Earshot Preview

Seattle’s Earshot Jazz Festival is previewed.

As usual, the annual Earshot Jazz Festival (through Sun Nov 8, various venues, see http://www.earshot.org for details) boasts too many temptations for even the most succumbing fan to cover. Fans of the avant must not miss a double bill of two duos, Matthew Shipp/Joe Morris and Peggy Lee/Saadet Türköz (Thurs Oct 22, Seattle Asian Art Museum, 8 pm, $16). By turns poetic, harsh, knotty, lyrical, and abstruse, Shipp continues the legacy of Cecil Taylor by fragmenting the various styles of jazz into a kaleidoscopic, sometimes breathtaking unity. Guitarist/bassist Morris not only boosts Shipp’s flights into the sonic stratosphere but helps the pianist stay aloft in an irregular, interesting orbit with explosive modulations, silence, and unexpected riffs.