Seth & Steve Kinzie Concert at Josephy Center

Seth (neo-classical impressionist piano) and his father Steve (mesmerizing banjo and guitar songwriter) will play a benefit for Josephy, echoing musical themes taken from their recent trip to Pakistan earlier this year.

Seth composes impressionist tone poems on piano, expressing the wild benevolence of life. He previously composed for and performed with the instrumental classical-jazz trio Plum Sutra from Portland.

plumsutra.bandcamp.com

Steve Kinzie, a Buddhist folk pioneer, is life-long singer. he began playing banjo (Sears Silvertone) in 1960 after a folk music epiphany at a Pete Seeger concert. In 1961, he bought his first guitar. He played frequently at Seattle folk music clubs during the early 60’s and since then has written dozens of songs, recorded five albums of original music, one live album (Matters of the Heart) with friends Shawn Kirchner and Robbie Davis, and two albums with the folk group Kindling. His most recent album, Openings, co-produced with musical collaborator and friend, Eric A. Smith, and recorded by Gary Lanz at B-Natural Studios in Seattle, was released in 2012.

His music has evolved from a center in the hymns of his childhood and Appalachian folk traditions to a jazz-influenced (folk-jazz) style. Along with original lyrics, he has set to music poems by Kabir, Rumi, George Herbert, William Blake, Jessica Powers, Richard Wilbur, E. E. Cummings, among others. Spirituality, broadly speaking, and Buddhist thought, in particular, inform much of his writing.

He has worked as orchardist, carpenter’s helper, dairy farm hand, sheet rocker, Latin teacher, bus driver, school custodian, director of non-profit, Adjunct Professor (Composition and Peace Studies), and director of a college tutoring center. But, mostly, he just wanted to play music.

He makes his home in Tonasket, WA on the bank of the Okanogan River with his wife, Debbie Roberts, dogs Cooper and Lucy, cat Squeaks, eleven hens, and Ralph the rooster.