Francesco Crosara (piano), Osama Afifi (bass), Steven Bentley (drums & percussion)
Photo credits: Julia Crosara

July 18, 2019, 7pm
Chapel Performance Space
Seattle, WA 98103

Read the entire article on Earshot Jazz

Earshot’s annual juried series, Jazz: The Second Century, returns this July at the Chapel Performance Space with three evenings of innovative music.

33 years ago, the newly founded Earshot Jazz organization presented its first programming initiative, a concert series called New Jazz/New City, hosted in the New City Theater on Capitol Hill. While its name has evolved over the years—from New Jazz/New City, to the Earshot Spring Series, to Voice and Vision, and now Jazz: The Second Century—it has always remained true to our core values of cultivating community and supporting the progression of the genre.

For the Second Century Series, Seattle artists are selected by a peer panel through a blind jury process to perform original work in a concert setting that is questioning and expanding the conventions of the jazz form.

This year’s panel of four gathered in early June to review the entries. After careful consideration and deliberation, the jury selected six ensembles. Their choices reflect our city’s current dialogue surrounding the art form, in all its nuances and subtleties.

Thank you to all of the enterprising musicians who submitted work, to our panel for their thoughtful curation, and to the audience members who support the series.

FrancescoJAZZ
Francesco Crosara–Piano
Osama Afifi–Acoustic and electric bass
Steven Bentley–Drums and Percussion

Pianist Francesco Crosara’s eclectic brand of jazz was born from early classical studies in harmony and composition at the Conservatory of Rome, steeped in the tradition of Italian and European romantic musical heritage, and honed by exposure to mainstream jazz and world music. His style is heavily influenced by improvisation and bouncy lyrical expressions drawn from jazz and Latin vocabularies. Crosara’s compositions are considerate of their audience, providing a source of joy, comfort, escape, and healing. Crosara believes jazz is a collective experience and a “living language” that distills a multitude of identities, backgrounds, and personalities.