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CONCERT SEASON

Filtering by: “Seasonal”
Ibrahim Maalouf
May
1

Ibrahim Maalouf

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

In 16 albums, Ibrahim Maalouf has gone from being the winner of the world's greatest international classical trumpet competitions to the most popular jazz artist on the French music scene. Filling the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, the Lincoln Jazz Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in 2016 he became the first jazz musician in history to sell out France's largest concert hall, the Accor Arena in Paris Bercy.

Spotted by living legend Quincy Jones and described as a "Virtuoso" by the New York Times, Ibrahim has collaborated in recent years with Wynton Marsalis, Angelique Kidjo, Melody Gardot, the Chronos Quartet, Trilok Gurtu, Josh Groban, Marcus Miller, Salif Keita, and many others.

In 2021 he appeared on Stephen Colbert's Late Show with Jon Batiste, who introduced him as a living jazz legend.

After participating alongside Sting in the reopening of the Bataclan in Paris, then paying tribute at his funeral to Tignous, one of the cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo murdered, then honoring the memory of the victims of the attacks of autumn 2015 during a national tribute by composing an anthem sung by the young Louane, the musician and composer of film music, multi-awarded (Victories of Music, Caesars, Lumières, ...) has become in a few years an essential artist and a symbol of intercultural dialogue to the point of being chosen to interpret the national anthem in front of 6 million viewers on July 14, 2021 at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Never where one expects him to be, with his 17th album "Capacity To Love", Ibrahim Maalouf intends to leave his mark on the world with a popular, original, surprising and innovative music.

In 2022, he became the first Lebanese instrumentalist nominated for a Grammy Award for his album Queen of Sheba in collaboration with Angelique Kidjo.

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Lenny White - Buster Williams - Noah Haidu (Early Show)
May
24

Lenny White - Buster Williams - Noah Haidu (Early Show)


Buster Williams has played, recorded and collaborated with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, McCoy Tyner, Nancy Wilson, Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, The Jazz Crusaders, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Golson, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, and Freddie Hubbard to name a few.

Lenny White is still best-known for being part of Chick Corea's Return To Forever in the 1970's. He largely started his career on top, playing regularly with Jackie McLean (1968) and recording "Bitches Brew" with Miles Davis in 1969. White was soon working with some of the who's who of jazz including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Gato Barbieri, Gil Evans, Stanley Clarke and Stan Getz among others.

Pianist Noah Haidu has arrived as an important new voice in jazz who combines modernism, soul, and swing into his own unique approach. Recently the national media has focused on Noah as a force to be reckoned with: The Wall Street Journal singled out Haidu for a major write-up stating that “by now he has his own unique approach…sounding buoyant and and free like a pent up spirit released.”

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Lenny White - Buster Williams - Noah Haidu (Late Show)
May
24

Lenny White - Buster Williams - Noah Haidu (Late Show)


Buster Williams has played, recorded and collaborated with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, McCoy Tyner, Nancy Wilson, Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, The Jazz Crusaders, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Golson, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, and Freddie Hubbard to name a few.

Lenny White is still best-known for being part of Chick Corea's Return To Forever in the 1970's. He largely started his career on top, playing regularly with Jackie McLean (1968) and recording "Bitches Brew" with Miles Davis in 1969. White was soon working with some of the who's who of jazz including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Gato Barbieri, Gil Evans, Stanley Clarke and Stan Getz among others.

Pianist Noah Haidu has arrived as an important new voice in jazz who combines modernism, soul, and swing into his own unique approach. Recently the national media has focused on Noah as a force to be reckoned with: The Wall Street Journal singled out Haidu for a major write-up stating that “by now he has his own unique approach…sounding buoyant and and free like a pent up spirit released.”

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Emmet Cohen Trio
May
29

Emmet Cohen Trio

PDX Jazz Member Presale: Wednesday, March 20 at 10AM PST
General On Sale: Friday, March 22 at 10AM PST


Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation's pivotal figures in music and the related arts. A recognized prodigy, Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, and his playing quickly became a mature melding of musicality, technique, and concept. Downbeat observed that his "nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he's above any convoluted technical showmanship." In the same spirit, Cohen himself has noted that playing jazz is "about communicating the deepest levels of humanity and individuality; it's essentially about connections," both among musicians and with audiences. He leads his namesake ensemble, the "Emmet Cohen Trio," is a vibrant solo performer, and is in constant demand as a sideman. Possessing a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, Cohen plays with the command of a seasoned veteran and the passion of an artist fully devoted to his medium.

Emmet Cohen is committed to the intergenerational transfer of artistic knowledge, history, and traditions. His signature professional undertaking is the "Masters Legacy Series," a celebratory set of recordings and interviews honoring legendary jazz musicians. He serves as both producer and pianist for each album in the series. The goal of this landmark, ongoing project is to provide musicians of multiple generations a forum to transfer the unwritten folklore that is America's unique musical idiom.  Cohen has observed that playing jazz "is enriched immeasurably by connecting and studying with jazz masters, forging backward to the very creation of the art form." Volume one of the "Masters Legacy Series" features drummer Jimmy Cobb, and volume two spotlights bassist Ron Carter. Future "Masters Legacy Series" releases will include Cohen's recordings with Benny Golson, Tootie Heath, and George Coleman.

