2019 Artist Bios and Descriptions - Google Docs
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6/30/2019 2019 Artist Bios and Descriptions - Google Docs Artist: Kerry Politzer Set Name: K erry Politzer: Bossa PDX Short Description: Brazilian jazz inspired by the masters of bossa nova. Bio (100 words): Pianist and composer Kerry Politzer is a native East Coaster who has resided in Portland since 2011. Her Brazilian jazz project, Bossa PDX, received RACC Project Grant funding to explore the works of Rio-born guitarist/composer Durval Ferreira. This set will feature Politzer’s compositions inspired by Ferreira’s work. She is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and a disciple of late jazz guru, Charlie Banacos. Politzer has served as adjunct music faculty at Portland State University since 2013. Lineup: Kerry, Politzer, piano; Joe Manis, woodwinds, Dan Balmer, guitar; Phil Baker, bass; George Colligan, drums Artist: Bryan Smith Set Name: B ryan Smith: Let Me Take You There Short Description: A nature-inspired multimedia collaboration between composer/saxophonist Bryan Smith and poet/photographer Matt Spohn, aiming to bring awareness to the importance of environmental conservation. Bio (100 words): Saxophonist, composer and educator Bryan Smith has been an active member of the jazz and improvised music scene in the Northwest. Having been a musician in both Seattle and Portland, Smith has been able to develop a unique and individualistic voice that is synonymous with West Coast jazz. Influenced by West Coast bebop with players such as Warne Marsh, Lee Konitz, and Lennie Tristano, mixed with the alternative rock of the 90’s that was popularized in the Northwest, Smith has found a way to incorporate history and regional identity in his music. Lineup: Bryan Smith, alto sax; Matt Spohn, poetry; Ryan Meagher, guitar; Matt Tabor, piano; Andrew Jones, bass; Jonas Oglesbee, drums Artist: Dana Reason Set Name: D ana Reason: Torque Songs Short Description: A new work utilizing the concept of torque to create thematic and generative sonic rotations that move through "forgotten" voices. Throughout the work, equilibrium and disequilibrium are at play–distilling the spaces in and around sound and visual objects. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6bLlox8pZ593b1fYJqvs3q2W1TkVesbdsGL_FEIXBw/edit# 1/12 6/30/2019 2019 Artist Bios and Descriptions - Google Docs Bio (120 words): Dana Reason is a Canadian-born composer, sound/recording artist, and musicologist. Reason creates music for film, large and small ensembles, and with fixed media. She has performed with seminal artists including Cecil Taylor, Roscoe Mitchell, George E. Lewis, Tim Berne, Fred Frith, Joelle Leandre, DJ Spooky, Joe McPhee, and Pauline Oliveros. Reason premiered her feature film score B ack to God's Country (Kino-Lorber) at BAM in 2018. Her wind ensemble C urrents , as well as her album Angle of Vision, were long listed for nomination in 3 separate categories for GRAMMY awards in 2014. More recently, Reason was musical arranger on Henry Louis Gates' PBS series R econstruction: America After the Civil War (2019) . Reason is the Coordinator of Contemporary Music and Research Oregon State University. Lineup: Dana Reason, fixed media/piano/synth; Holland Andrews, voice/sound; John Savage, flute; Alissa Derubeis, synth/computer; Mike Nord, guitar; Todd Sickafoose, bass; Ryan Biesack, drums, Paris Meyers, animation/visual artist Artist: Charlie Porter Set Name: C harlie Porter Quintet Short Description: One of Portland’s best-known artists outside of the local area performing new original music with an all-star cast. The Palm Beach Post says, “Porter’s excellent stylish playing draws you in; you hang on each note!” Bio (240 words): Internationally acclaimed trumpeter and composer Porter first emerged on the New York jazz scene, while studying classical and jazz trumpet performance at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of famed trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis. Like his mentor, Porter has delved into many projects from jazz and classical to Arabic, Indian, African, Australian Aboriginal and Korean music, seeking to find common ground among music from these varied traditions. Touring India, China, West Africa and Southeast Asia with Jazz at Lincoln Center's American Music Abroad program shaped Porter's inclusive view of music. Porter recently recorded his long-awaited debut album as a leader, self-titled Charlie Porter, featuring original compositions. Porter has toured the world performing and recording with many notable musicians and groups over the last twenty years ranging from jazz greats like Joe Zawinul, Paquito D’Rivera, Charlie Persip, and Chuck Israels, to classical artists such as Simone Dinnerstein, Sarah Chang, and Joyce DiDonato, as well as world music greats, Goran Bregovic, Marcel Khalife and Kim Duksoo. He is also a founding member of the grammy-nominated electro-acoustic Absolute Ensemble, directed by Kristjan Jarvi. Porter holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and classical performance, and he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Paris Conservatory. Charlie was the first trumpeter to win 1st