Parker Gambino

Kahil El’Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – 1200 Broadway, Seattle  –  July 30, 2025

The venue is an outdoor plaza at what was formerly known as the IBM Building.  Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is a trio, with leader El’Zabar rotating through cajon (depicted), a trap set, and kalimba.  Harding spent most of his time on baritone sax, but also played a small whistle at a propos strategic junctures, and a few tiny jingly things that were on hand; cellist Ali stuck to his singular instrument.  El’Zabar contributes vocalizations, not exactly singing, perhaps closer to a grunt/moan hybrid and not subtle at all, at times in unison with Harding’s bari riffs.  Among the tunes, some dinosaur-scream Love Supreme, smooth All Blues, and Gershwin’s Summertime, sultry and languorous, led by EL’Zabar’s simple, patient kalimba figure, to close.  Harding had some down time while the band was setting up and El’Zabar went out to grab a bite, so he consented to posing for the up-close portrait while we chatted.  I later realized that there was an earlier portrayal of him as a member of Abdullah Ibrahim’s combo back in 2014 (https://parkergambino.com/?p=2154).  El’Zabar had also been a subject, even earlier, as one-third of the group Trifactor about 20 years ago, prior to my archiving events in this blog, thus unlinkable.

Shaina Shepherd – Seattle Center  –  July 25, 2025

Music took place as part of the weekend-long “Bite of Seattle” food festival at Settle Center.  The layout of SC continues to baffle my navigational mojo.  Does a sign, “Fisher Pavillion”, prominent on a building, indicate that the pavillion event is indoors or outdoors?  In keeping with my not-with-it (or is it curmudgeon?) theme, I now walk away from punishingly loud bass that discombobulates my insides, a disturbing modern trend; so I won’t even mention the first band that I was there to see.  Likewise with the alternative that I gravitated to, more moderately audio-ized, but for about 20 subsequent minutes of web searching cannot find any trace of identification of individuals in the band.  Redemption of the day was the sublime Shaina Shepherd with her astonishing range of vocal palette, here as a solo accompanying herself on keys.  Sorry to say, the out-of-his-league PA arrangement continued the sabotage mission.

Phinney Ridge Steel Band  –  Ballard Seafood Fest  –  July 13, 2025

It was a tossup whether I was going to stick around for the PRSB after my Sunday farmer’s market shopping.  But the timing was good – no waiting around, so what the hey, plus the emanating lilting joy from the orchestral camaraderie made it easy.  Players rotated between instruments and stage positions, which I had not anticipated, adding to the challenge of nailing details of portrayal.  At least I needn’t have worried about getting the hands right.  Jansen Leggett served as amiable MC, introducing tunes, at least half of which were by Lord Kitchener.

Busking Seattle (Jared Elmore) – Ballard Farmers Market  –  July 13, 2025

Elmore, a newly-arrived busker in town, was tucked inside the entrance of a closed-for-the-day storefront.  Instead of a tip jar he used a cowboy boot.

Tutti Flutti  –  Chittenden Locks  –  July 12  2025

Making a commitment to sketch in watercolor is always a tricky choice.  For Chittenden Locks, I at least can be assured of spacious seating for my chair environs, and that the paint will quickly dry under full summer sunlight.  But I was anticipating a quartet, so when there turned out to be six players I was resigned to accepting the most fleeting flickers of flutist captures.  Then to make it more challenging, several of the players switched instruments (there was a bass flute or two) for different selections.  Ringleader Parmley MC-ed us through interpretive introductions to the various works, ranging from a Bach fugue to a charming medley of TV-cartoon theme songs (about 10 in all), from Looney Tunes (This Is It) to Flintstones to Simpsons.

Raveena  – Westlake Park, Seattle  –  July 11, 2025

Downtown Summer Sounds, the organization behind these concerts gets major rotten tomatoes for adding an unannounced warmup act for the featured Raveena.  It was some DJ whose talent was pressing buttons on his pre-recorded device, what a laugh.  But the worst part was the punishingly loud over-the-top bass, rendering my experience – considering the need to get a close enough position for a decent sketch – majorly unpleasant.  And who needed this pandering mediocrity?  This was a Raveena crowd, put unnecessarily on hold.  OK, on to Raveena, barefoot and in motion, who combines influences from her Punjabi heritage with smoove R&B.  Her ensemble includes two dancers who accompany her entrance with swirling colorful flimsy fabrics.  Raveena, who occasionally grabs guitar, has a lone musical accompanist who rotates between keys and guitar (or is it bass).  So there seems to be some recorded soundtrack component for the performance.  And it’s not like the bass got turned down significantly.  I quickly got the idea, so after the sketch rudiments were on paper I jostled my way out of the crowd to camp in position for the autograph.

Busking Port Townsend (David Whipple) –  Tyler St. @ Water St.  – July 10, 2025

Not being sure what to expect for the day’s work, and semi-planning for watercolor, I was without my usual pen & pencil assortment, so resorted to a charcoal pencil, smudge factor be damned.  Whipple serenely worked his way through various pop and chestnut standards, on tenor sax and clarinet.  Very chattable.

Busking Seattle (Kalimba Cos, Parth Shah)  –  Ballard Farmers Market  –  July 6, 2025

Cosmo is lately a Farmers Market fixture, smilingly swaying and bopping along to his wordless stream-of-consciousness kalimba jam.  Shah was busking for the first time, getting to learn the ropes.  I noted his presence at the beginning of my visit, did some shopping, sketched Cosmo, and got back to Shah as he was finishing up.  I had to persuade him first to extend his set (there was no next busker waiting in the wings), and then that no, it is NOT he who should be tipping me.  Rookies!

Folichon Cajun Band  –  Sunset Hill Community Hall  –  June 28, 2025

I was running the PA board for the performance stage at SHCH’s annual summer BBQ, so I figured that watercolor sketching could be doable, at least for the featured Folichon Cajun Band, and for the most part it was, albeit rushed.  Time ran out once I focused on head honcho Ted Granger, so it goes.  As the evening progressed, the situation devolved to the use of simple pen.  Photo of me performing is by Scott Leitner.

Busking Seattle (Alexei Kendall-Bray) – Ballard Farmers Market  –  June 22, 2025

Kendall-Bray had the compact busker-shlep-on-wheels setup that delivered a quite adequate sound, and an engaging presentation that included nailing the falsetto of the uber-pop There She Goes by the one-hit (to my knowledge) wonders, the La’s.  I needed him to repeat several times the name of that band before I got it!