Emmet Cohen's exacting keyboard artistry has garnered numerous accolades from the international jazz community. He placed first in both the American Jazz Pianists competition (2014) and the Phillips Piano Competition at the University of West Florida (2011). He was a finalist in the prestigious American Pianists Association's Cole Porter Fellowship (2015, 2011) and the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition (2011). Cohen has appeared in world-renowned jazz events, including the Newport, Monterey, North Sea, Bern, Edinburgh, Detroit, and Jerusalem jazz festivals, as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. He has also performed at the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Birdland, Jazz Standard, London's Ronnie Scott's, Jazzhaus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Lincoln Center's Rose Hall, the Cotton Club in Tokyo, and the Kennedy Center, and was received in the Oval Office by President Obama. He is currently Hammond B-3 organist-in-residence at Harlem's SMOKE jazz club.

Besides leading the "Emmet Cohen Trio," Cohen has appeared regularly with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, and Brian Lynch, among others. Cohen is also a member of Christian McBride's trio "Tip City," the "Herlin Riley Quartet," and the "Ali Jackson Trio," and serves as pianist and music director for jazz vocalist and television personality Lea DeLaria. His recordings include "Masters Legacy Series featuring Ron Carter" (2018); "Masters Legacy Series featuring Jimmy Cobb" (2017); "New Directions" (2016) with Herlin Riley; "Questioned Answer" (2014), co-produced with Brian Lynch; "Infinity" (2013), featuring his Italian Trio; and his acclaimed debut CD "In the Element" (2011), with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Rodney Green.

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Bill Frisell Trio feat. Tony Scherr & Rudy Royston
Jun
11

Bill Frisell Trio feat. Tony Scherr & Rudy Royston

PDX Jazz Member Presale: Tuesday, April 16 at 10AM PST
General On Sale: Friday, April 19 at 10AM PST


Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as "the best recorded output of the decade."

In recent years, Frisell has forged a distinctive and fruitful collaboration with the Blue Note label, releasing HARMONY, Valentine and FOUR to great acclaim.

"Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package. Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music... There’s a reason that Jazz at Lincoln Center had him program a series called Roots of Americana."  - New York Times

Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in 2012.  He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists, Meet the Composer among others.  In 2016, he was a beneficiary of the first FreshGrass Composition commission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music.  Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors in 2013, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors.  Bill is the subject of a documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth, as well as an extensive biography by Philip Watson, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music.

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John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart
Apr
11

John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart


featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart

Aside from being one of the principal innovators of modern jazz guitar, John Scofield is a creative artist of an even rarer sort: a stylistic chameleon who has forged a consistent, rock-solid aesthetic identity. A triple Grammy award winning artist with more than 40 recordings to his credit, Scofield has expressed himself in the vernacular of bebop, blues, jazz-funk, organ jazz, acoustic chamber jazz, electronically tinged groove music, jam band style and orchestral ensembles with ease and enthusiasm. Now he adds yet another credit to his resume: solo guitarist.
 
“My main focus in guitar playing has always centered around being part of a group; exploring the music that happens when musicians listen to each other and improvise together. Quite frankly, until now, I’ve avoided playing solo concerts and before starting this endeavor had done only one solo performance in public since I was a child. I still have occasional nightmares about playing Greensleeves for my sixth grade class!  It gets pretty lonely up there by yourself and I hadn't considered solo guitar as the perfect platform for improvising. Not to mention that I’m no Segovia either! All that said, after playing guitar for 56 years, I’m finally interested in going it alone and exploring the possibilities. It's taken me decades to realize that I’ve been playing unaccompanied guitar at home or in hotel rooms every day since 1962! I’ve put a lot of thought in lately to how I can present an evening of solo guitar that represents my passions and sensibilities. My idea is to keep it song based, playing jazz, country and rock tunes that I love as well as some of my original compositions. I plan to employ my Looper pedal occasionally when I want to play over myself. I've been preparing for nearly a year, working my brain in new directions while looking forward to these shows with excitement and a small bit of trepidation. I hope you enjoy being on this journey with me.” - JS

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John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart in Bend, OR
Apr
10

John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart in Bend, OR


featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart

Aside from being one of the principal innovators of modern jazz guitar, John Scofield is a creative artist of an even rarer sort: a stylistic chameleon who has forged a consistent, rock-solid aesthetic identity. A triple Grammy award winning artist with more than 40 recordings to his credit, Scofield has expressed himself in the vernacular of bebop, blues, jazz-funk, organ jazz, acoustic chamber jazz, electronically tinged groove music, jam band style and orchestral ensembles with ease and enthusiasm. Now he adds yet another credit to his resume: solo guitarist.
 
