, too. They take you back to another era.

Back at the Cole Gallery, we heard Duende Libre trio with Hans Teuber, blending American jazz with influences from Cuba, Brazil, the Mediterranean, and East Africa in an ear-expanding sound. Their deep original compositions reach beyond classic jazz into another zone. The band included Hans on sax, pianist Alex Chadsey, Jeff Busch on percussion, and Farko Dosumov on bass.

The groups we could not get to include the Roman Goron Trio, Steve Korn Trio, Edmonds-Woodway Jazz Ensemble, University of Washington Jazz Ensemble, Steve Treseler Quartet, The General’s 7 Traditional Jazz Band, Brushes & Bass & Friends, Clave Gringa, Jerry Steinhilber Trio The Jacob Zimmerman 3, Shoreline College Big Band, Neil Welch Duo, Jake Bergevin Quintet, Soundstation, UMAMI Jazz Fusion, the Boxley Quintet , and John Sanders and Alexey Nicolaev. What an impressive array of talent!

One of Edmonds’s excellent downtown restaurants provided dinner between sets.

We owe the Edmonds and North Bend Jazz Walks plus the upcoming inaugural Everett jazz walk to the efforts of Jazz NW, a non-profit devoted to promoting jazz in our area. Tireless pianist Danny Kolke leads Jazz NW and runs Boxley’s in North Bend where there is good jazz every weekend. See https://www.jazzclubsnw.org

Jazz Night in Pioneer Square was organized by the Seattle Jazz Fellowship with the Alliance for Pioneer Square. See https://seattlejazzfellowship.org/jazz-night  Let’s hope for more.

Our local jazz scene includes our excellent jazz station KNKX with its 24/7 streaming branch Jazz24, heard around the world. The annual Earshot Jazz Festival brings great artists to our area. See https://www.earshot.org. And, of course, there is our famous jazz club Jazz Alley, which brings major stars here. See https://www.jazzalley.com/www-home/

Our area schools are noted for jazz education and hire top musicians to teach. Garfield, Roosevelt, and Bothell high school jazz bands regularly take top honors in national competitions. 

Jazz has deep roots in Seattle. The multicultural area along south Jackson Street and the Central District gave birth to lively after-hours clubs in the 50s. Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Ernestine Anderson, and Kenny G. launched their careers here.

An American musical form appreciated around the world, jazz is thriving here in the Seattle metro.