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20 Seattle Jazz Musicians You Should Know: Marc Seales

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By Paul Rauch
August 18, 2020
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The city of Seattle has a jazz history that dates back to the very beginnings of the form. It was home to the first integrated club scene in America on Jackson St in the 1920's and 30's. It saw a young

Ray Charles

piano and vocals
1930 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Charles arrive as a teenager to escape the nightmare of Jim Crow in the south. It has produced such historical jazz icons as

Quincy Jones

arranger
1933 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Quincy Jones and

Ernestine Anderson

vocals
1928 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Ernestine Anderson. In many instances it has acted as a temporary repose for greats such as

Jelly Roll Morton

piano
1890 - 1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Jelly Roll Morton,

Joe Venuti

violin
1903 - 1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Venuti, the aforementioned Charles,

Larry Coryell

guitar
1943 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Coryell,

Julian Priester

trombone
b.1935

" data-original-title="" title="">Julian Priester and

Randy Brecker

trumpet
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Randy Brecker, to mention but a few.

With this series of features, I will introduce you to twenty jazz musicians currently living and working in Seattle. It is not to be seen as any sort of ranking, it has no positional value in that regard. It is simply an effort to introduce the jazz world at large to the vibrance and innovative nature of the jazz scene in and around the jewel city of Seattle, Washington.

6. Marc Seales

From the 1970's forward into the new century, pianist/keyboardist

Marc Seales

piano
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Marc Seales has cast a long shadow on the jazz scene in Seattle. His high profile status as the city's first call, top shelf pianist, combined with his work with national headliners, has shed significant light on the fluent, open ended goings on in the northwest corner of the country.

Seales has as well mentored two generations of aspiring artists as Professor of Music at the University of Washington, where he serves as Chair of the Jazz Studies Program. Somehow, he has been able to juggle his growing set of responsibilities there, with a touring and recording schedule that has included liaisons with such high profile artists as

Ernie Watts

saxophone, tenor
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Ernie Watts,

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson,

Art Pepper

saxophone, alto
1925 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Art Pepper,

Benny Carter

saxophone, alto
1907 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Carter and

Mark Murphy

vocals
1932 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Murphy. He is quick to acknowledge that his greatest influences have been two late, great Seattle jazz icons-trumpeter Floyd Standifer, and saxophonist

Don Lanphere

saxophone
1928 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Lanphere. From those two titans, he advanced his knowledge of the bebop idiom to give voice to his modern, post-bop style. Standifer and Lanphere's experience was rooted in their first hand experience with bebop pioneers such as

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker and

Fats Navarro

trumpet
1923 - 1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Fats Navarro.

Seales' evolution as a performer has been witnessed at Seattle's most noted jazz spots. He has performed regularly over the years at Jazz Alley, The New Orleans Creole Restaurant and The Ballard Jazz Festival, but his monthly performances over 26 years at the now shuttered Tula's Jazz Club achieved legendary status. Seales never failed to change up the lineup of his band from month to month, enlisting his bandmates from an "A" list of northwest jazz luminaries. The Marc Seales Band would often include Portland based drummer

Gary Hobbs

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Hobbs, bassist Chuck Deardorf and trumpeter

Thomas Marriott

trumpet
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Thomas Marriott. In different configurations, one might see bassists

Jeff Johnson

bass
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Johnson or

Evan Flory-Barnes

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Flory-Barnes, drummers

D’Vonne Lewis

" data-original-title="" title="">D��Vonne Lewis or

Steve Korn

drums
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Korn, vibraphonist

Tom Collier

vibraphone
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Collier, guitarists Fred Hamilton or brother Jesse Seales, and saxophonists

Mark Taylor

composer / conductor
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Taylor and

Richard Cole

saxophone, tenor
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Richard Cole. Simply stated, playing Seales' gig at Tula's was an esteemed place to be. The band released an album recorded live at Tula's entitled, A Time, A Place, A Journey (Origin, 2002) that includes six original compositions and a bluesy take of the gospel standard, "Deep River."

Seales is a founding member of the highly regarded trio

New Stories

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">New Stories, along with bassist

Doug Miller

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Doug Miller, and drummer

John Bishop

drums
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John Bishop. The trio has four critically acclaimed albums of their own, six with be-bop legend Lanphere, and received a Grammy nomination for Song For the Geese (RCA, 1997) with vocalist Murphy . New Stories was one of the the first US jazz groups to play in the former USSR's far east, featuring at the 1993 JVC Jazz Festival in Vladivostok, Russia. There, they appeared with

Tom Harrell

trumpet
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Harrell,

Nick Brignola

saxophone, baritone
1936 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Nick Brignola,

Slide Hampton

trombone
1932 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Slide Hampton, Conte Condoli,

Bobby Shew

trumpet
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Shew,

Jon Faddis

trumpet
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Faddis, &

Larry Coryell

guitar
1943 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Coryell. Speakin' Out (Origin, 1999), a collaboration with saxophonist Watts, was recently re-issued, following a reunion of the trio with the esteemed tenor giant at the 2019 Ballard Jazz Festival.

Under his own name, Seales released three volumes of American Songs (Origin, 2012), delving into American popular compositions ranging from jazz and blues, to James Taylor and the Doobie Brothers. The recordings speak to his personal evolution musically growing up in rock bands with his brother Jesse, to his current status as a virtual cornerstone of jazz music in the Pacific Northwest. The Paris Suite (Self-Released, 2009) which moves from original material to

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis, exemplifies as well as any of his recordings, his ability to move from piano to electric keyboards and synthesizers seamlessly.

As a piano stylist, Seales' approach would best be described as post-bop modernism, bringing that sense of adventure to everything he touches, whether it be original material, jazz standards, or his penchant for interpreting pop and rock classics. Talent wise, he stands tall among influential icons like

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock, or next generation stars

George Colligan

multi-instrumentalist
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">George Colligan and

Orrin Evans

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Orrin Evans. While he has been widely respected in the jazz world for more than thirty years, his decision to become a tenured professor has denied many the opportunity to see him perform. That dedication to family, and tending to the next generation, and then the next, of up and coming artists has spread his influence on the music perhaps further than a plain performance career could offer. He would often prop a University of Miami Law School cap on the piano at Tula's in the last years of the club's long history. He would remark that it reminded him of why he worked so hard-he was putting his daughter through law school! His choice of lifestyle would as well represent a huge tick in the win column for the Seattle jazz scene-that which turned his focus to the music of a city with a rich and proud jazz tradition. His name has been swept up in the same vortex as Quincy Jones and

Ray Charles

piano and vocals
1930 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Charles. It sits proudly beside

Jay Thomas

saxophone, tenor
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Jay Thomas, Ernestine Anderson,

Hadley Caliman

saxophone
1932 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Hadley Caliman, Julian Priester, Greta Matassa,

Thomas Marriott

trumpet
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Thomas Marriott and his two main kindred spirits-Standifer and Lamphere.

Photo Credit: Daniel Sheehan

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