“My main focus in guitar playing has always centered around being part of a group; exploring the music that happens when musicians listen to each other and improvise together. Quite frankly, until now, I’ve avoided playing solo concerts and before starting this endeavor had done only one solo performance in public since I was a child. I still have occasional nightmares about playing Greensleeves for my sixth grade class!  It gets pretty lonely up there by yourself and I hadn't considered solo guitar as the perfect platform for improvising. Not to mention that I’m no Segovia either! All that said, after playing guitar for 56 years, I’m finally interested in going it alone and exploring the possibilities. It's taken me decades to realize that I’ve been playing unaccompanied guitar at home or in hotel rooms every day since 1962! I’ve put a lot of thought in lately to how I can present an evening of solo guitar that represents my passions and sensibilities. My idea is to keep it song based, playing jazz, country and rock tunes that I love as well as some of my original compositions. I plan to employ my Looper pedal occasionally when I want to play over myself. I've been preparing for nearly a year, working my brain in new directions while looking forward to these shows with excitement and a small bit of trepidation. I hope you enjoy being on this journey with me.” - JS

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John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart in Kirkland, WA
Apr
9

John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart in Kirkland, WA


featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart

Aside from being one of the principal innovators of modern jazz guitar, John Scofield is a creative artist of an even rarer sort: a stylistic chameleon who has forged a consistent, rock-solid aesthetic identity. A triple Grammy award winning artist with more than 40 recordings to his credit, Scofield has expressed himself in the vernacular of bebop, blues, jazz-funk, organ jazz, acoustic chamber jazz, electronically tinged groove music, jam band style and orchestral ensembles with ease and enthusiasm. Now he adds yet another credit to his resume: solo guitarist.
 
“My main focus in guitar playing has always centered around being part of a group; exploring the music that happens when musicians listen to each other and improvise together. Quite frankly, until now, I’ve avoided playing solo concerts and before starting this endeavor had done only one solo performance in public since I was a child. I still have occasional nightmares about playing Greensleeves for my sixth grade class!  It gets pretty lonely up there by yourself and I hadn't considered solo guitar as the perfect platform for improvising. Not to mention that I’m no Segovia either! All that said, after playing guitar for 56 years, I’m finally interested in going it alone and exploring the possibilities. It's taken me decades to realize that I’ve been playing unaccompanied guitar at home or in hotel rooms every day since 1962! I’ve put a lot of thought in lately to how I can present an evening of solo guitar that represents my passions and sensibilities. My idea is to keep it song based, playing jazz, country and rock tunes that I love as well as some of my original compositions. I plan to employ my Looper pedal occasionally when I want to play over myself. I've been preparing for nearly a year, working my brain in new directions while looking forward to these shows with excitement and a small bit of trepidation. I hope you enjoy being on this journey with me.” - JS

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Cyrille Aimée
Apr
9

Cyrille Aimée

PDX Jazz Member Presale: Wednesday, March 20 at 10AM PST
General On Sale: Friday, March 22 at 10AM PST


Cyrille Aimée grew up in a multilingual household full of music where dancing was an everyday activity, soundtracked by the Afro-Caribbean sounds of her mother’s native Dominican Republic. The family home was in Samois-sur-Seine, the location of the Django Reinhardt Festival, and the teenage Cyrille would climb out of her bedroom window at night to mingle with the players, igniting a passion for jazz.

Moving to New York City, her talents quickly gained her a reputation among her peers as a matchless interpreter of song. She performed and recorded with Roy Hargrove and stole the show in front of the notoriously hard-to-please crowd at the Harlem Apollo. Steven Sondheim invited her to star in a tribute at New York’s City Centre, backed by Wynton Marsalis. Her 2019 album Move On featured versions of Sondheim’s songs which received praise from Sondheim himself, and her version of "Marry Me a Little", was nominated for a 2019 Grammy Award.

At the height of her New York success, new horizons beckoned. Visiting New Orleans, she fell in love with the energy and diversity of the city and made it her home. Linking back to New York to connect up all the dots, she teamed up with producer/multi-instrumentalist Jake Sherman, and together they have created her latest album, A Fleur de Peau. to be released on a new label, the London-based imprint Whirlwind Recordings.

Combining the depth and sophistication of jazz, the immediacy of pop, the irrepressible dance rhythms of the Caribbean, it’s more intimate and more accessible than anything Cyrille has done before.

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STG Presents & PDX Jazz Welcomes Fatoumata Diawara in Seattle
Apr
5

STG Presents & PDX Jazz Welcomes Fatoumata Diawara in Seattle


Hailed as one of the most vital standard-bearers of modern African music, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara is taking her artistry to fresh and thrilling heights. Boldly experimental yet respectful of her Malian roots, Fatoumata’s music defines her as the voice of young African womanhood – proud of her heritage but with a vision that looks confidently to the future. Her live performances “scream with energy” (NPR), her stage presence both “hypnotic” and “captivating” (Rolling Stone).

