The 13-day Earshot Jazz Festival gets going Oct. 20 in Seattle with a hefty lineup that includes bassist Dave Holland, saxophonists Lee Konitz and Trevor Watts, guitarists Bill Frisell and Russell Malone, pianists Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley and Joanne Brackeen and oodles more. For more info, visit www.earshot.org or call 206-547-9787. ...

Solo play "George Gershwin Alone," now in an extended run at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles, may move to Broadway if the producers can figure something out. The acclaimed show was written by and stars Hershey Felder as the great composer/pianist. ...

Paul Tobey, considered by those in the know to be one of Canada's premier pianists, has signed with Arkadia Jazz, with a CD, Street Culture, due in the fall. Arkadia will also reissue Tobey's 1998 solo album Wayward. ...

Stan Kenton buffs take heed: Tantara Productions has released Revelations, a four-CD set of previously unreleased music — spanning 1941–1978 — from the big band leader. Included with the set is a 44-page booklet that includes previously unpublished photographs, extensive data on all the tracks and liner notes by Kenton discographer/historian Michael Sparke. For info on where to find the set, call 815-436-8280. ...

Swing-revival aces the Cherry Poppin' Daddies will release Soul Caddy on Oct. 3, and word is that it will have more R&B elements than their 1997 hit Zoot Suit Riot. ...

The Veritas organization presents a "Friends of Charlie Parker" concert Sept. 25 at New York's Grand Ballroom. Players include bassists Ray Brown and Ron Carter, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, drummer Ben Riley, trumpeter Clark Terry and others. For more information, call (212)-590-2110. ...

Avant Christian? On Sept. 3 New York's Knitting Factory is presenting a "Christ A-Go-Go Festival" that, according to a KF press release, will be "an experimental music and art festival celebrating and showcasing the oft-overlooked creative forces at work in the Christian church." Charles Gayle — who pretty much channels Jesus through his saxophone — will perform, as will Therefore, White Trash Inc., Jai Agnish and Soul-Junk. ... The day after that show soprano saxophone icon Steve Lacy performs at the Knitting Factory with his vocalist wife Irene Aebi. ...

Two forthcoming CDs by late saxophonists Stan Getz and Sonny Stitt draw from the extensive Left Bank Jazz Society vaults that are full of never-released material. On Sept. 26, Label M will issue Getz's My Foolish Heart and Stitt's Just the Way It Was — both recorded live at Baltimore's Famous Ballroom in the early '70s. The Getz date features Richie Beirach on piano, Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Stitt's band is Don Patterson on organ and Billy James on drums. Stitt plays electric saxophone on the date, and according to Label M, he was the first person to plug in his sax for a recording. (Click here for sonicnet.com's full story on Label M.) ...

Jam band followers, acid-jazz heads and crossover freaks, take note: Two big parties loom. On Saturday (Aug. 19), Walther's Grass Roots Music Festival at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Md., presents Medeski Martin & Wood, Maceo Parker, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, the David Grisman Quintet, the Jazz Mandolin Project and Lake Trout. Sept. 21–24, it's the Autumn Equinox Festival at Buffalo Gap in Capon Bridge, W.Va., featuring John Scofield, Galactic, Grisman, the Flecktones and lots more. For more information on the events, check out www.walther-productions.com. ...

A Byrd's eye view: Trumpeter and educator Donald Byrd has lent many works from his extensive art collection to the University Gallery at the University of Delaware. Through Oct. 1 people can view artwork by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Charles White, Tyree Guyton, Jacob Lawrence and others at the exhibition called "Hear What I'm Seeing." For more information, see seurat.art.udel.edu/UDGallery/byrd/index.html. ...

Singer Nancy Wilson will be feted at "Women in Jazz — A Tribute to Nancy Wilson and the Women Legends of Jazz" on Sept. 12 at New York's Merkin Hall. Diane Schuur, The Savoy Swingers, Sherrie Maricle and the 15-piece all-women jazz band Diva will perform, and a host of female jazz luminaries will be in attendance, including singer Annie Ross, trumpeter Jean Davis, pianist Jane Jarvis and various members of the 1930s all-women band Sweethearts of Rhythm. Tickets are $60, but those coughing up $100 get to attend a 5 p.m. panel discussion led by pianist/educator Billy Taylor and hang out with many of the stars. Proceeds benefit Dress for Success New York, a nonprofit organization that helps find jobs for low-income women. Tickets are available at (212) 501-3330. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report