Oregon Music News: Oregon’s all-genre music magazine since 2009

Branford Marsallis and Kurt Elling
Branford Marsallis and Kurt Elling
02/14/2017

Portland Jazz Festival Time! Lineup and best bets

The OMN short list for who to see at this year's festival.

The flower that blooms in February. That's the Portland Jazz Festival's role every year at this time. Time to re-visit beloved Jazz players and to discover some you've never heard before. That's the essence of Jazz, preserve; protect and defend its heritage while continuing to push out the boundaries established by the vets.

That's the way it's supposed to be, anyway. Doesn't always work out the way it should. Some are stuck in the mud of their own making. Not us though, right? Just say yes.

Once again, OMN is happy to be one of the media sponsors and we'll be podcasting all of the Jazz Conversations for the seventh year. OMN's Tom D'Antoni will MC and also conduct the conversation with James Blood Ulmer. Stay tuned for THAT one!

Find all ticket information here.

OMN'S BEST BETS AND DISCOVERIES

Yes, there are many big names left out here. We know our readers know who they are and can decide for themselves. Always check the full schedule below. 

One of OMN's best bets sold out early Branford Marsalis and his longstanding quartet of Joey Calderazzo (piano), Eric Revis (bass) and Justin Faulkner (drums) singer Kurt Elling. Branford and Kurt have been having a hilarious twitter war this week. Yes, it's fake....and it's still going on.

Kurt Elling
Faux-Cajun Bimford McSalesman should try actually spending some time in NOLA to get the Ben-yays out of his ears so he can hear some MUSIC!! #monotone #jazzisdeadbutimnot #humanatrocity
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Feb 12

And so on.

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Joy Tribe + Quadraphones

February 16 | 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
White Eagle Tavern,
836 N Russell St
Portland, OR 97227 United States
+ Google Map
Find out more »
$10

 

Andrew Oliver Trio

February 16 | 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Portland Piano Company,
711 SW 14th Avenue
Portland, OR 97205 United States
+ Google Map
 
Remember when these musicians were first coming up? Remember their albums on Diatic Records? They're not kids anymore, and Andrew Oliver lives in Great Britain now. Joy Tribe is the band put together by the Quads' Chelsea Luker. Think she might get a couple of the Quads to slide over for a tune or two? Andrew will be joined by long-time collaborators Bill Athens and Tyson Stubelek.
 
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Thundercat

February 16 | 9:00 pm
Wonder Ballroom,
128 NE Russell Street
Portland, OR United States
+ Google Map
 
Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner is a bassist/producer/composer who has been bending and combining genres for a decade. You've heard him on albums by Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu, Sa-Ra, Bootsy Collins, Snoop Dogg and others. Bruner’s most prolific and fruit-bearing musical relationship has been with DJ/producer/instrumentalist Flying Lotus, for whom he provided both bass and vocals for 2010’s Cosmogramma. Lotus then served as executive producer for Bruner’s 2011 debut,
 
And you've seen him at Pickathon:

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James “Blood” Ulmer

February 19 | 3:00 pm
Winningstad Theatre,
1111 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205 United States
+ Google Map
 
Not to be missed! It was Ulmer who helped Ornette Coleman complete the Harmelodic concept. Ulmer burst thrugh as part of the mid-1970s Avant-Garde and has never looked back. He'll be playing SOLO, armed with hs unison-tuned guitar and unmistakable inscrutable voice. And he's still asking, "Are You Glad to Be in America?"

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 Amina Claudine Myers
February 19 | 5:00 pm
Classic Pianos,
3003 SE Milwaukie Ave.
Portland, OR 97202 United States
+ Google Map
 
For some reason, the AACM - Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a center of Avant-Garde Jazz in the 70's and 80's (and onward), based in Chicago has been ignored by the Jazz Establishment. We're very happy to see one of the pillars of that organization is making a PJF appearance. Read a story on her by OMN's Christa McIntyre later this week.