With her new album London Ko, Fatoumata Diawara continues to reinvent traditional African music, after taking us back to her Mandinka roots. Her last album, Fenfo, saw her really begin to invent her own style, it earned her nominations at the Grammy Awards and Victoires de la Musique in 2019. Still rewriting the rules, Fatou plunges us back into her eclectic, avant-garde universe. With the different colours she brings to her music (afrobeat, jazz, pop, electro and even hip hop), it is impossible to put London Ko into any one box. “I put all my love, my soul and my body into the creative process for this album.” Sharper than ever with her words, she strikes a perfect balance between synthetic sounds and traditional Malian rhythms. A central figure in the English music world and a real connoisseur of African music, Damon Albarn co-produced the album, and features on no fewer than six tracks.

As a singer, actress, songwriter, and activist, Fatoumata has shared her message and experience with audiences all over the world. With performances at Glastonbury and other major festivals, Fatoumata has also worked with some of the biggest names in contemporary music. She recorded with Bobby Womack and Herbie Hancock; assembled a West African super-group featuring Amadou & Mariam, Oumou Sangaré, and Toumani Diabaté to record a song calling for peace in her troubled homeland; climbed aboard Damon Albarn’s star-studded Africa Express, which culminated in her sharing a stage with Sir Paul McCartney; toured and collaborated with Gorillaz on the track “Désolé” from their 2020 album; and performed with countless other esteemed musicians such as Omara Portuondo, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Habib Koité, Roberto Fonseca, and Rokia Traoré. In fact, it was fellow Malian songstress Rokia Traoré who encouraged Fatoumata to pick up a guitar, a suggestion that opened the door to her career in music.

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Laurie Anderson "Let X=X" with Sexmob (Seattle)
Mar
30

Laurie Anderson "Let X=X" with Sexmob (Seattle)


Arguably, the U.S.’ most popular avant-garde performance artist, the two-time GRAMMY award winner Anderson has created ground-breaking works that span art, theatre, experimental music, and technology. Her recording career, launched by Big Science in 1981, includes the soundtrack to her feature film Home of the Brave, and her 2001 album Life on a String. Anderson’s live shows range from simple spoken word to elaborate multi-media stage performances. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA, culminating in her 2004 touring solo performance The End of the Moon. In 2010, a retrospective of her visuals and installation work opened in São Paulo, Brazil. Her largest exhibition to date has been shows at The Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art in 2022.

‘X = X’ features the enduring avant-gardist Anderson  --backed by the New York underground jazz combo Sexmob-- in a set of revisited vintage and recent songs with a grooving spirit.

The New York Times called her recent Brooklyn Academy of Music performance a “thrilling multimedia show.”  As for the music, the Times says ‘X = X’ is not “a historical recreation of past recordings; Sexmob’s sound is a beefier one than on Anderson’s albums” with Sexmob contributing inventive arrangements that never over-power the show’s impish 76-year old frontwoman.

Sexmob is Steven Bernstein, Briggan Krauss, Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen, and Doug Wieselman.

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Laurie Anderson "Let X=X" with Sexmob (Portland)
Mar
29

Laurie Anderson "Let X=X" with Sexmob (Portland)


Arguably, the U.S.’ most popular avant-garde performance artist, the two-time GRAMMY award winner Anderson has created ground-breaking works that span art, theatre, experimental music, and technology. Her recording career, launched by Big Science in 1981, includes the soundtrack to her feature film Home of the Brave, and her 2001 album Life on a String. Anderson’s live shows range from simple spoken word to elaborate multi-media stage performances. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA, culminating in her 2004 touring solo performance The End of the Moon. In 2010, a retrospective of her visuals and installation work opened in São Paulo, Brazil. Her largest exhibition to date has been shows at The Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art in 2022.

‘X = X’ features the enduring avant-gardist Anderson  --backed by the New York underground jazz combo Sexmob-- in a set of revisited vintage and recent songs with a grooving spirit.

The New York Times called her recent Brooklyn Academy of Music performance a “thrilling multimedia show.”  As for the music, the Times says ‘X = X’ is not “a historical recreation of past recordings; Sexmob’s sound is a beefier one than on Anderson’s albums” with Sexmob contributing inventive arrangements that never over-power the show’s impish 76-year old frontwoman.

Sexmob is Steven Bernstein, Briggan Krauss, Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen, and Doug Wieselman.

