A new addition to the lively Westend Wednesdays in downtown Portland, taking place on the last Wednesday of every month, Fortune proudly presents emerging local modern jazz ensemble MISTDIRECTAZ. The band comprises bassist Dylan Ilseng, keyboardist Wydglif Dorlus, saxophonist and guitarist Neil Shenoi, and drummer Gabriel Fernandez. MISTDIRECTAZ pull from a vast catalogue of modern music including 1990s and 2000s Hip Hop & RnB, contemporary Indie & Alternative styles, and Soul-driven jazz from the 1960s and beyond. The idea is to use modern songs for the modern age as a vehicle for improvisation, just as the iconic artists of jazz did in the past. Musicians are welcome to sit in for the second set of the night. KMHD's own DJ Bryson Wallace will open the night at 6pm spinning vinyl selections from his highly curated collection.

About Combo Chimbita:

Described by NPR’s Alt.Latino as an “otherworldly presence,” Combo Chimbita is the creative unity of Carolina Oliveros (vocals, guacharaca), Niño Lento es Fuego (guitar), Prince of Queens (bass, synthesizers) and Dilemastronauta (drums), who together transcend common concepts of time and nationality.

Afro-Caribbean transcendance, bewildering chants, booming drums and psychedelic distortion lay the rhythmic foundation for IRÉ; a testament to the ever expanding scope of Combo Chimbita’s sonic palette and their modes of resistance in realms both spiritual and terrestrial.

“Within the saga of Combo Chimbita,” reflects Niño Lento es Fuego about each of the band’s releases, “El Corredor del Jaguar (2016) finds this eternal being lost outside their realm and returning to Abya Yala (2017) in order to heal and restore peace to the continent. Ahomale (2019) appears as a guiding energy of resistance and now IRÉ (2022) represents those chosen to lead the revolution and materialize the good fortunes foretold in their divinations.” Like the jaguar before them, Combo Chimbita carries on; delicate, resilient and roaring.

About Pachyman:

For his latest sonic transmission Switched-On, musician Pachy García, aka Pachyman, challenged himself to steer his dub-drenched dispatches towards another dimension. The follow-up to 2021’s The Return of Pachyman, out September 29th on ATO Records, Switched-On is an homage to the generative artistic era when musicians first began manipulating synthesizers to emit gloriously off-kilter bleeps, bloops, and whooshes. It also gestures to García’s chirring synthesizers that form the spine of these songs, particularly the effervescent electronic interlude “Mi Sala.” While conceptualizing Switched-On, García gravitated towards listening to Lovers’ Rock-era reggae and transmissions from the iconic Studio One Records — a thread that surfaces in “Goldline.”

The song, inspired by García’s job at a hifi listening bar that plays a lot of disco and funk at night, intentionally pulled at a “Studio One disco-soul vibe” with a splash of dub mixed in. His ear for expansiveness comes through the winking “Trago Coqueto,” a cheeky love song crooned through the prism of a cocktail that’s named after a flirty lemon-ginger drink. In a uniquely Pachyman twist, it acts as a poignant ode to his life growing up in Puerto Rico. It couldn’t be a more fitting testament to Switched- On’s ethos, which meditates on García’s conviction to move his art forward while simultaneously honoring his roots.
 
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Two Shows: 6 PM (DOORS 5 PM) | 8:15 PM (DOORS 7:30 PM)

Artist: Michael Raynor

Drummer Michael Raynor has been immersed in the Chicago jazz scene since moving there in 1988. After hearing tenor saxophone icon Von Freeman on the radio late one night, he found his way down to Von's weekly gig at the New Apartment Lounge on Chicago's south side and sat in with the band. Three days later Von asked him to the studio to record "Walkin' Tuff" (Southport Records), and Raynor has been his regular drummer ever since. A later recording with Von, "The Improviser" (Premonition Records), was included in Downbeat Magazine's "Best CDs of 2002."

His association with Von lead to numerous gigs with other Chicago greats including Eddie Johnson, John Young, Jodie Christian, Johnny Frigo, Bobby Broom, Charles Earland, Ryan Cohan, and Fareed Haque. Over the course of his career, he has also worked with a host of New York and Internationally based musicians such as Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Ira Sullivan, Steve Coleman, Jon Faddis, Eric Alexander, Bob Sheppard, Rick Margitza, and Arturo Sandoval.

In 2004, Raynor toured southeast Asia as a U.S. Jazz Ambassador with the Chicago Jazz Quartet. This program, co-sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, included concerts, clinics, and collaborations with local musicians in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. He has also performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Jazzfest Berlin in Germany, the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, the Natt Jazz Fest in Norway, both the Montreal and Toronto Jazz Festivals in Canada, and has played several times at the Chicago Jazz Festival.
 
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"If this band appeared in New York City, they'd be a sensation!"  That was guitar great--and one-time Mel Brown bandmate--George Benson's reaction after hearing the Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group back in 2003.  

In fact, this true all-star band (all four members are Oregon Music Hall Of Fame inductees) has been a sensation going back to 1997, when they began a 20-year run on Thursday evenings at Portland’s legendary “Jimmy Mak’s” (The Oregonian dubbed them “Jimmy Mak’s signature group”).  They’ve continued their Thursday night tradition at the Jack London Revue for the past 6 years. With a collective resume that reads like a "Who's Who" of NW jazz, blues, and soul, this group has the talent and confidence to be completely spontaneous--from their blistering solos to their improvised arrangements and segues.  No wonder they've thrilled audiences wherever they've played.

Count among the band’s fans jazz great Christian McBride, host of National Public Radio’s “Jazz Night In America.”  In an October 2021 broadcast, McBride interviewed Mel and played excerpts from a Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group festival set.  At one point in the program, McBride exclaimed, “My mind is blown!”

Tickets available here