KOMO News ran a story yesterday about Sir Mix-a-lot lending his voice to the Sea-Tac Airport overhead announcements in the terminal and baggage claim areas as a part of the Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative. The edgy rapper, whose “Baby Got Back” video was once banned from MTV, talks about his excitement about the initiative. “It’s cool to see something as serious as Sea-Tac embrace the local arts,” said Sir Mix-A-Lot. “It just trips me out. That’s pretty bold.” Mix, along with other local artists, like Quincy Jones, Jerry Cantrell, Allen Stone, and Macklemore, are welcoming and directing passengers to various points of interest, from the USO desk to the smoking sections. The Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative is a cooperative effort by the Port of Seattle, Seattle Music Commission and music-specialist PlayNetwork showcasing the northwest region’s vibrant music culture and enhancing the experience of millions of passengers who pass through Sea-Tac Airport each year. Along with the celebrity overhead announcements, the initiative interacts with passengers of the airport through a local music web player, mobile app, music videos featured on terminal and baggage claim monitors, and overhead music in the terminals.
SEA-TAC AIRPORT UPGRADES THEIR MUSIC EXPERIENCE
Seattleites: be aware that your airport has something that many don’t- serious pride in local music. The Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative is a cooperative effort between the Seattle Office of Film + Music, the Seattle Music Commission, the Port of Seattle, and PlayNetwork to let Sea-Tac visitors experience a big part of what makes the emerald city so unique: the music.
The Port of Seattle announced today that their web player, which features regional music of all types, if available online in addition to overhead at Sea-Tac. The playlist has grown to about 150 Northwest artists and over 400 songs.
In addition to contributing music, a ton of local artists have volunteered their time to taping overhead announcements for the airport including Macklemore, Ben Gibbard, Ann Wilson, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Jerry Cantrell, Fly Moon Royalty, Quincy Jones, Ludovic Morlot, Brandi Carlile, John Popper, Allen Stone and many more.
Music Legend Quincy Jones Lends His Voice to Sea-Tac Airport
The Port of Seattle issued a press release today, January 23, 2013, announcing that Quincy Jones can now be heard over the speakers at Sea-Tac Airport giving various announcements to travelers. He’s just one of a whole host of local artists that are participating in these announcements and other efforts as part of the Sea-Tac Airport City of Music initiatitve. The following is the text from the Port’s press release:
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HEART AND QUINCY JONES INDUCTED INTO ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME
The 2013 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. Quincy Jones, Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Heart, Albert King, Randy Newman, and Rush will all be honored at the induction ceremony, which will take place on April 18 in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone reports. Other nominees included the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., and Procol Harum.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY PAYS HOMAGE TO SEATTLE’S MUSICAL LEGACY TONIGHT
The Seattle Times
Sonic Evolution is a new and ambitious undertaking by the Seattle Symphony. The 6-year-long project features composers from around the world creating new symphonic music based on the work of legendary Seattle artists, with the results performed by the Seattle Symphony. Those being honored include Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, and Nirvana, among many others. By presenting the project, the Seattle Symphony hopes to bring popular music of major historic significance to symphonic audiences, and attract a new audience to the concert hall. Up-and-coming Seattle artists will be given the chance to work alongside the Symphony, performing their new work during the series as well. The first pieces commissioned for this season will debut TONIGHT, October 18th with a guest performance by Hey Marseilles.
SEATTLE’S FORGOTTEN SOUL SCENE “GROOVES” ITS WAY ONTO DVD TODAY
Wheedle’s Groove, the award-winning film chronicling Seattle’s forgotten soul/funk scene of the 60s and 70s, is now available on DVD! With narration by the incomparable Sir Mix-A-Lot, interviews with the stars of Seattle Soul, and commentary from local music icons like Quincy Jones, Kenny G, Soundgarden, Death Cab for Cutie and Mudhoney, the film shines a powerful light on a vibrant and prolific musical movement that “grooved” Seattle decades before the grunge wave that put us on the map. The new DVD—which you can pick up via iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and a host of national retailers– also includes deleted scenes, concert footage, a What’s a Wheedle featurette and more. Also included the DVD special features is the film’s theatrical trailer, which you can peep below in case you just can’t wait until you pick up your own copy of the Groove.
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LET QUINCY JONES TEACH YOU A THING OR TWO
Seattle Times
Quincy Jones, a Garfield High School alum, has worked with all the pop and jazz music greats. From Aretha Franklin to Michael Jackson, John Coltrane to Miles Davis, Jones has collaborated and learned from all of our heroes and role models. Now Jones is teaching us a thing or two in his new book, Q on Producing. Jones explains that when he was learning his craft, older, wiser musicians would say, “Step into my office,” signifying they were going to pass on some of their musical knowledge. Q on Producing is, essentially, Jones’ office. To read more about the book and Quincy Jones, follow the link above.
ASK MOHAI: SEATTLE’S JAZZ HISTORY
Seattlepi.com
Seattle is definitely known as a music town, but the city’s jazz scene is not often the most prominent genre of conversation. Each week Seattlepi.com asks the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) a question about Seattle’s history, and this week they asked “Was Seattle ever a jazz city?” MOHAI’s Phyllis Franklin and Helen Divjak answer that up until about the 1960s, the Jackson Street jazz scene was thriving. “In fact, beginning the nineteen- teens, Seattle began to develop a considerable jazz scene that would eventually become the West Coast’s best, helping to establish the careers of many legendary performers, including Quincy Jones, Ray Charles and singer Ernestine Anderson,” they write. Once racial barriers were broken, the isolation of the jazz clubs and communities lessened, and other forms of music became more popular. To read MOHAI’s full response, follow the link.
TAKE A LOOK AT SEATTLE’S MUSIC HISTORY
Seattlepi.com
Each week Seattlepi.com hosts a series called Seattle Rewind, and this week’s retrospective focuses on the Seattle music scene. The article and companion radio segment discuss local musicians, entertainment establishments and radio personalities that helped shape the city and country’s musical history. Obvious fixtures such as Jimi Hendrix and Quincy Jones are highlighted, but lesser known artists like Ernestine Anderson and disc jockey Pat O’Day are also mentioned and embraced. Follow the link above for the article and accompanying collection of photographs.
SEATTLE REPERTORY JAZZ ORCHESTRA PLAYS TRIBUTE TO RAY CHARLES AND QUINCY JONES
Seattle Times
Ray Charles and Quincy Jones were teenagers when they met in a Seattle nightclub, one of dozens clustered around Jackson Street in the 1940s. They were both aspiring jazz musicians, Charles a pianist, Jones a trumpeter. They were among many now- familiar names who got their start in Seattle: Buddy Catlett, Ernestine Anderson, Gerald Wiggins, Floyd Standifer. Jones and Charles eventually achieved the most fame, moving beyond their original genre, becoming stars of pop and R&B. The pair collaborated on the seminal 1961 album “Genius + Soul = Jazz,” which featured Charles on the Hammond B3 organ, with members of the Count Basie band, performing big-band arrangements by Jones. The scores that came out of that collaboration will be performed by Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in two shows this weekend as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival, which ends Sunday.