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Julian Lage Trio at Town Hall Seattle featuring Joey Baron & Jorge Roeder
Feb
29

Julian Lage Trio at Town Hall Seattle featuring Joey Baron & Jorge Roeder


Hailed as one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation and “highest category of improvising musicians” (New Yorker), Julian Lage has spent more than a decade searching through the myriad strains of American musical history via impeccable technique, free association and a spirit of infinite possibility. The California-born New York-based musician boasts a prolific resume on his own accord in addition to collaborating with Gary Burton and John Zorn, as well as duo projects with Nels Cline, Chris Eldridge and Fred Hersch, among others. As Lage set out to record his debut for Blue Note Records, the virtuoso guitarist reflected on the label’s storied history and the way his own music connected with it. The result is Squint (released June 2021), a striking new album that weds incisive, expressive songwriting with the profound interplay Lage has honed over the past few years with his deft trio featuring bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King.

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Dianne Reeves at Town Hall Seattle
Feb
28

Dianne Reeves at Town Hall Seattle


Five-time Grammy winner DIANNE REEVES is the pre-eminent jazz vocalist in the world. As a result of her breathtaking virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique jazz and R&B stylings, Reeves received the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings – a Grammy first in any vocal category.

Featured in George Clooney’s six-time Academy Award-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck, Reeves won the Best Jazz Vocal Grammy for the film's soundtrack. 

Reeves has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also recorded with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim and was a featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first vocalist to ever perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Reeves worked with legendary producer Arif Mardin (Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin) on the Grammy-winning A Little Moonlight, an intimate collection of standards featuring her touring trio. When Reeves’ holiday collection Christmas Time is Here was released, Ben Ratliff of The New York Times raved, “Ms. Reeves, a jazz singer of frequently astonishing skill, takes the assignment seriously; this is one of the best jazz Christmas CD's I've heard.”

In recent years Reeves has toured the world in a variety of contexts including “Sing the Truth,” a musical celebration of Nina Simone which also featured Lizz Wright and Angelique Kidjo. She performed at the White House on multiple occasions including President Obama's State Dinner for the President of China as well as the Governors’ Ball. 

Reeves’ most recent release Beautiful Life, features Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway and Esperanza Spalding. Produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, Beautiful Life won the 2015 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Reeves is the recipient of honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and the Juilliard School.  In 2018 the National Endowment for the Arts designated Reeves a Jazz Master — the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists. 

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Kassa Overall + Theo Croker Seattle
Feb
28

Kassa Overall + Theo Croker Seattle

This is a co-bill show!


Kassa Overall

Kassa Overall is a Grammy-nominated musician, emcee, singer, producer and drummer who melds avant-garde experimentation with hip-hop production techniques to tilt the nexus of jazz and rap in unmapped directions. He previously released four critically acclaimed projects: I THINK I’M GOOD, Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz, Shades of Flu and Shades of Flu 2.

On ANIMALS, his Warp Records debut, Kassa pushes his kaleidoscopic, subversive vision further. He layers Roland 808s against avant-garde drumming in the vein of his mentors Elvin Jones and Billy Hart, the latter of whom he studied with at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Virtuoso musos appear alongside rap poets, including Danny Brown, Wiki, Lil B, and Shabazz Palaces. Top-flight jazz improvisation weaves in and out of orchestral string arrangements by Jherek Bischoff. The album’s diverse, all-star roster of collaborators includes several of his close friends, like vocalists Nick Hakim, Laura Mvula, Francis and the Lights, and jazz stars like Theo Croker and Vijay Iyer.

ANIMALS pushes Kassa’s message further too, the title a loaded metaphor for the paradoxes of his life as an entertainer and as a black man in America. ANIMALS is the sound of an artist aware of the cost of embodying one’s natural self in the public eye, a deep reckoning with the two-sided truth that to perform one’s freedom for an audience can mean succumbing to life inside a cage.

Theo Croker

Theo Croker is a storyteller who speaks through his trumpet. A GRAMMY Award-nominated artist, composer, producer, thought leader, and influencer, he is a creative who rejects boundaries and lets his voice ring through the music.

After seven years living in Shanghai, Croker's seething original sound crash-landed on 2014's Dee Dee Bridgewater-assisted album "Afro Physicist." Following the success of 2016's "Escape Velocity," he soared into a new stratosphere in 2019 with "Star People Nation." The album received a nomination in the "Best Contemporary Instrumental Album'' category at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards. The New York Times called it "an album that ranges from swirling hip-hop beats to driving swing to ravishing passages of African percussion."

Through it all, Croker's unobtrusive trumpet playing holds his small band together with verve and poise. Along the way, he's also lent his sound to platinum-selling albums from J. Cole to Ari Lennox and toured the globe many times with his band. In 2020, amid the global pandemic, he retreated to his childhood home and wrote his sixth full-length album, "BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST" [Sony Music Masterworks].

BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST is a contemporary oratorio inspired by the forgotten hero's journey through the universal origins of being black. On the album, Theo unpacks moments of heroism, trials, suffering, awakening and apotheosis in a musical pastiche brought to life by a host of other cultural renegades and held together by his playing. Traditions of the past, foundations of the present and explorations of the future. A sonic celebration & reclamation of Afro origins.

