PJCE Happy-Hour Jazz at Wilf's with Kerry Politzer Quartet
Wilf's Restaurant & Jazz Bar at Union Station, 800 NW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97209, USA
JOIN PJCE AT WILF’S FOR HAPPY HOUR JAZZ ON THURSDAY NIGHTS
EACH WEEK FEATURES A PJCE RECORDS ARTIST FOR TWO EARLY EVENING SETS HIGHLIGHTING A MIX OF ORGINAL MUSIC AND WELL KNOWN STANDARDS.
Wilf’s lively lounge is known for fresh, local ingredients, extraordinary service, and modern takes on classic cocktails.The high copper-colored ceilings, bronze chandeliers, and cozy red wingback chairs provide guests with an intimate escape from the world. Pre-purchase your tickets and meet us under the clock tower at Union Station for a fun happy hour hang.
Thursday, September 12th
Kerry Politzer Quartet
5:00-7:00 PM
Tickets available here
Kerry Politzer is a Portland-based jazz pianist, composer, and educator. She is on the music faculty of Portland State University, and she has taught at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University, the University of Portland, and the Oregon Jazz Workshop. Kerry received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Piano from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied improvisation and composition with the late jazz guru Charlie Banacos. In May 2023, she earned a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Rowan University. Kerry is an alumna of the 2003 and 2005 Banff Jazz Workshops.
Prior to moving to Portland, Kerry lived in New York for many years, where she studied Brazilian music and performed original compositions at clubs including Smalls. She also toured with DIVA No Man’s Band, playing with Diane Schuur, Slide Hampton, and Larry Coryell. In 1996, Kerry was one of six finalists in the American Pianists Association’s 3rd Biennial Jazz Piano Competition. Her composition Rhodes Rage won Third Prize, Jazz Category in the 2005 International Songwriting Competition.
Kerry has released seven jazz CDs as a leader, including Blue in Blue, which featured saxophonist Donny McCaslin and was termed a “first-rate jazz outing” by AllAboutJazz.com. She has also been a featured sideman on albums of George Colligan, Laura Dreyer, and the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble and was featured on Sax And The City: Musical Contributions From New York’s Best Women Jazz Instrumentalists (Apria Records, 2004). The pianist’s latest CD is Ruminations (PJCE Records, 2024).Shelly Rudolph
The 1905, 830 N Shaver St, Portland, OR 97227, USA
“A soulful vocalist that prefers not to be contained” (Midwest Records) Shelly Rudolph has long been a favored voice around her hometown of Portland, Oregon, and musical travels have taken her to New York, Los Angeles, the West Indies, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and beyond. She has been dubbed a “robust and captivating vocalist” by Jazz
Music has taken Shelly all over the world with ensembles that range from intimate duets to Jazz Orchestras and most everything in between. She is among the busiest vocalists in Portland, Oregon performing with her own projects, including collaborations with aerial dance companies and jazz icons of the region.
Long a beloved voice and singer-songwriter force out of Portland, Oregon, much of Shelly's childhood was spent in her mother's contemporary art gallery. She was continually exposed to a wide range of cutting-edge visual and performance artists, authors and dancers and now finds that she feels most alive and at home when in the midst of the creative process.
Tickets available hereTrue West & KMHD Present Azymuth x Brainstory
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR 97202, USA
Azymuth
Celebrating an astounding 50 year career, the legendary Brazilian jazz-funk trio AZYMUTH will tour Europe in 2023!
Responsible for carving out an entirely new sound, fusing jazz-funk with samba to create their own unique genre, referred to as ‘samba doido’, Azymuth are one of Brazil’s most influential bands and surely one of the world’s longest running.
They have played with just about everyone throughout Brazil’s golden era of MPB, jazz, soul and funk, including Jorge Ben, Milton Nascimento, Tim Maia, Elis Regina and Marcos Valle to name just a few. It was Marcos Valle who gave Azymuth their name in 1973 during the recordings of his soundtrack for the film O Fabuloso Fittipaldi. In that same year, Azymuth began recording their now critically acclaimed Demos (1973-75) which sat in their archives until 2019 when they were released by London based label Far Out Recordings.
50 years since they began, Azymuth have released over thirty albums and are still going as strong as ever, writing, recording and performing with the same energy and enthusiasm as when they started out.
As well as their influence on jazz and funk, Azymuth’s contribution to electronic music around the globe is unquestioned, and they’ve collaborated with the likes of 4hero, Madlib and Jazzanova, and been remixed by Theo Parrish, Ron Trent, Global Communication and Daniel Maunick amongst others.
Brainstory
Brainstory’s new album Sounds Good, simply put, lives up to its name.
Based in L.A. but hailing from the Inland Empire's own Rialto, CA, two-thirds of Brainstory, Kevin and Tony Martin are brothers by blood, while Eric Hagstrom is a brother through their music and long term friendship. While the group's initial connection comes from the heady mixture of jazz-performance-focused music school and the grind of playing local shows, their bond has been strengthened through countless hours on the road touring and the making of two studio records—2019’s debut full-length, Buck, followed by 2021’s Ripe EP. "Being on the road, doing our own tours, and backing incredible people like Lady Wray, has sharpened our skills and really revved us up for this record," Kevin says. "It's been four years since our last full length record, and with everything that's happened since, it's like we've been catching up to ourselves." That's one way to describe change: catching up to oneself. Each member of Brainstory has gone through shifts, both personally and musically, and all of that thread through this record.
