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Trumpeter Thomas Marriott helps start Seattle Jazz Fellowship where jazz veterans can mentor younger musicians

The Seattle Times, October 15, 2021

For decades, Seattle jazz musicians have lamented the lack of a dedicated local venue where they could be paid well to practice their art and pass it on to the next generation. Usually, musicians just grumble about such things, but Seattle jazz trumpeter Thomas Marriott has decided to do something about it.

Seattle Jazz Fellowship: A New Beginning For Live Resident Jazz

All About Jazz.com

The local jazz scene in Seattle has been vibrant and at times prolific over the last one hundred years. The city hosted the only fully integrated jazz club scene in the 1920's and '30s, inspiring Black musicians from the south to escape Jim Crow, and find a place to not only engage in the bustling club scene in the seemingly remote northwest outpost, but to simply live a life free of the tyranny of the south. It was exactly why Ray Charles arrived as a teenager in the late 40's, and crafted his art with Seattle stalwarts like Quincy Jones, Bumps Blackwell and Ernestine Anderson.

Seattle’s Julian Priester helped create jazz as we know it. Now he’s teaching the art of listening.

The Seattle Times, December 2, 2021

Julian Priester sat in front of a small crowd at the brick-walled Vermillion bar on Capitol Hill on a recent Wednesday, holding a microphone in one hand and his 1977 record, “Polarization,” in the other.

Thomas Marriott and the Seattle Jazz Fellowship: Nurturing an Inter-Generational Collective

Earshot Jazz Magazine, June 2021

The past ten years have seen the closing of the scene’s two most prominent full time venues: the New Orleans Creole Restaurant in 2012, and, more recently, Tula’s Jazz Club in October 2019. Tula’s offered live jazz six or seven nights a week, featuring the top flight of professional jazz musicians in the city. Its loss seemed to be a final death blow to live, local, nightly jazz in the Emerald City.

Seattle trumpeter Thomas Marriott grows the jazz community.

KNKX Public Radio, October 26, 2021

The award-winning musician Thomas Marriott has formed the Seattle Jazz Fellowship, a not-for-profit organization that brings students, mentors, professional musicians and audiences together to form a sustainable community for jazz in Seattle. He spoke with Robin Lloyd earlier this week.

Tom Marriott of The Seattle Jazz Fellowship: Creating a Community of Jazz Musicians in Seattle.

Exploring Washington State Podcast 11/22/21

Tom is Jazz Musician on a mission, to bring a sense of community to the Jazz music scene in Seattle.

Seattle Jazz Fellowship’s Spring Series Begins

South Seattle Emerald, April 20th, 2022

This Wednesday, April 20, the Seattle Jazz Fellowship’s Fellowship Wednesdays begin again at the Vermillion Art Gallery and Bar in Capitol Hill. Fellowship Wednesday ran last year from mid-October of 2021 to February 2022, and is returning with a new format. Fellowship Wednesday will now run in six-week seasons — summer, spring, fall, and winter. The April 20 show marks the beginning of the spring season.

Seattle Jazz Fellowship Hosts Inaugural Benefit Concert With Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

South Seattle Emerald, January 19, 2023

On Saturday, Jan. 22, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio will be playing at the Royal Esquire Club for the inaugural Seattle Jazz Fellowship benefit concert. The will give 100% of proceeds to the Fellowship, which was founded in 2020 on the premise of supporting the Seattle jazz community in earning a sustainable wage rather than having to rely on gigs and ticket sales for inconsistent pay.

Seattle Jazz Fellowship Has A Jazzy New Venue

Seattle Times, January 25th, 2024

In the past several years, Seattle’s jazz scene has been dealt a series of blows, as several venues that featured jazz closed.

The genre’s popularity was not what it once was. Decades have gone by since the era of Seattle clubs like Parnell’s, later known as Ernestine’s, in Pioneer Square, owned by jazz singer Ernestine Anderson. Ernestine’s hosted musicians like Bill Evans, Chet Baker and other legends. Nearby at the Black and Tan club in the Chinatown International District, Ray Charles was playing some of his first gigs during a musically formative two years in the city. 

Seattle Jazz Fellowship Opening New Pop Up Jazz Room

Fox 13 / Studio 13 Live, January 24, 2024

The Seattle Jazz Fellowship has a brand new space and Mireya Garcia got to learn all about it.