KNKX Studio Sessions

Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve probably heard Sonny Landreth. He’s a south-west Louisiana slide guitarist who played and recorded for several years with singer/songwriter, John Hiatt and his band ‘The Goners.’ He recently kicked off a 3-week tour on a double bill with boogie-woogie pianist, Marcia Ball and we got him in the studio for this very special solo performance. Who doesn’t love singer/songwriter/boogie-woogie pianist, Marcia Ball? Answer: nobody. She visits Seattle at least...

Stephanie Anne Johnson and The Hidogs stopped by KNKX studios and performed four songs from their new album, Take This Love . A Tacoma native, Johnson came to national attention as a finalist on NBC’s "The Voice" in 2013, and has developed a unique singing and songwriting style that draws on blues, soul and country.

Seattle Opera's production of "Charlie Parker's Yardbird" opens Feb. 22, and we were thrilled to have the lead tenor Joshua Stewart come in for a conversation and a preview, with accompanist David McDade at the piano.

The smiles were wide and contagious when Martin Taylor and Frank Vignola returned to the KNKX studios for a guitar duet performance. Regarded as two of the best acoustic guitarists in the world, our studio audience was thrilled to share their intense love of music and joy of playing that came shining through.

Located between the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, Decatur High School in Federal Way is in prime position to soak up all the arts activities on offer. And these teenagers are creating their own art as part of a successful and still-growing jazz program.

The Tiptons Saxophone Quartet and Drums was formed in Seattle in 1988. Now with only Amy Denio still based in the Puget Sound area, the Tiptons roll on. A new album is due in March, and with their performance in the KNKX studios, the Tiptons showed they're at the top of their game.

We were ecstatic to have pianist Marina Albero come back to the KNKX studios, celebrating the release of her new three-CD album, A Life Soundtrack .

The Westerlies unique combination of two trumpets and two trombones, nothing else, has been described as "folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous." In the KNKX studios, these four Northwest natives, now based in New York, were simply four brass players having a lot of fun.

Roxy Coss grew up with a motto in her house that always stuck with her: do what you love, and the money will follow. She's taken that idea to heart, "making decisions based on passion rather than fear," she says. The music Coss makes is passionate, fearless and incredibly cool. The proof is in her new retrospective album, Quintet .

Janiva Magness is one of our best known and most decorated singers, with 26 Blues Music Award nominations, and seven wins, among them BB King Entertainer of the Year. Her 2016 album Love Wins Again was nominated for a Grammy, and she just released her 15 th studio album, Change in the Weather.

For a third time, KNKX hosted an all-star jazz ensemble from Central Washington University for a studio session performance. The fresh faces of this combo did have some familiarity, with two former School of Jazz high schoolers in the group as well as our friend, saxophonist Mark Taylor, acting as mentor.

Guitarist Dave Peterson has been the "secret sauce" in the Seattle jazz scene for decades. He taught at Cornish College of the Arts for 35 years, and has added his graceful tones to countless performances and recordings. He's a composer, too, having penned more than 100 works for bands of all sizes. Dave recently started a project with his cousins from Montana, pianist Lee Kohler and bassist Rob Kohler. Along with Brent Jensen on sax and John Bishop on drums, they recorded the album Winter...

Saxophonist Anton Schwartz wished he'd had more time to work with the young jazz combo from Eckstein Middle School. In the KNKX studios, these six young women stepped up and showed Schwartz there was no need to be nervous. These kids can really play. Eckstein Middle School's stellar reputation for early jazz education comes largely from the director of the school's jazz bands, Moc Escobedo. Last year he was given the Jazz Education Achievement Award from Downbeat Magazine, which noted Mr....

Pianist Emmet Cohen has a passion for music, and still in his late 20s, he's only begun to share that passion with audiences and fellow musicians. That love shone brightly in the KNKX studios as Cohen led his trio through a brief set of songs previewing his Earshot Jazz Festival concert that night.

Cuban cuatro master Kiki Valera brought his band back to KNKX for a warm-up performance ahead of their Earshot Jazz Festival concert at Town Hall.

On her last visit to the KNKX studios, singer and songwriter Madeleine Peyroux was debuting music from her then-upcoming album Anthem in a duet with pianist Andy Ezrin. On this return visit, Ms. Peyroux accompanied herself on guitar and brought in longtime friend Steve Cardenas on guitar for her recent single "On My Own," as well as an old favorite and a brand new original song.

Having just flown in that day from Vancouver, the four men of Kneebody settled into the KNKX studios to briefly catch their breath and play a few songs. Their new album Chapters comes out Oct. 18, and their world tour is kicking into gear.

On the afternoon of opening up for Kneebody, one of their favorite bands, our Portland friends Trio Subtonic played the same role in the KNKX studios. Spirits were high, and the trio brought a pair of exciting additions.

At 22 years of age, Jontavious Willis is already a formidable blues talent. Largely self-taught, he has highly developed skills at Delta and Piedmont guitar styles, as well as playing banjo and harmonica. In 2015, his talent got the attention of Taj Mahal and Keb Mo, who took him on tour and helped him fund and produce his latest release, Spectacular Class . Like his mentors, he brings a keen sense for history and for the earlier musicians who created the music we call blues. He says that...

When singers Tierney Sutton and Ann Hampton Callaway visit the KNKX studios, it's always a pleasure and a thrill. When the two of them join forces, it's a superhero-caliber dynamic duo of jazz.