Meditations on Coltrane: Musing by Yasuhiro Fujioka and Music by Griggs, Flory-Barnes, and Keplinger

Tickets: $12 advance/ $15 at the door
To guarantee a good seat, please make your dinner reservation here.

Meditations on Coltrane features two sets of improvised music inspired by John Coltrane, performed by Steve Griggs – saxophone, Evan Flory-Barnes – bass, and Gregg Keplinger – drums. In between sets, Steve Griggs will interview Coltrane scholar Yasuhiro Fujioka who will be visiting from Osaka, Japan. This performance is being supported by a Jazz2U grant from the Jazz Education Network. 

Steve Griggs’ previous work includes a residency at branches of the Seattle Public Library and site-specific programs at the Panama Hotel, Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, and Seattle Asian Art Museum, recordings with legendary drummer Elvin Jones, and featured saxophone solos on the XBOX Halo 3: ODST videogame soundtrack. Griggs has twice won the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music for jazz ensemble. Griggs is also a music journalist who contributes to Seattle Weekly, Seattle Times, and Earshot Jazz. This will be Griggs' debut at the Royal Room. 

Evan Flory-Barnes provides the musical foundation for Industrial Revelation, the Seattle quartet which won a Stranger "Genius" award. He was named 2014 NW Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year by Earshot Jazz. His composing includes a Meet the Composer commission and residency at UCROSS Foundation in Wyoming. Evan has performed regularly with Meklit Hadero, the Marc Seales Quintet, Jovino Santos Neto, Correo Aereo, Skerik’s Bandalabra, Jason Parker Quartet, and Choklate. 

Gregg Keplinger is a rare hybrid of drumming talent and percussive artisan. He is nominated for the Earshot Jazz Hall of Fame this year. Early in his career, Gregg toured Mexico straight out of high school, worked with the house band for a circus, haunted the halls of his jazz-drumming hero Elvin Jones in New York, and worked closely in-studio and on stage with a young Matt Cameron during Soundgarden's "Superunknown" glory days and continued on with Matt to work with Pearl Jam. Sourcing stainless steel from an industrial pipe manufacturer in Seattle, Gregg builds custom snare drums. Elvin Jones was the proud recipient of one of "Kep's" first snare drums.

Yasuhiro Fujioko authored John Coltrane: A Discography and Musical Biography in 1995, and co-authored The Coltrane Reference in 2007. He serves on the board of the Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, and is President of the Coltrane House of Osaka. Fuji has collected Coltrane memorabilia since 1970 and is a supplier of memorabilia to The Verve Music Group (NYC and Tokyo offices); Concord Records, CA; Warner Music, Japan; Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC and others, and a contributor to the Coltrane Collection for exhibiting at the National Museum of American History at Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame in Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC; High Point Historical Museum, High Point, NC, and Half Hollow Hills Community Library on Long Island, NY. 

Please note: Tickets do not guarantee seating during shows at the Royal Room. For sold out shows standing room may be the only available space. Please come early to ensure you get a table. Reservations can be made for those who are coming for dinner as well as the show. The Royal Room is All Ages until 10pm.