Piano Time 2012 Performances Friday and Saturday, August 10th, 11th

The Werner Cafe Piano by Shoreline artist Kim Bateman
Photo courtesy City of Shoreline

Friday Noon Brick Road Performance

There are two chances this week to catch scheduled performances on the Piano Time pianos.  On Friday, August 10th, take your lunch out to the Park at Town Center at N 175th and Midvale and listen to Karin Kajita on piano with Tony Grasso on trumpet playing some lively jazz. They’ll be entertaining on the Red Brick Road just north of Walgreens from noon-1:30 p.m.  This bright yellow piano painted by Shoreline artist Kim Bateman is called the Werner Café Piano so having lunch while you listen is a perfect accompaniment. 

Kajita is an accomplished jazz musician trained in performance and arranging at the University of Washington. She is the leader of the Karin Kajita Jazz Quintet and performs at local festivals including Bumbershoot, the Shoreline Arts Festival and the Evergreen State Fair.  She has performed throughout the United States, in Japan and on European and Alaskan cruise lines.  Currently she can be heard on a regular basis around Seattle at such venues as the 1201 3rd Avenue Building and the Sorrento Hotel.  In addition to heading her own band, Kajita also plays with the Hammon/Esvelt Quintet and Finn Hill Jazz, and accompanies jazz vocalists Emily McIntosh and Kay Bailey.

Following graduation from the Naval School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia, Tony Grasso played throughout the country with the US Navy Band.  He has been a regular performer with various groups at Bumbershoot, the Folklife Festival and Earshot Jazz Festival.  Tony is the leader of “The Tony Grasso Saxophone Quartet?” which features compositions by Tony that sound like a form of chamber free jazz lined with layered contrapuntal patters and splintered sharp fragments of sound.

Grasso is a member of the Manghis Khan band playing a fusion of Latin and African music, as well as a member of the Karin Kajita Jazz Quintet, which performs primarily hard bop and Karin’s originals.  This is a not-to-be missed noontime concert!

Jazzy Jive by Shoreline artist CJ Swanson
Photo courtesy City of Shoreline

Saturday Happy Hour at the Jazzy Jive Piano

The next day, Saturday, August 11th from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m, Peter Vukmirovic Stevens, an award- winning composer and pianist from Seattle, will be playing on the Jazzy Jive piano, CJ Swanson, artist, on Aurora Ave N at N 182nd Street near Darrell’s Tavern. Stevens is co-founder and a member of the Seattle Pianist Collective, a group that performs adventurous and unique recitals featuring well known and lesser known works by composers from the 19th through 21st centuries.

Stevens’ own compositions include works ranging from solo piano to symphony orchestra and reflect influences from contemporary art, literature, extensive travels and ethnomusicology. He has also written for and collaborated with a wide variety of ensembles, performers and regional television projects. In his spare time he is an avid traveler to far away and remote places. Stop by and listen for a while to hear these places reflected in his eclectic musical selections.

Did you miss the opening Arts al Fresco event on Thursday?  The performance schedule and piano location map is on the City’s website.

Piano Time is a City of Shoreline project, funded in part by a grant from 4Culture and the collaboration of Prosser Piano and other area businesses.

For more information contact Ros Bird, Public Art Coordinator, 206-801-2661.