Press from the 2005 Ballard Jazz Festival:

Seattle Times' Critic Pick
Thursday-Saturday: Hot on the heels of the Earshot Festival, the intrepid folks at Seattle's grass-roots Origin Records present three days of muscular, hard-swinging jazz, with the accent, not surprisingly, on drums, since the label is run by drummers Matt Jorgensen and John Bishop. The festival gets under way at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Tractor Tavern with Brotherhood of the Drum (Matt Chamberlain, Kevin Sawka, Bishop and Jorgensen), continues Friday with the always-bountiful Ballard Jazz Walk, featuring multiple Seattle bands, then comes to head Saturday — pardon the drum pun — with workshops and a concert by vibist Joe Locke, pianist Geoff Keezer, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander and others. The Saturday show is at Mars Hill Church, 1401 N.W. Leary Way, Seattle; $20 (206-219-3649 or www.ballardjazzfestival.com). All-festival pass: $25.
- Paul de Barros

Press from the 2004 Ballard Jazz Festival:

Review: JazzTimes Magazine

The second annual Ballard Jazz Festival left Seattle anxious for more, and made third and fourth and fifth annual versions obligatory.

Drummer Matt Wilson digs local scenes, reaching people (The Seattle Times)

"I'm coming a day early, just to hang out," said Wilson in a phone interview from his home on Long Island earlier this week. "There's so many great players in Seattle. People use New York as the barometer — and the great thing here is the multitude of players and the opportunities and the willingness of people to do things — but these [local] scenes are so strong!"

Follow the sounds of jazz to Ballard next week (The Seattle PI)

The second annual Ballard Jazz Festival, a joint venture of Origin Records and the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, gets under way at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Tractor Tavern with the first of two programs dubbed "Brotherhood of the Drum."

MSNBC.com - Ballard Jazz Festival listed in the "Jazz Festivals Year Round" Section

Press from 2003 The Ballard Jazz Festival:

A Sense of Jazz Community in Ballard, WA (AllAboutJazz.com)

In all, Ballard Jazz Festival events combined to create a glowing sense of pride in a community aflutter with first-time festival success stories—a sense of pride not lost on the out-of-towners. Blade, King, Herring and Co. openly praised festival presenters John Bishop and Matt Jorgensen of Origin Records and the Ballard Chamber of Commerce.

Club Beat: Daylong jazz festival to give Ballard yet another rhythm (Seattle PI)

JamBase.com: VIKINGS TO VIRTUOSOS: BALLARD JAZZ FEST

"...what struck me was the level of community involvement and pro-activity for the arts: in corporate sponsorship, national and local artist participation both professionally and academically, citizen attendance; and the positivism of all involved. Although not surprising for Seattle, the Ballard Jazz Festival was simply a really wonderful time and anyone who was a part of it should consider it a great success."