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Bassekou Kouyate + Vieux Farka Touré at Town Hall Seattle
Feb
24

Bassekou Kouyate + Vieux Farka Touré at Town Hall Seattle

This event is a co-bill show!


Bassekou Kouyate

Bassekou Kouyate is one of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa, and he has collaborated with many musicians in and outside of Mali, such as Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate, Taj Mahal, Damon Alban, Joachim Kühn…).

He rejoices in an unusual band formation, which includes three players of the n’goni, manifested in its differing tonal sizes and 2 percussionists (talking drum, Yabara, Calebasse). Completed by the fantastic singer Amy Sacko, the band performed already at major festival around the globe (e.g. Glastonbury, Roskilde, Fuji Rock Festival, North Sea jazz Festival, WOMAD). In 2013 the BBC chose Bassekou as “best African artist of the year”. His new CD “Miri” is #1 in the world music charts Europe in February and March 2019 and has be voted as “Best Album of the Year” by Songlines magazine. 

Vieux Farka Touré

Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”, Vieux Farka Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006. Ali Farka Touré came from a historical tribe of soldiers, and defied his parents in becoming a musician. When Vieux was in his teens, he declared that he also wanted to be a musician. His father disapproved due to the pressures he had experienced being a musician. Rather, he wanted Vieux to become a soldier. But with help from family friend the kora maestro Toumani Diabaté, Vieux eventually convinced his father to give him his blessing to become a musician shortly before Ali passed.

Vieux was initially a drummer / calabash player at Mali’s Institut National des Arts, but secretly began playing guitar in 2001. Ali Farka Touré was weakened with cancer when Vieux announced that he was going to record an album. Ali recorded a couple of tracks with him, and these recordings, which can be heard on Vieux’s debut CD, were amongst his final ones. It has been said that the senior Touré played rough mixes of these songs when people visited him in his final days, at peace with, and proud of, his son’s talent as a musician.

When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020 and all touring ground to a halt, Vieux stayed focussed on his craft at home. He worked tirelessly in the studio he built at his family's compound (which he named 'Studio Ali Farka Toure' in honor of his late father) to record his debut album for World Circuit Records/BMG, the prestigious UK-based record label with whom his father recorded and released most of his own work. The resulting album, 'Les Racines' (released June 2022), sees Vieux masterfully return to the deep roots of the Desert Blues music that his father introduced to the world and Vieux spent most of his career to date exploring, experimenting with, and expanding. 2022 also saw the release of a long-awaited collaborative album between Vieux and Houston-based psych-rock superstars Khruangbin called ‘Ali’ - an album on which the artists join forces to pay homage to Ali Farka Toure by reimagining eight of his songs together. The album was an instant hit around the globe, immediately getting millions of streams, enormous critical acclaim and even earning the praise of Sir Elton John who called it "one of the albums of the year - absolutely wonderful music." With each new project Vieux broadens his horizons, embraces new challenges and further entrenches his reputation as one of the world’s most talented and innovative musicians.

This show is show is supported by our promotional partner Alliance Française de Seattle

 
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Shabaka at Town Hall Seattle with Charles Overton, Chris Sholar, Esperanza Spalding, Burniss Travis, and Austin Williamson
Feb
22

Shabaka at Town Hall Seattle with Charles Overton, Chris Sholar, Esperanza Spalding, Burniss Travis, and Austin Williamson


Shabaka’s work transcends conventional notions of genre and draws from a vast pallet of cultural influences. Whilst he’s undeniably a pioneering voice in the renaissance of British Jazz, his remit is much broader: he has also performed classical concertos with world-leading orchestras; led several hugely influential bands (Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming, Shabaka and The Ancestors) and has recently released a critically lauded solo album; Afrikan Culture, a work of exceptional beauty and urgency, focussed around the eastern Asian instrument, the Shakuhachi, of which Shabaka is a major exponent.

Shabaka Hutchings - Flute
Charles Overton - Harp
Chris Sholar - Keys / Electronics
Esperanza Spalding - Bass
Burniss Travis - Bass
Austin Williamson - Drums

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Harold Lopéz-Nussa: PDX Jazz Members-Only Show
Dec
1

Harold Lopéz-Nussa: PDX Jazz Members-Only Show

Important Note:

The early show is for PDX Jazz Members only. Learn more about becoming a member, click here

The late show is open to the general public. Click here to find tickets.

PDX Jazz Members and a guest are cordially invited to the annual PDX Jazz Members Only Free Show, Harold Lopéz-Nussa. All guests will receive one (1) complimentary drink ticket. Please RSVP by 'purchasing' up to two (2) complimentary $0.00 tickets. All seating is General Admission.

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:30pm 

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Tom Waits Tribute – The Heart of Saturday Night
Nov
12

Tom Waits Tribute – The Heart of Saturday Night

Portland's tribute to the great Tom Waits featuring an amazing lineup of instrumentalists and vocalists.

