The Blue Cranes’ newest album, Homing Patterns has a nice review in today’s Oregonian.  Head over to the Blue Cranes website and make sure to catch their CD release party on May 7th at Holocene.

From the AFM99 Musicians Union website:

The Musicians Union, Local 99 is hosting 4 of our esteemed local music writers for an afternoon presentation and Q & A about their jobs, press releases, what they like to see, and how you might help yourself get some press.

Present at the event will be:

Luciana Lopez - Pop Music Critic-Oregonian
Amy McCullough - Music Editor-Willamette Week
Ezra A. Caraeff - Music Editor-Portland Mercury
Barbara Mitchell - Music Critic-Portland Tribune

Saturday, March 29, 2008
2-4 PM
Musicians Union Hall
325 NE 20th Ave
Portland, OR 97232

The event is free to all, though we are suggesting a $5, tax deductible, donation to the Music Education Assistance Project, a non-profit organization that provides support for Public School Music Programs.

For more info, contact the Local at 503-235-8791 or  Bruce Fife

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.

Lynn Darroch on Rob Scheps

Lynn Darroch on Thara Memory’s new CD: “Chronicle”

Oregonian writer and critic Lynn Darroch describes Jimmy Mak’s “New Artist” series in a new podcast. The series is a collaboration with Home Grown Live on KMHD. Artists are featured on the live radio program, and then play early sets on Tuesday nights at Jimmy Mak’s opening up for the Mel Brown Septet. Darroch interviews Jimmy Mak himself, Mary Bulingame from KMHD, and features music from Michael Winkle, the Midnight Serenaders, and Trio Subtonic.

The Oregonian’s “Sound Check” article this week features the Portland Jazz Orchestra. The PJO will be performing the music of Thad Jones and Claire Fischer tonight (November 30th) at the Dolores Winningstad Theatre. Tickets are $20 - show starts at 7:30 PM.