place in both the classical and jazz divisions of the National https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6bLlox8pZ593b1fYJqvs3q2W1TkVesbdsGL_FEIXBw/edit# 2/12 6/30/2019 2019 Artist Bios and Descriptions - Google Docs Trumpet Competition. As a composer he has been commissioned by Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Foundation. Lineup: Charlie Porter, trumpet; Joe Manis, saxophones; Greg Goebel, piano; Jon “Sticky” Lakey, bass; Alan Jones, drums Artist: Mel Brown Set Name: M el Brown B3 Organ Group Short Description: P ortland music legend Mel Brown and his all-star B3 Organ Group have wowed Portland audiences for 23 years and counting with their unique combination of jazz, soul, and blues, performed with fire and spontaneity. Bio (240 words): The Mel Brown B3 Organ Group, dubbed "Jimmy Mak's signature band" by The Oregonian, performed at the famed Pearl District jazz venue on Thursday nights for the club's entire twenty-year run. When George Benson heard the group, he said, "If this band played in New York City, they'd be a sensation!" The Oregonian's Kyle O'Brien described the band's unique style as, "the sound of spontaneity.” Brown spent many years as a Motown staff drummer, performing with the likes of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, and the Temptations. He returned to Portland and his jazz roots in the early 1980’s, becoming revered as Portland’s “Gentleman of Jazz.” His B3 Organ Group, built around Brown’s deep groove and the organ playing of Bay Area transplant “King” Louis Pain, combines both Brown’s musical worlds, i.e. soul and jazz. Saxophonist Renato Caranto, who has toured with Esperanza Spalding and Merle Haggard, adds incredible soul and virtuosity to the group which also features Dan Balmer who is widely recognized as one of the world’s premier jazz guitarists. The Mel Brown B3 Organ Group rarely pauses during their set––a habit Brown developed playing medleys with the Temptations––and neither does the excitement of their music! The group continues their Thursday night tradition at Portland’s newest jazz venue, the Jack London Revue. Lineup: Mel Brown, drums; Renato Caranto, tenor sax; Dan Balmer, guitar; Louis Pain, organ Artist: Ezra Weiss Set Name: E zra Weiss Big Band: We Limit Not the Truth of God Short Description: The Ezra Weiss Big Band celebrates the release of their new album on Origin Records with this original suite of intensely personal reflections on the troubled world we live in today. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6bLlox8pZ593b1fYJqvs3q2W1TkVesbdsGL_FEIXBw/edit# 3/12 6/30/2019 2019 Artist Bios and Descriptions - Google Docs Headliner Bio (120 words): Composer/pianist Ezra Weiss has released six albums as a leader, most recently Before You Know It . Additionally, he wrote the music for the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble’s From Maxville To Vanport, and the big band arrangements for Derek Hines’ T he Long Journey Home . Weiss currently leads his own big band and sextet, performing at major jazz festivals and clubs throughout the U.S., including Dizzy’s in NYC, the Triple Door in Seattle, and the Catalina Bar and Grill in Los Angeles. Weiss won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award three times, and has been listed in DownBeat Critics Polls as a Rising Star Arranger. He currently lives with his wife and two sons in Portland, and teaches at Portland State University. Lineup: Ezra Weiss, conductor; John Nastos, John Savage, Renato Caranto, Joe Manis, Tina Richerson, reeds; Greg Garrett, Charlie Porter, Douglas Detrick, Farnell Newton, trumpets; Stan Bock, Jeff Uusitalo, David Bryan, John Ohnstad, trombones; Jasnam Daya Singh, piano; Jon Lakey, bass; Alan Jones, drums; Carlton Jackson, percussion; The Camas High School Choir: Ethan Chessin, director Artist: Kathleen Hollingsworth Set Name: K athleen Hollingsworth: Mad Love Short Description: Best described as having “East Coast drive and West Coast soul.” The trio’s music is rooted in the jazz tradition yet playfully branches out into Americana, singer-songwriter, and Rhythm & Blues territory. Bio (100 words): A dedicated and passionate musician, Hollingsworth has been immersed in music since her childhood. Her unique path has allowed her to work with musical giants such as Phil Mattson, Dr. Edith Copley, Dr. Joshua Haberman, Fareed Haque, Michele Weir, John Medeski, Billy Martin, Martin Bejerano, Terence Blanchard, Danilo Perez, Gary Lindsay and Rhiannon. Hollingsworth is Vocal Music Director at Clackamas Community College, founder and director of the Music Performance and Technology Program, and founded Renegade Gospel which grew from the Playa Choir, a 70-voice ensemble that performs at B urning Man every summer. Lineup: Kathleen Hollingsworth, vocals/keys/compositions; Brent Follis, drums/compositions; Ross Garlow, bass/vocals Artist: Ian Christensen Set Name: I an Christensen’s Rolling House https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6bLlox8pZ593b1fYJqvs3q2W1TkVesbdsGL_FEIXBw/edit# 4/12 6/30/2019 2019 Artist Bios and Descriptions - Google Docs Short Description: A brand-new group of stellar locals performing Christensen’s newest work as a composer.