From this week’s press release from The Cave:

Wednesday June 18th: NANCY KING INVITATIONAL

This week Nancy invites the swift, wry, hoping, and still young pianist Dan Gaynor. Dan is what in astronomy would be called “an orbit”.

Thursday June 19th: ALAN JONES PRESENTS…

his new Quartet of Portland all-stars Randy Porter, Rob Davis and Tom Wakeling. Collectively known as The Cavemen This group will be performing new original music of Alan’s along with not too common and very interesting re-workings from the modern jazz literature.

Best-known for his leadership of the Alan Jones Sextet, which for many listeners defines the essence of Portland jazz with its adventurous, hard-swinging original music, grounded in both jazz tradition and the rugged individualism of the Northwest.

Friday June 20th: EZRA WEISS - NEW JAZZ QUARTET

Jazz composer/pianist Ezra Weiss has returned to Portland from New York City, where he recorded several CD’s and led bands at major venues.  Now, Weiss has formed a new quartet, which will debut at the Cave on June 20th.  The quartet includes drummer Alan Jones, bassist Dave Speranza, and saxophonist Renato Caranto. 

Ezra Weiss’s piano playing evinces a distinctive expressiveness that is doubly impressive coming from a jazz musician who’s still in his twenties.  He also possesses composing and arranging skills of an unusually high order. He has earned the coveted ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award no less than three times and has received rave notices from the press. Weiss’s new album, Get Happy, further evidences his wide-ranging abilities on a program of original songs and specially picked material from the Great American Songbook that, taken as a conceptual whole, concerns the pursuit of happiness. The album is available at ezraweiss.com and cdbaby.com.

Saturday June 21st: HAILEY NISWANGER QUARTET and the JEFF CUMPSTON “GOING AWAY TO ZIMBABWE” PARTY

Yes, Jeff Cumpston, one of the great drummers and musical educators in Portland is packing up his family and moving to Zimbabwe!!!  Clearly Jeff is also a bold and fearless adventurer, which you have to be if you’re going to be any kind of jazz drummer…so we shouldn’t be too surprised by his outrageous move. Jeff has been an important teacher and inspiration to many students who have gone on to develop their own careers in music. This band is made of 3 of these young musicians who have benefited from Jeff Cumpston’s vision and wisdom and are obviously placing themselves as the next generation of deeply talented and highly motivated musicians.

Hailey Niswanger is 18 years old, has a real live time feel and plays the alto saxophone with the fearlessness of a true improviser. She has already made quite a scene in the jazz world performing with the 2007 and 2008 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble in Hollywood, California, receiving outstanding soloist awards from many festivals around the US and being selected for the MENC 2007 All Northwest Jazz Band. It looks like Hailey will go away to college next fall, possibly to Berklee on the full scholarship they’ve offered her, so come see her play and get her autograph while it might still be relatively easy. Hailey will be joined by fellow friend female phenom, Kate Davis on bass, her high school band director Jeff Cumpston on drums and the also very young and talented Sam Hirsh on piano.

This week’s press release for The Cave:

Wednesday June 11th: NANCY KING INVITATIONAL

This week Nancy invites the clever, intricate, swinging, and still young pianist Dan Gaynor. Dan is also what in baseball would be called “in the hot box”.

Thursday June 12th: ALAN JONES PRESENTS…

If you asked randomly around the world, “who is the greatest musician living in Portland, OR”, it’s quite possible, likely even, that most of the responses would be…Dave Frishberg. It’s worth taking a minute to check out some of the things he’s done over a 40-year career http://www.davefrishberg.net/long_bio.php. He played with Ben Webster! He played with Gene Krupa! He writes and sings hilariously intelligent songs that are very famous…but those songs are for another night. On this night he’ll be playing version of breathtaking piano with Warren Rand. Warren has “Revered Master” status in Portland. He has the biggest, fattest sound you can get on an alto saxophone, has played since it’s inception with the Mel Brown sextet/septet and the Alan Jones Sextet.  He’s played blues for years with Robert Cray and Albert King. Dave Speranza will be playing bass. Dave is playing very, very well, just look at the company he’s keeping. Alan Jones will play drums.

