John Nastos will perform at the Old Church on February 21st as part of this year’s Portland Jazz Festival.

The following is from Darrell Grant’s press release about the event, which is hosted by the Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute at PSU that he founded:

“Conceived as a professional showcase to highlight the finest young jazz talent to come out of Oregon, LVJI’s series provides Portland jazz listeners the opportunity to hear the future as it arrives.” This year we are pleased to present a young player who is establishing himself as important new voice in Portland jazz–saxophonist and composer John Nastos. John will be joined by a stellar lineup of players that includes drummers Drew Shoals and Alan Jones, bassist Dave Captein and special guest New York pianist Sam Harris.”

The concert starts at 7:30. Advance tickets are $10 for general admission ($8 for students) and are available through the PSU box office (503-725-3307) or any Ticketmaster outlet.

On February 8th, Jeff Lorber came to Jimmy Mak’s to play two sold-out shows alongside Patrick Lamb, Marlon McClain, Reinhardt Melz, and Damian Erskine. Patrick has sent along an Mp3 of part of the performance, as well as several videos to check out. Enjoy!

MP3 Audio file

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Rob Scheps, saxophonist and ex-Portlander, has a new CD coming out on the JazzCode label. The CD was recorded at in Norway and features a number of originals and standards. At JazzCode’s website, you can check out a video documenting the recording of the disc, as well as some discussion from the group on how they approach jazz and improvisation.

Pianist Greg Goebel has just launched his website at www.greggoebelmusic.com

Goebel keeps a busy calendar, playing with groups like PDXV and the David Friesen Trio.
(more…)

David Friesen story via YouTube



Fantastic video of bassist David Friesen from Tom D’Antoni’s old ArtBeat archives. You can visit D’Antoni’s YouTube channel as well as his blog to find more interesting jazz/blues material. Also, be sure to check out his radio show at 10 PM on Saturday’s on KMHD.

On August 4th, the Christian McBride band will play in Portland as part of the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival. McBride’s band features some fantastic musicians, including Terreon Gully, Ron Blake, and Geoffry Keezer. They play a mix of jazz, fusion, and, funk featuring McBride on both electric and acoustic basses. Below, you can take a look at some videos of McBride with his band and a duo with Niels Pederson via youtube.

(more…)

Jim Pepper, the native American saxophonist born in Oregon, is one of the most famous jazz musicians to come out of Portland. In May, the OPB art show Art Beat did a feature on him, and the Jim Pepper Remembrance Band. The video features clips of other Portland musicians like Glen Moore, Renato Caranto, Carlton Jackson, Gordon Lee, Ron Steen, David Friesen, etc. playing Pepper’s music, as well as stock footage of Pepper himself. Below, you can watch the feature via youtube.

(more…)

One of the most well-known jazz musicians to ever call Portland his home was Leroy Vinnegar - master of the walking bass line. Vinnegar recorded over 600 albums during his career, ranging from “My Fair Lady” with Andre Previn and Shelly Mann, to “Saint Dominic’s Preview” with Van Morrison.

Vinnegar moved to Portland in 1986 where he lived until his death in August of 1999. July 13th, 2007 would have been his 79th birthday.

While in Portland, he played regular gigs all around town, including twelve years of work with pianist Jof Lee. Jof has created a tribute page that has some great quotes from Vinnegar.

Another great page about Vinnegar is the Portland State University Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute. At the Institute’s page, you can find an extensive biography of Vinnegar, as well as information on the PSU-hosted Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Week in May.

Vinnegar’s legacy lives on in many ways - from the players that shared the stage with him to the stage named after him (LV’s Uptown). His presence is etched in Portland’s jazz history.

See and hear Vinnegar below.
(more…)