Scat around in Ballard and soak in jazz

Now in its fifth year, the Ballard Jazz Festival has become one of the city's most distinctive annual events.

It begins Wednesday at the Sunset Tavern with Brotherhood of the Drum for two nights. The brainchild of Matt Jorgensen, who co-produces the festival with Origin Records partner John Bishop, the Brotherhood brings drummers of different genres together in an exchange of ideas and energy. "A cool thing about drummers is how much mutual respect there is," Jorgensen says.

Last year's concerts included a collaboration between Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam) and Jason McGerr (Death Cab for Cutie). This year promises more surprises, including an undisclosed guest who will be joining Jorgensen's group. "It has developed a reputation now so everybody knows they better bring something special to the table and not just do their regular gig," Jorgensen says.

The big change this year is the moving of the mainstage concerts from the Mars Hill Church to the Nordic Heritage Museum. "We are always trying to find new ways to connect with the community and there is nothing better than the Nordic Heritage Museum to hook into Old Ballard," Bishop says.

For Jorgensen, the move allows deserving artists the opportunity to be presented in a concert environment. "The church held 1,000 and we would sell 400 to 600 seats, which, although amazing for a jazz show, was still only half full. Here we have more freedom to book who we want because we are not under any pressure to sell a lot of tickets."

Partnering with the museum also led to Sunday's pancake breakfast, which was already a tradition there. "We are just bringing in the music and trying to turn it into a slightly better version of what they already had," Bishop says.

Friday's Jazz Walk is the festival highlight and its biggest draw. "With 16 bands in 13 venues, it is a sure thing," Jorgensen promises. "If you can't find something you like in all that, you need to look for a different genre of music."

With more than 900 people attending last year's walk, the venues can get pretty crowded, so it is suggested you get there early to scope it out. "But you can easily spend half the night wandering the streets and having a great time," Bishop adds.

"In the first couple of years, people didn't really know what to expect," he continues. "Now it's more like Bumbershoot, where everybody knows what to do."

He and Jorgensen believe Ballard is one of the few neighborhoods in the country where something like this can happen. "I think the festival fits into the whole hanging-out feeling of the place, and the people coming to it are picking up on that."

P-I PICKS

Brotherhood of the Drum

Wednesday and Thursday, Sunset Tavern

On Wednesday, Michael Shrieve, the original drummer for Santana, brings in his new band, Spellbinder, Byron Vannoy debuts Meridian, and John Bishop leads a group featuring award-winning bassist Jeff Johnson and guitarist Ric Mandyke. Thursday's headliner is Ben Smith from Heart, who will be performing with a group that includes Brazilian keyboardist Paula Maya. Matt Jorgensen will feature four horn players and a bassist, as well as a secret guest, and D'Vonne Lewis, who counts the Blue Scholars and Hadley Caliman Quartet among his several bands, promises something special.

Lee Konitz with the Hal Galper Trio, Sam Yahel Trio

Saturday, Nordic Heritage Museum

Get your tickets early for this intimate evening with one of the first alto saxophonists to break away from the hard bop school of Charlie Parker to create what became known as the cool sound. From there, he continued to explore abstract improvisation and West Coast romanticism. Sam Yahel, whose Hammond B-12 organ is featured on Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me," opens.