Enjoy live jazz in the Frye's acoustically stunning auditorium with Jazz in the City at the Frye Art Museum, presented in partnership with Ariel Media. This ongoing concert series celebrates the rich legacy and cultural impact of jazz—and its role in shaping Seattle’s artistic identity—through performances by some of the city’s most acclaimed musicians.

This February's concert, part of Ariel Media's Jazz = Culture II series, highlights the piano's pivotal role in the evolution of jazz—both as a rhythmic foundation and as a powerful vehicle for expression and innovation.

A short video will set the stage by tracing the migration of jazz across the United States, featuring jazz piano greats Art Tatum, Fats Waller, Thelonious Monk, and Herbie Hancock, and emphasizing its development as an indigenous American artform rooted in African American culture and shaped by centuries of creative exchange

Pianist Darrius Willrich and guest cellist Gretchen Yanober will bring these ideas to life through live performance, interpreting compositions by Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock to illuminate the piano's influence in jazz. 

About the Performers

Darrius Willrich is a multifaceted artist and educator from Seattle, celebrated for his work as a singer, songwriter, pianist, and teacher. A graduate of Cornish College of the Arts with a degree in jazz piano, Darrius shares his expertise as a faculty member at Seattle Central College, North Seattle Continuing Education, JazzEd, Off The Wall Music, and Seattle Drum School (Lake City), where he teaches piano and vocals.

Gretchen Yanover is a composer and classical acoustic cellist. She has been a member of the Northwest Sinfonietta since 1998 and serves on the orchestra’s DEI task force. Her compositions have been commissioned by the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Pacific University, and she was awarded a CityArtist grant from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture in 2024, supporting the release of her fifth album. Gretchen pursued performance and music education at the University of Washington.