With innovative staging, a little magic, a lot of music, and a touch o’ whiskey, we’ll conjure up for you the essence in Tom Waits’ lyrical obsessions of tragic blues, narcotic jazz, sinister opera, and delirious, drunken carnival mambos.

Catch some of Portland’s best vocalists plus spectacular musical arrangements performed by Kris Deelane, Dan Gildea, Bre Gregg, Jet Black Pearl, Paul K Ward, Ed Pierce, Jason Wells, and James Latham.

More than a concert - a special stage experience!

Doors open at 6:00
Minors ok when accompanied by a parent or guardian

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Brad Mehldau Trio
Nov
10

Brad Mehldau Trio

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

One of the most lyrical and intimate voices of contemporary jazz piano, Brad Mehldau has forged a unique path, which embodies the essence of jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop allure. From critical acclaim as a bandleader to major international exposure in collaborations with Pat Metheny, Renee Fleming, and Joshua Redman, Mehldau continues to garner numerous awards and admiration from both jazz purists and music enthusiasts alike. His forays into melding musical idioms, in both trio (with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums) and solo settings, has seen brilliant re-workings of songs by contemporary songwriters like The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, Gershwin and Nick Drake; alongside the ever evolving breath of his own significant catalogue of original compositions. With his self-proclaimed affection for popular music and classical training, “Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years” (The New York Times).

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Herb Alpert and Lani Hall
Oct
18

Herb Alpert and Lani Hall

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

The last two years may have kept legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert and his Grammy-winning vocalist wife Lani Hall from completing their North American tour, but 2022 has showed the dynamic duo are making up for lost time both creatively and performance wise.

On September 30, 2022, Herb released his latest album, the 11 track Sunny Side of the Street which includes six original compositions and the hit singles – “I’ll Remember You,” Louis Armstrong’s “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” as well as “Tickle Time,” “Here She Comes” and “Pata Pata.”

As Herb toldAmerican Songwriter magazine in a recent interview, “‘Pata Pata” was by Miriam Makeba and when I first heard it I thought it was a really interesting record. Miriam was married to Hugh Masekela who I did an album with. I liked the melody a lot and always had it in the back of my mind that one day I’d love to try to do a version of it.”

Discussing the single “Here She Comes,” Herb noted, “I wanted to do something sexy and upbeat. This track is vibrant, fun and kind of has a bit of that happy TJB flavor.”

Sunny Side of the Street has quickly found an audience, sitting at #7 on the Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.

In January 2022, Lani Hall released Seasons of Love, her first album in 24 years. Emotionally and thematically, Seasons of Love reflects the depth and breadth of Lani and Herb’s 49 years as marriage partners and artistic collaborators. On the LP, Lani brings her rich life experience, deepened perspective and accrued wisdom to a song cycle that explores the nuances of an enduring relationship. Speaking to the title track of her album from the Broadway musical hit Rent, Lani said, “I love the beautiful message and I love how this song breaks down life in increments.” The album reached the top 10 on the Contemporary Jazz Album chart.

Last September, Herb released, Catch the Wind, which reached#2 on the Billboard Current Contemporary Jazz Album Charts. Herb’s Grammy-winning album and title track Rise, released in 1979, again surged to the top of the 2022 charts, 42 years after it last dominated the airwaves, thanks to the classic soundtrack of the NETFLIX hit film, Spiderhead, starring Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller.

On October 1, 2020, fans from around the globe tuned in to the virtual premiere of Herb Alpert Is…the official Herb Alpert documentary covering the life and celebrated career of a man who has been an integral part of American culture for over six decades and outsold The Beatles 2-1 in 1966.

The following day, Herb Alpert Is…the box set, featuring 63 classic tunes as well as a comprehensive book of his career was released, selling out the first run within hours.

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The Bad Plus
Oct
17

The Bad Plus

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus are the ultimate originals. A democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention. For the past two decades they have played with spirit and adventure, made their own rules and done so with a bold sense of creativity and intent. Avoiding easy categorization, The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their unique sound and flair for live performance.

Now in their 21st year, The Bad Plus continues to push boundaries as founding members Reid Anderson (bass) and Dave King (drums) embark on a new piano-less incarnation of the band with Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (tenor saxophone) – instigating a new wave of excitement and anticipation within the band that is re-energizing their sound and inspiration. The Bad Plus have constantly searched to bridge genres and techniques while exploring the infinite possibilities of exceptional musicians working in perfect sync.

The Bad Plus is set to release their 15th studio recording and debut self-titled album as a dynamic new quartet via Edition Records on Friday, September 30th. “Evolution is necessary for life and creativity,” say Dave King and Reid Anderson. “We’ve evolved, but we’re still The Bad Plus.”

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The Bad Plus and Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Oct
15

The Bad Plus and Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus are the ultimate originals. A democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention. For the past two decades they have played with spirit and adventure, made their own rules and done so with a bold sense of creativity and intent. Avoiding easy categorization, The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their unique sound and flair for live performance.

