Egan's little club with big dreams of nurturing young musicians
Rik Wright plays Egan's tonight.

The former experimentalist now delivers bluesy bop with a contemporary edge. Tonight's show is still happening! Ballard was unaffected by the power outages resulting from last night's wind storm and the Wright/Grasso Quartet is still performing this evening starting at 7PM. In fact if you don't have power, Egan's is warm, and has hot food, too! Paul DeBarros of the Seattle Times has even posted an article in this Weekend's "Ticket" section highlighting the venue and the show: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2003478002_jazz15.html

Have you been to Egan's Ballard Jam House yet? From what I'd heard, I somehow had the impression it was some scrappy, makeshift loft. Au contraire. Egan's is a cute little nightclub with a dozen, low-lit cocktail tables, a baby grand piano, ample stage and New Orleans menu. The major operative word here is "little" - the place accommodates no more than 50 customers, max - which may ultimately prove a problem. But check out this little jewel (1707 N.W. Market St.; 206-789-1621 or www.ballardjamhouse.com). You can't miss it. There's a marquee from when the place used to be a dry cleaners, and a big gold saxophone sign above that. At 7 tonight, guitarist Rik Wright performs; at 10 p.m. Saturday, it's the weird and wonderful Reptet; ex-Garfield High School sax man Dylan Heaney is on at 6 p.m. Thursday, with vocalist Karen Shivers' holiday show following at 9. The cover runs $5-$10 (charged separately for each show, if two bands play). Egan's is the brainchild of jazz mom Suzanne Weghorst, whose son went to Ballard High School and now plays tenor saxophone at North Seattle Community College. "With all the high-school kids here who are good musicians," said Weghorst, "where is there a place for them to play and learn from the pros?" Quite new to the club business, Weghorst is assistant director at the University of Washington's Human Interface Technology Laboratory (the well-known "HITLab"). "If I had known ahead of time what I was getting into, I might not have done it," said this expert in virtual - if not actual - reality. The club opened last summer with a sold-out concert by the all-female saxophone group the Tiptons, but since then, business has been iffy. Weghorst hopes to add a sidewalk cafe and a hard-liquor license. Presently, Egan's is an all-ages beer and wine cafe, open for lunch and dinner, with espresso and desserts a mainstay and the major menu items prepared off-premises. "You can only survive as a 'best-kept secret' for so long," says general manager Ben Sweeney. "But the jazzers are clamoring to keep this place alive." A painless way to help out with that might be to check out Wright tonight. Known originally as an experimentalist, particularly through his record label HipSync, Wright recently made a profound turnaround. "I felt like I was basically sounding like Sonny Sharrock or James 'Blood' Ulmer," said Wright, referring to two avant-garde guitarists. "But my real guitar heroes were always Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery." One night two years ago at the Midtown Manhattan club Iridium, Wright had what might be called a born-again musical revelation." I  went to see Pat Martino and Joe Lovano," he recalled. "Lovano was about 3 feet away, literally sweating on me. I had listened to these guys for years, but with the live experience, I suddenly realized, 'That's what I want to do with my playing.' " Since then, Wright has been delivering bluesy, straight-ahead bop, with a nice contemporary edge. His new album, "After the Storm" (HipSync), features funky swingers "Lush Money" and "Thinking of the North Side," as well as romantic ballads like "The Nearness of You" and "When Sonny Gets Blue," the latter with a lovely solo guitar intro. Wright's band tonight features Tony Grasso (trumpet), Birch Pereira (bass) and Jeremy Jones (drums).

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Dear Journalist: Wishing you a very happy holiday season! Please let me know if you have reviewed or plan to review the following recordings, or if you have any comments. We are compiling our reports for our artists and would lke to include your comments/intentions.  If per chance you have not received any of the recordings listed below and would like to, please email me back with the address where you'd like to have it sent and we'll get it right out to you.

Jonathan Poretz, A Lot Of Livin¹ To Do /AFP121215 (Street Date Jan. 16, 2007)
Jonathan Poretz is equally comfortable performing his brand of great American jazz standards to audiences large and small. He brings an electric energy to any stage he¹s on, a talent he¹s been cultivating since his early teens, when he sang professionally in bands that featured jazz greats including Charlie Shavers, Chuck Wayne and Joe Puma in his home town of New York City. Blending the swinging vocal stylings of Sinatra, Torme, Bennett and Darin, Jonathan puts his own unique stamp on every song he sings and every story he tells through the great American standard songbook.

Marcus Goldhaber, The Moment After, Fallen Apples Records (Street Date September 18, 2006)
Marcus Goldhaber sings with a comfortable ease and though his sound has been compared to that of John Pizzarelli, Chet Baker and a young Frank Sinatra, he definitely has a unique style that is rooted in the beauty of a simple melody. On The Moment After, a set of 12 gems from The Great American Songbook, Marcus teams up with pianist Jon Davis, bassist Paul Gabrielson, drummers Kyle Struve and Will Terrill.

Catz In The Hatz featuring Steve Johnson,  Rhombus/7068 (Street Date October 31, 2006)
It was a wonderful feather in their "Hat" that The Catz in the Hatz were asked to play at the Grand Opening of the New Amphitheater at the Discovery Center in Big Bear Lake, California. From that success they were immediately asked back to The Discovery Center to be the opening act for Three Dog Night. Each member of this unique group has had decades of experience - on the musical road - in the recording studio and on stage. The magic of jazz and classic standards has brought these members together. Resilience features clever, swinging arrangements of standards sprinkled with a few of the band's originals as well as a cool arrangement of Beethovan's Für Elise by pianist Mike Cross. Best, Lorrane Tucci  for Jazz Promo Services 212-426-9518 newsoundideas@earthlink.net

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