More info after the jump.

Recording live for their new album…

BEN DARWISH TRIO

opening set by

GRANT RICHARDS TRIO

FRIDAY AUGUST 1ST 2008

JIMMY MAKS (221 NW 10TH AND EVERETT)

$10 cover / Call for reservations 503.295.6542

8pm - 12am/ Minors until 9:30pm

About the Trio:

The Ben Darwish Trio has performed extensively since 2005 and

released “Industrial Hero” in December of 2006, an album of mostly

original material. The Trio also covers a couple of rock and pop tunes

on the album. Here’s what Cadence Magazine had to say about these

tunes:

“The Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog” sounds like a treatment Ramsey Lewis

might try, pulling the shape and tempo of the song around but always

keeping the melody recognizable. As for Christina Aguilera’s

“Beautiful”, doggone if it doesn’t live up to its title.”

Aside from regularly performing in such venues as Jimmy Maks in

Portland (rated by Downbeat Magazine as one of the top 100 places to

hear jazz), music from “Industrial Hero” is heard on radio stations

across the country, a Voleurz extreme sports movie, and was even

included on ESC Records tribute to The Beatles, entitled “Step Inside

Love”. On this 2007 release, the Trio’s version of “Hey Bulldog” is

alongside recordings by such luminaries as Brad Mehldau, David

Sanborn, Joel Frahm, Bob Sheppard, and countless others. The current

Trio, featuring Eric Gruber on bass and Jason Palmer on drums, was

featured in the 2008 Portland Jazz Festival at Hotel Deluxe.

On August 1st, the Trio will be recording for their new album.

About Ben Darwish:

A Portland native, Ben Darwish has been playing piano since the age of

six. He also plays drums, guitar, and sings. At age sixteen, he won

Portland Battle Of The Bands at the Roseland Theatre with his rock

group, Chill Factor. At the age of eighteen, Ben studied for two years

with Randy Porter, pianist for Charles McPherson and Madeline Eastman.

He since has played in the Mt. Hood Jazz Band and recorded their 2003

release “I’m New Here” on the Seabreeze label. After attending Mt.

Hood for two years, he attended University of Oregon and received a

Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies. Upon graduation, he was awarded

“Outstanding Undergraduate Performer in Jazz Studies”. He currently

works as a professional musician out of Portland. Ben has played with

Kevin Mohagany, Rich Perry, Ron Miles, Harry Allan, Jamey Abersold,

Esperanza Spalding, and Allan Jones, among others. He was also the

recipient of the 2003 Jazz Society of Oregon Young Musician

scholarship.  Most recently, Darwish won the 2008 Downbeat award for

Outstanding Big Band Performance at U of O.  Here’s an excerpt from a

recent Willamette Week live review:

Long on lucid textures, tight ensemble work and virtuoso improvising,

Darwish holds things close at the keys, alternating singing,

dissonance-spiked fragments with feisty passagework. He has a way of

hunkering down and locking into a tight polyrhythmic figure, then

opening up into an expansive flight across the keyboard—he’s a deeply

impressive player.

-Willamette Week Feb. 2008

Full review at this link:

http://wweek.com/editorial/3413/10357/

About Grant RIchards:

At just 17 years of age, Grant Richards is one of the premier

young jazz musicians in the Pacific Northwest. Since being introduced

to the piano and the world of jazz at the age of 8, Grant is already

playing professionally and has released his first album, Extra Step.

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has received praise from

the Jazz Society of Oregon and many of the area’s top musicians. In

2004, Downbeat Magazine, the nationally renowned jazz publication,

awarded him the 27th Annual Student Award for Solo Instrumentalist in

the Junior High Division. He won yet again in 2005, this time for the

28th Annual Student Award for Best Jazz Arrangement. Grant was awarded

his third Downbeat Student Award in 2006 for Best Jazz Arrangement in

the high school division. He also won an Outstanding Performance Award

for composition in the high school division.

On August 1st, Richards will be joined by recent NY transplant Sam

Howard on bass and Jonas Oglesbee on drums.