Since they started the band they have constantly faced situations that forced them to rise to the occasion. They got signed to Big Crown Records, they stepped up their game. Covid happened, they learned to record themselves. They started touring a ton sharing the stage with the likes of Lady Wray and they got their live show super tight. All of this time spent grinding and growing has certainly paid off. The path to take their art to the next level is clearer than ever and once again, they are here for it. If there is one thing that is abundantly clear on this album, it’s that Brainstory leveled up.
Tickets available hereSoul'd Out presents MEL BROWN ORGAN GROUP
The Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97204, USA
"If this band appeared inNew York City, they'd be a sensation!"
That was guitar great--and one-time Mel Brown bandmate--George Benson'sreaction after hearing the Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group backin the day.In fact, this true all-star band(all four members are Oregon Music Hall Of Fame inductees) has been a sensationgoing back to 1997, when they began a 20-year run on Thursday evenings atPortland’s legendary “Jimmy Mak’s” (The Oregonian dubbedthem “Jimmy Mak’s signature group”). They’ve continued their Thursdaynight tradition at the Jack London Revue for the past 6 years. With acollective resume that reads like a "Who's Who" of NW jazz, blues,and soul, this group has the talent and confidence to be completelyspontaneous--from their blistering solos to their improvised arrangements andsegues. No wonder they've thrilled audiences wherever they've played.
Count among the band’s fans jazzgreat Christian McBride, host of National Public Radio’s “Jazz Night InAmerica.” In an October 2021 broadcast, McBride interviewed Mel andplayed excerpts from a Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group festivalset. At one point in the program, McBride exclaimed, “My mind isblown!”
https://www.ticketweb.com/event/mel-brown-b3-organ-group-jack-london-revue-tickets/13578074
Mel Brown Trio at Salty's
Salty's on the Columbia River, 3839 NE Marine Dr, Portland, OR 97211, USA
Live Jazz Friday Nights Salty’s on the Columbia is thrilled to have live jazz performed by the magnificent Mel Brown Trio in our café dining room. This trio of world-class jazz players features Jof Lee on piano, Tim Gilson on bass, and Mel Brown on drums. Drummer Mel Brown is known as Portland’s ultimate timekeeper and ‘Mister Groove.’ An Oregon icon in jazz, Mel Brown has been labeled the ‘Gentleman of Jazz’, with a career spanning over 40 years. Mel first made his mark as a Motown staff drummer, recording and touring with Martha Reeves, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, and others. He subsequently spent ten years working with Diana Ross and other pop acts before giving up the road in 1991 and returning home to his first love – jazz. This fabulous trio is a treasured part of the Salty’s family.Soul'd Out present CHUCK ISRAELS SEXTET
The Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97204, USA
The Chuck Israels SextetFeatures:
Chuck Israels (bass) | JustinCopeland (trumpet) | Dave Evans (tenor sax) | John Moak (trombone) | DanFaehnle (guitar) | Charlie Doggett (drums)
Revered as one of the preeminentbassists in the world, GRAMMY-winner Chuck Israels hasperformed and recorded with Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Herbie Hancock,John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, J.J.Johnson, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Williams, Eric Dolphy, Jim Hall, Patti Austin,Gary Burton, George Russell, the Kronos String Quartet, and countlessothers.
Among Chuck's many recordings asa bassist, some outstanding ones include: Coltrane Time, with JohnColtrane; MyPoint of View, with Herbie Hancock; Getz au Go-Go,with Stan Getz; and many recordings with the Bill Evans Trio, including TheTown Hall Concert; The Second Trio; Trio '65; Live at the Trident; and TimeRemembered. In 2020 Chuck won a GRAMMY for his work with opera starJoyce DiDonato on her recording "Songplay"
As an acclaimed composer andarranger, Chuck has written for Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Jazz at LincolnCenter Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Berkshire Music Center, RichardStoltzman, Eastman Jazz Ensemble, Swedish Radio Jazz Orchestra, West GermanRadio Jazz Orchestra, North German Radio Jazz Orchestra, Radio Denmark JazzOrchestra, Hannover Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra, and others.
https://www.ticketweb.com/event/chuck-israels-sextet-jack-london-revue-tickets/13847733
Yugen Music Project
Mermosa PDX, 1422 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97210, USA
Yugen Music Project is Greg Kelly flute, Phillip Tucker drums, Carmelo Torres congas, and Terrance Wooten guitar. Yugen Music Project welcomes back the vocal stylings of artist Toni Hill.Corey Foster Band
Burlingame Space-Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra, 8423 SW Terwilliger Blvd, Portland, OR 97219, USA
Corey Foster Band 7-9pm at the Burlingame Space (8423 SW Terwilliger Blvd).