Carlton Jackson has been kind enough to continue uploading videos from the 1988 Blue Lake Mel Brown Quintet gig.  JazzPDX had posted part 1 before, but now parts 1 through 3 are available.  Once again, these videos feature Thara Memory on trumpet, Michael York on tenor saxophone, Gordon Lee on piano, Tim Gilson on bass, and Mel Brown on drums, playing some of the driving hard-bop jazz that the band has been known for for over 25 years in the Portland scene.  Remember that you can catch the modern version of this group (the Mel Brown Septet) every Tuesday at Jimmy Mak’s.

Greg Goebel brings his trio back to Jimmy Mak’s this week, featuring Dave Captein on bass and Todd Strait on drums.  Don’t miss this chance to hear one of the most-hired jazz sidemen playing his own music.

As usual, jazz at Jimmy Mak’s has no cover on Mondays.  Music starts at 8 PM.

This Friday at Jimmy Mak’s, two bands led by up-and-comers in the Portland jazz scene: John Nastos and Ben Darwish.  John Nastos’s E4 performs first at 8 PM with Clay Giberson on Hammond B3 organ and Alan Jones on drums.  Then, Ben Darwish’s Commotion takes over, with Sam Howard on bass, Jason Palmer on drums, and Chris Mosley on guitar.

Music starts at 8 PM - $10 gets you in for both bands.  Visit Jimmy Mak’s website for more information.

Dr. Lonnie Smith is at Jimmy Mak’s this Monday.  Mel Brown, Dan Faehnle, and Donald Harrison will join him for a night of killer organ-driven jazz.  Tickets are $25 through Tickets Oregon.

This Tuesday, join saxophonist Willie Matheis for the Jimmy Mak’s “New Artist Series.”  You may have caught Matheis’s set on KMHD’s Homegrown Live this past Saturday, where artists perform before doing the opening set for Mel Brown’s Septet.

After Matheis’s group (6:30-7:30 PM, $3 cover), the Mel Brown Septet will play their usual Tuesday night gig featuring hardbop classics by composers like Horace Silver and Lee Morgan as well as originals from group members Stan Bock, Gordon Lee, and others.

The Septet starts at 8 PM for a $6 cover charge.  Minors welcome until 9:30 PM.

This Monday, Go By Train (Dan Balmer, Micah Kassell, Clay Giberson) plays their usual last-Monday slot at Jimmy Mak’s.  Head over for the no-cover electro-acoustic experience unique to them.  Music starts at 8 PM.

This Saturday at Jimmy Mak’s, vocalist Jessie Marquez and guitarist Mike Denny will come up from Eugene to play a concert promoting their new CD: Get the Feeling.

Marquez’s music focuses on a Cuban-American connection in what is known as ‘filin’ music. Here’s what Marquez’s website says about the genre:

Playing on the English word “feeling,” Cubans have aptly named this emotional genre. An offshoot of bolero, filin draws from American jazz, Brazilian bossa nova, and the Cuban people’s familiarity with the many shades of love and longing.

Marquez is not just another American singer with a taste for Latin music. She actually travels to Cuba to perform and learn about the music. In fact, in 2003, members of the Afro-Cuban All-Stars heard her sing in Havana, and offered to arrange and record her first CD, Sana Locura.

“Far from the hotbeds of Latin music, singer and composer Jessie Márquez has carved out a niche for herself in the Northwest. She returned to Cuba to record an album of tropical Latin classics and originals with some of Havana’s top musicians, and adapted effortlessly to the Cuban style with a commanding vocal presence, highlighted by a sincere, evocative delivery with a sensuous edge.” — Hispanic Magazine

Music at Jimmy Mak’s starts at 8 PM. For this show, there is a $10 cover.

Dan Balmer’s longest-working trio with George Mitchell and Carlton Jackson will play at Jimmy Mak’s tonight.  This is the same group that held down Sunday nights at Jazz De Opus for so many years.  Music starts at 8 PM.  No cover.