Friday June 13th: ANDREW OLIVER SEXTET

Andrew is a very motivated, prolific and exceptional piano player and composer. One of the leaders in the great movement of young talented musicians in Portland, he brings to his work the experiences of living, studying and playing for 3 years in New Orleans, touring in unusual and interesting places like Poland, Bulgaria and Africa, the ability to speak French and play cello, trumpet and drums.  This is an opportunity to hear a young creative musician on his way up.  Joining Andrew will be Dan Duval, guitar and composition; Mary Sue Tobin, soprano, alto saxophone and clarinet; Willie Matheis, tenor saxophone; Eric Gruber, bass and Kevin Van Geem, drums

Saturday June 14th: DAVID FRIESEN TRIO

David Friesen bass, Randy Porter piano, Alan Jones drums have been playing together for many years, traveled all over the world, recorded 3 internationally acclaimed CD’s, have a virtually telepathic rapport with each other and have never had a rehearsal.

Monday June 16th: INGRID JENSEN QUARTET

Special Note: Next week INGRID JENSEN will dart into Portland to do some work with David Monette on a new trumpet and while she’s here play a rare, secret gig at the cave on MONDAY JUNE 16th with Randy Porter, Dave Speranza and Alan Jones + special guests.  I know, we don’t usually have music on Mondays, but sometimes you have to make exceptions.  This will be a party!

The Cave is located at:

636 SW Jackson St (at the corner of Broadway in the PSU neighborhood). 

Here’s the newest press release from The Cave:

 

We want to thank everyone who came out to The Cave for this opening week of music.  You’ve helped to set the tone…the spirit of the place! Thank You again, and so looking forward to the future of creative music and spaces in our great city.

 

 

 

Wednesday May 14th: NANCY KING INVITATIONAL

 

“She is, I think, one of the best singers that ever walked the planet.”

 

-       Karrin Allyson, Jazz Vocalist

 

 –Nancy has been nominated Female Vocalist of the year by the Jazz Journalist Association!–

 

 

This week Nancy invites two of her longest standing playing mates, Steve Christofferson and Tom Wakeling.

 

How fortunate we are to be living in a time and place where we can hear Nancy sing every Wednesday!

 

 

Thursday May 15th: ALAN JONES PRESENTS…

 

…an exploration of new music with a totally new line up of some of the “younger” musicians on the Portland scene: Tim Wilcox, tenor; Greg Goebel, piano; Bill Athens, bass; 

 

 

Best-known for his leadership of the Alan Jones Sextet, which for many listeners defines the essence of Portland jazz with its adventurous, hard-swinging original music, grounded in both jazz tradition and the rugged individualism of the Northwest.

 

 

Friday May 16th: THE JOHN NASTOS QUARTET

 

A Portland native recently returned from living, studying and playing in New York, John is a standard setter in our flourishing scene of young players. He plays the alto at a very high level having learned from some of the best…Warren Rand, Dick Oatts, Steve Wilson…he’s first-call guy in many of the working bands in Portland, and he runs JazzPDX.org - a website about the Portland jazz scene.  His energy and enthusiasm is where Jazz is going. John brings with him 3 other great young players Clay Giberson kybds, Randy Rollofson dr and Chris Mosley gt.

 

 

 

Saturday May 17th: DAVID VALDEZ, The Lennie Tristano Files

 

David is a very creative human being.  He plays the alto and tenor saxophones with the depth of…well, someone who deeply understands the music, he teaches at Ethos Music Center, a non-profit music program in north Portland, he runs 2 or 3 bands, he writes a FANTASTIC blog, http://davidvaldez.blogspot.com/ that everyone interested in jazz should definitely read, and he invents really cool projects…this music of Lennie Tristano is one of them.

 

Lennie Tristano had a profound influence on jazz, but as sometimes happens, has not gotten a lot of popular recognition.  His compositions are clever, intricate and challenging to play even if you’re an obvious virtuoso.  This evening will be a slice of jazz history not often heard.  Playing with David will be: Tim Wilcox tenor sax, Dan Gaynor piano, Dave Speranza bass, Alan Jones drums.

"The Audience" (you may have caught them at the Portland Jazz Festival as the "PDX Jazz Collective") will perform this Friday at St. Michael and All Angels church (1704 NE 43rd Ave) at 8 PM.  The band is made up of many of Portland’s up-and-coming jazz students including Ian Christensen, Patrick Sargent, Grant Richards, and Charlie Stanford.  Older members Jonas Oglesbee and Dave Speranza round out the band. There is a suggested $10 donation.

On Monday, March 17, New York-based trumpeter Ingrid Jensen will perform at Jimmy Mak’s with Alan Jones for a mere $5 cover charge. Randy Porter and Dave Speranza will round out the quartet.

Ingrid has played with some of the best musicians in the world and is an influential force on her instrument and in the jazz genre. Don’t miss this chance to see her play in Portland.

At Jimmy Mak’s with Dave Speranza and Randy Porter.  $5 cover