Portland, OR

[Media Lint]

Peace friends! I will be taking the train to Portland and will stay there six nights from 7/29 through 8/3. I'll be checking the Mt. Hood jazz festival 8/2 and 8/3 but I got plenty of time to see some good local talent/scenes. Staying downtown.

Bands/clubs to check appreciated. I like jazz, prog rock mostly, but open to pretty much anything worth checking ... trip hop, reggae ...

[Jerry K.]

I would recommend Jimmy Mak's in downtown Portland. I like to go on Tuesday nights when in Portland to see the Mel Brown Septet. Details as follows:

MEL BROWN SEPTET
Shows start at 7:30 PM
$6.00 Cover
Led by Portland's own drummer Mel Brown, this band won the Playboy Jazz Festival in 1989. An Art Blakey inspired sextet, this band is comprised of Mel Brown on drums, Gordon Lee on keys, Andre St. James on bass, Thara Memory on trumpet, Warren Rand on alto sax and Renato Corranto on tenor sax. http://www.jimmymaks.com/

Renato Corranto is a very fine tenor player and worth the visit.

This club is small and low key. They serve food and drinks. You'll find Jimmy Mak's at 300 NW 10th (at Everett) - Portland, OR 503-295-6542.

[paulwl]

Looks like the septet lost a member there... :wink:

See if Jason DuMars (jdumars on SOTW) is playing around town. Fantastic freeform jazz altoist, and a good guy to talk to, too. Or my old teacher, Rob Scheps, who plays with a lot of the big touring acts when they hit town.

[Jerry K.]

Septet, sextet, who's counting. :oops:

[mr00420]

I used to live in P-town. The Mt. Hood jazz fest is a sham... it should be called the Mt. Hood smooth jazz and R&B fest. The Temptations are not Jazz, Brian Setzer is not Jazz, they hardly ever have any Jazz artists other than the Mt. Hood Jr. College Jazz Band.

Jimmy Mak's is a nice place, and was the new spot when I lived there about 6 yrs. ago. Jazz de Opus on Downtown NW 2nd or 4th has a lot of good artists and a nice atmosphere (used to be Mel and Leroy Vinnegar's main gig, and Rob took over from them when they went to JM's.) There's a place close to the Opus on the SW side of the main Blvd. w/ a Greek name that I can't remember,but Mel used to play there too, and they have probably filled up that space w/ some younger guys. Leroy and Mel also used to gig up on the top of the bank tower, and they probably have mel playing there w/ st. James and maybe Dan Fanhle on guitar.

Check out the Wilamette Weekly (free newspaper) to check out what music there is to see. Good luck. Report back on what you saw, will you?

[mr00420]

There's actually a web site for Wilamette Week, just do a search under this title. They have a weekly listing of what's playing and a club listing w/ the addresses and everything. The Greek place is Berbati's Pan, but there didn't seem to be much jazz on the calendar, but I'm sure that changes every week. Along with the other places mentioned (I can't recall what the name of the bank tower is, but I think it's the tallest building in Portland and it's near the street that divides SW and NW, and it's on the street where all the buses run along the east side of Pioneer Courthouse Square... the top floor) there are a few trios at the Heathman Restaurant (and pub)... it's a nice place w/ great Widmer micro-brews. In fact Portland bars and clubs are filled w/ great micro-brews.

[mr00420]

ML... How was the trip to P-Town? I was hoping to hear if Mel Brown and all those other cats are still getting down. Where's the report man?!?

[Jerry K.]

Hey all, I was just at Jimmy Mak's on Tuesday this past week and Me's band sounded great. I was amazed by how good Warren, the alto sax player sounded. A much bigger and clearer tone and he sounded just fantastic. During the break I was asking him what changed since the last time I saw them and he told me his old BA or SBA (don't remember which he said) had been stolen a few months back so he was playing his old VI with a Meyer piece. I'm not a huge VI fan but what a difference!

[Flatted 5th]

A few changes in P-Town since the summer;
Jazz De Opus has folded. A virtual institution in old town, it has been replaced by some generic meat-market bar.
A new Jazz club has opened on Belmont st. called Blue Monk presenting mostly locals with occasional touring groups. Julian Priester was just there.
Jimmy Maks is still going strong thanks to Mel Brown and Thara Memory.
On mondays at the Produce Row cafe, there is a jam session run by the drummer Ron Steen, bring your axe and blow.
Disjecta presents touring avant-garde players; Charles Gayle and Mike Bisio were recently there.
Tugboat Brewing presents an eclectic schedule of local avant-garde players.
Billy Reed's has jump/swing r/b groups as well as Goodfoot Lounge.