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Ralph Towner Solo w/ Anja Lechner & Francois Couturier

February 20 | 7:00 pm
The Old Church,
1422 SW 11th Ave.
Portland, OR 97201 United States
+ Google Map
 
There's beauty and then there's pure beauty. Here are examples of pure beauty. Towner and the Lechner/Coutourier duo are prime examples of why ECM continues to produce artists of uncompromising beauty. These days, we can use all the Ralph Towner we can get. Same with Anja and Francois.

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Mel Brown Big Band & Jon Faddis w/ Jimmy Mak All Stars

February 22 | 7:30 pm
Revolution Hall,
1300 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR 97214 United States
+ Google Map
 
They're calling this "Groovin' High: Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie @ 100." Listen to Mel talk about it. He was in the coffeeshop for one of OMN's Coffeeshop Conversations.
 
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February 23 | 7:30 pm
The Old Church,
1422 SW 11th Ave.
Portland, OR 97201 United States
+ Google Map
 
An inspired booking by PJF. He's a pianist/composer and has been called a visionary. You'll be able to see why. One of the ways PDX Jazz has enriched our town.

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John Scofield: Country for Old Men

February 24 | 7:30 pm
Revolution Hall,
1300 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR 97214 United States
+ Google Map
 
It's always a treat to see this guitarist. The Country music thing is schticky (no matter how many Grammy's it won) but the tunes merely serve as a platform for his playing...a long Jazz tradition.

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Descarga for Monk & Diz

February 25 | 7:30 pm / Second separate show at 10:pm
Fremont Theater,
2393 NE Fremont Street
Portland, 97212
+ Google Map
  
Each would have been 100 years-old this year. Both helped bring the Latin-flavored to Jazz. This show will be "with a flamenco and Latin jazz twist in an exclusive For Portland Only experience. Seven-time Grammy®-nominated percussionist and 2013-2014 SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director John Santos is one of the foremost exponents of Afro-Latin music in the world today."

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HERE'S THE FULL SCHEDULE

 
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13
14
15
16

Branford Marsalis Quartet w/ Kurt Elling

Thundercat

Branford Marsalis: Jazz Conversation

Mel Brown: Jazz Conversation

17

Maria Schneider Orchestra

Ralph Peterson’s TriAngular featuring The Curtis Bros

PDX Jazz Jam @ The 1905 w/ Ron Steen

Ralph Peterson: Jazz Conversation

18

Kneebody

Jimmy Heath: Jazz Conversation

Emmet Cohen (Solo Piano)

The Heath Brothers

19

James “Blood” Ulmer

Amina Claudine Myers: Poems for Piano

Yellowjackets & Mike Stern

Kontext + Human Ottoman

20

Ralph Towner Solo w/ Anja Lechner & Francois Couturier

Andrei Kitaev

Ezra Weiss & The Monday Night Big Band

AJAM Student Duo

21

Alan Jones Sextet (Early Show)

Alan Jones Sextet (Late Show)

PSU Student Duos

Levis Dragulin & Noah Simpson: “Chet Baker vs Dizzy Gillespie”

22

Mel Brown Big Band & Jon Faddis w/ Jimmy Mak All Stars

Bridgetown Sextet

PSU Student Duos

Dick Titterington & Randy Porter: The John Birks Society

23

Bill Mays: Front Row Seat

Roy Ayers: The Godfather of Neo-Soul

Craig Taborn Quartet: Keyboard Misterioso

Thomas Barber Quintet: Barber Does Dizzy

24

John Scofield: Country for Old Men

Aaron Parks Trio (Early Show)

Aaron Parks Trio (Late Show)

Michael Raynor Quartet

25

Hector Martignon: Mambo Para Colombia

It’s Monk’s Time!: John Beasley Presents MONK’estra & T.S. Monk Sextet

Descarga for Monk & Diz (Early Show)

Descarga for Monk & Diz (Late Show)

26

Misteriosos

Paul Brainard & Brent Martens

SEI Annual Gospel Brunch

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