May 4, 2014

Steve Griggs Ensemble

What does a fictional 1940’s recording by Seattle jazz pianist sound like? That is a question Steve Griggs pondered while proposing a 4Culture Historic Site Specific grant for Seattle’s Panama Hotel. The hotel and a song “The Alley Cat Strut” are featured in Jamie Ford’s historical novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Steve’s challenge was to invent this music. The resulting program was awarded an Adventurous Programming Award by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

 The basement of the Panama Hotel still contains unclaimed belongings from Japanese American families deported to the Puyallup Fairgrounds and later to Jerome, Idaho. Following the Pearl Harbor bombing, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 to declare areas of the United States as military zones, denying civil rights and due process to people of Japanese ancestry, including American citizens.  

 Steve became fascinated with stories of this dislocated community and the people who shared the neighborhood surrounding the Japanese-owned Panama Hotel. Feelings of loyalty, distrust, hope, and despair can open portals for compassion. Humane treatment of government enemies during war endures as a concern for citizens today.  

 Please join us for a program of music and narration about the Panama Hotel for this evening of Seattle Jazz Vespers. The ensemble will include saxophonist Steve Griggs, trumpeter Jay Thomas, vibraphonist Susan Pascal, guitarist Milo Peterson, and bassist Phil Sparks.