Check out this clip of the Carlton Jackson/Dave Mills Big Band that Oregon Art Beat ran back when Tom D’Antoni was their music critic.  Check the tags on the right for a list of musicians appearing in the clip.

Today JazzPDX brings you another video from Carlton Jackson’s collection on YouTube.  This particular video is of a group called LeBon that Carlton describes as:

a rollicking, wonderful noise was LeBon,

during their 10 year run in Portland, OR music circles.

Formed by music critic Rick Mitchell, this band set a standard for the alternative music crowd that went to see the band play.

The video features a few players you still see around Portland today including Carlton, Denny Bixby, Warren Rand, and Terry Robb.

Personally, I highly recommend Rand’s solo which starts at about 4:30.

Carlton Jackson has played with every serious jazz musician in Portland.  Okay, that not be 100% true, but I would be pretty surprised if it weren’t true.  Tonight, he’s being inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame - an honor he truly deserves.  Carlton has a great post on his website/blog that references and thanks some of his mentors and heroes, such as Mel Brown, Ron Steen, and Bruce Carter.  While you’re at his site, be sure to check out some of his other blog entries as well - he’s a prolific writer and relates some great information and fun stories.

A while back, he posted an especially entertaining collection of videos that he’s been uploading to YouTube.  The videos feature performances that Jackson has been involved in over the years - what he calls some of his favorite musical moments.

The bizarre pick from that collection:  The Portland Trailblazers pretending to play in a big band - the music is actually Portland jazz musicians including Jackson on drums, Rich Cooper on trumpet, Michael Bard on sax, and others.

Portland jazz/soul/r+b saxophonist Patrick Lamb is on tour once again with Bobby Caldwell.  This time, the band is in Japan, where Caldwell’s music seems especially popular.

Patrick has set up a video-blog while he’s there, giving fans a look behind the scenes.  You can find the videos at Patrick’s MobileMe page.

You can catch the Ben Fowler Quintet at Jimmy Mak’s this Saturday (8/30).

Live Videos by Ustream

Visit the Upper Left Trio website to find more information about the band, upcoming performances, etc.

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.