Earlier this week, JazzPDX wrote about Ron Steen’s anniversary jam sessions.  In a recent e-mail, Ron has noted that the Produce Row 16th anniversary session (originally scheduled for Monday, November 3) will be moved to November 10th due to repairs.

Ron Steen is the king of the jazz jam session in Portland.  He has hosted a number of sessions over the years at venues all over the city, some of which have become regular hangs for Portland’s best jazz musicians when they aren’t gigging.  In November, two of those jam sessions are having anniversaries:

• Sunday, November 2nd - ”Four Year Anniversary Sunday Jam” at Clyde’s with Tony Pacini & Dennis Caiazza
  There aren’t many gigs on Sunday nights, and consequently, you’ll find some great musicians hanging out at Clyde’s on Sunday nights jamming.  The venue has recently become smoke-free, making it a much more pleasant place to enjoy music.   

  Clyde’s is located at 5474 N.E. Sandy Blvd. 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM. No smoking, no cover charge & free parking available in lot. For more information call 503-281-9200.
   

• Monday, November 3rd (Postponed until November 10) - ”Sixteen Year Anniversary Monday Jam” at Produce Row with Phil Goldberg and Dave SperanzaKeeping a jam session running for sixteen years is an amazing accomplishment.  Talk to the pros around town and you’ll find out that this is the session to go to for serious music.  Not only is this jam popular among Portland musicians, but when out-of-towners come through, they often know that this is the session to stop by.  This means on any given Monday, you might have the chance to catch Dick Berk, Ben Wolfe, Dan Fahnle, or Jay Collins jamming.

  Produce Row is located at 204 S.E. Oak St. 2 blocks west of MLK Blvd. 9:00 PM to midnight. No smoking, $3.00 cover charge & free parking available. For more information call 503-232-8355. 
   

• Wednesday, November 5th - ”Kate Davis’ Wilf’s One Year Anniversary Party” featuring Tom Grant Although not a jam session, this gig also has an anniversary this week - one year of Wednesdays with Ron Steen and Kate Davis at Wilf’s.  Kate is one of Portland’s star up-and-coming jazzers.  She lays it down on bass and has a mean singing voice as well.

This week, The Cave presents:

• 10/29 - Nancy King with Dan Gaynor on piano
• 10/30 - Ludvig Berghe Trio: Ludvig Berghe piano, Daniel Fredriksson drums, Lars Ekman bass
• 10/31 - John Stowell Trio: John Stowell guitar, Seattle greats: Jeff Johnson bass, John Bishop drums
• 11/1 - John Keyser Trio: John Keyser guitar, Phil Baker bass, Ron Steen drums

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.

This week, The Cave presents the following artists:

• 8/27 - Nancy King with Dave Speranza and Dan Gaynor
• 8/28 - Ron Steen with Rick Green and Dave Speranza
• 8/29 - Bobby Torres (with James Travers, Tom Kay, and Brian Ward)
• 8/30 - Dan Schulte’s Strange Pilgrims (John Nastos, Tim Willcox, John Moak, David Goldblatt, Todd Strait)

Be sure to check out the JazzPDX.org Picture Gallery for pictures of some of Portland’s top musicians including:

• The Incredible Journey of Jazz at the Portland Jazz Festival - featuring Stan Bock, Derek Sims, Bryan Dickerson, etc.
• Ron Steen’s Produce Row Jam Session - featuring Russell Scott, Greg Goebel, Dan Gaynor, etc.
• Shelly Rudolph’s Band - featuring Ron Steen, Dave Captein, and Clay Giberson
• Thara Memory’s Superband - featuring Janice Scroggins, Stevie Ray Mays, Marylin Keller, etc.
• Diesel 10 - featuring Dan Balmer, Jeff Leonard, and Alan Jones
• Another Produce Row Jam - featuring Phil Baker, John Stowell, Derek Sims, etc.
• Shelly Rudolph Trio - featuring Clay Giberson and John Nastos
• Sweet Baby James - featuring Louis Pain, Renato Caranto, and Micah Kassell
• Drew Shoals Collective - featuring Ben Darwish, Farnell Newton, Eric Gruber, and John Nastos

This week’s press release from The Cave:

Wednesday June 4th: NANCY KING INVITATIONAL

This week Nancy invites the prodigious, very talented, and quite young pianist Dan Gaynor. Dan is also what in basketball would be called a “play maker”. He sets up opportunities for other people to score.

Thursday June 5th: 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.

Friday June 6th: PSU STUDENT COMBO NIGHT

Organized, facilitated and run by world-renowned pianist Darrell Grant and the spectacular composer/arranger Charlie Gray, the jazz program at PSU has become one of the best places to be if you want to learn jazz for real. The students in these combos are exercising their right to use jazz as a vehicle for real creativity.  If the last combo night was any indication, be prepared to hear some exciting, beautiful, inspired and mature music.

Saturday June 7th: ROBERT MOORE and the WILDCATS

Robert Moore is as unique a singer as he is a trumpet and harmonica player. Coming out of Birmingham Alabama and definitely embodying that Southern “thing”, he combines his influences of soul and gospel into his own distinct interpretations of bebop and swinging jazz. In Robert’s approach you hear King Pleasure, Mark Murphy, Mose Allison, & Ella alongside Otis Redding, Roger Miller & classic blues masters. Joining Robert on Saturday will be Dan Gildea on guitar, Dennis Caiazza on bass, and the legendary Ron Steen on drums.

The Cave is located at 636 SW Jackson, under the Green Onion restaurant.

The weekly Produce Row jam session with Ron Steen.  This week he is joined by George Mitchell and Kevin Deitz.  9-12 PM - $3 cover.  Produce Row is located at 204 SE Oak Street.