Now in their 21st year, The Bad Plus continues to push boundaries as founding members Reid Anderson (bass) and Dave King (drums) embark on a new piano-less incarnation of the band with Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (tenor saxophone) – instigating a new wave of excitement and anticipation within the band that is re-energizing their sound and inspiration. The Bad Plus have constantly searched to bridge genres and techniques while exploring the infinite possibilities of exceptional musicians working in perfect sync.

The Bad Plus is set to release their 15th studio recording and debut self-titled album as a dynamic new quartet via Edition Records on Friday, September 30th. “Evolution is necessary for life and creativity,” say Dave King and Reid Anderson. “We’ve evolved, but we’re still The Bad Plus.”

Marc Ribot

On the band’s 5th studio release, Connection, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog have pushed their long-brewing tension between traditional pop songcraft and avantgarde improvisational music to the breaking point, bridging their customary genre-agnostic approach with elements of glam boogie, minimalist disco, psychedelic boogaloo, garage-punk-against-the-machine agitprop, and so much more. Recorded at Figure 8 Recording in Brooklyn, NY and mixed by Ben Greenberg (Danny Elfman, Depeche Mode, Lamb of God) the album sees Ribot – whose prodigious, impossible-to-categorize body of work as bandleader and musician spans no wave and jazz, Brazilian and Cuban music, roots and avant-garde and protest songs (often at the same time) alongside legendary collaborations with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, The Lounge Lizards, John Zorn, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Caetano Veloso, and Laurie Anderson (to name but a few) – continuing to utilize Ceramic Dog as the vessel for his distinctive stream-of-consciousness songwriting, penning three out of the album’s four vocal tracks including the groove-infected “Ecstasy” (showcasing Anthony Coleman’s slinky Farfisa and longtime friend and associate Syd Straw behind the mic). From the anthemic manifesto “Soldiers in the Army of Love” to the unhinged ranting of “Heart Attack” and indescribable “No Name,” Ceramic Dog unleash a fury of complex time signatures, blues abstraction, and free-blowing energy to create their most unapologetically audacious collection thus far, their one-of-a-kind daring evidenced by the unlikely cover of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz’s “That’s Entertainment,” written especially for the 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film The Band Wagon but here, in Ribot and Co’s hands, deconstructs Hollywood cliches while simultaneously winking at both the post-punk and post-Cultural Revolution iterations of the Gang of Four. Fueled by what Ribot calls “several bolts of creative lightning,” Connections stands as a vibrant, odd, and in many ways definitive milestone in what is truly a singular creative journey for Marc Ribot and Ceramic Dog, its zeitgeist-busting sound and vision not only affirming their place in the musical universe but raising the stakes for whatever comes next.

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säje
Oct
14

säje

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

A long-awaited collaboration between GRAMMY-nominated vocalist Gretchen Parlato and acclaimed guitarist Lionel Loueke, Lean In tells the story of 20 years of connection, inspiration and friendship between two musical soulmates.

The very first duo recording from two musicians who have performed together for more than two decades, Lean In is all about healing, deep trust, love and family. In a time when warmth and compassion are needed more than ever before, both artists felt compelled to make a record sharing songs of inspiration, reflection, wonder and unity, with the title encouraging us to ‘lean in’ to ourselves and to those around us.

The intimacy of the duo songs reveals the depth of the trust and connection between the two artists at the core of the music, an intensity that gradually unfolds and blossoms out into a larger, universal whole as they are joined on the record by members of their families: Mark & Marley Guiliana, Lisa Loueke, & close friend Burniss Travis.

Both Gretchen and Lionel are individually renowned for the extraordinary mastery of body and voice in their music enabling them to create intricate, infectious rhythms. Fans will undeniably be excited to hear what happens when these two rhythmic virtuosos come together – the two styles seamlessly intertwined – and the resulting sound is truly magical: soothing yet joyful and full of light with Gretchen’s love for Brazilian music and Lionel’s West African roots shining through – it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before! Due out May 19, 2023 on Edition Records, this really is a record for the soul.

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Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke
Oct
12

Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke

Members Discount of $5 per ticket available on Advance Purchase Tickets Only.
Discount not valid on the Day of Show.

A long-awaited collaboration between GRAMMY-nominated vocalist Gretchen Parlato and acclaimed guitarist Lionel Loueke, Lean In tells the story of 20 years of connection, inspiration and friendship between two musical soulmates.

The very first duo recording from two musicians who have performed together for more than two decades, Lean In is all about healing, deep trust, love and family. In a time when warmth and compassion are needed more than ever before, both artists felt compelled to make a record sharing songs of inspiration, reflection, wonder and unity, with the title encouraging us to ‘lean in’ to ourselves and to those around us.

The intimacy of the duo songs reveals the depth of the trust and connection between the two artists at the core of the music, an intensity that gradually unfolds and blossoms out into a larger, universal whole as they are joined on the record by members of their families: Mark & Marley Guiliana, Lisa Loueke, & close friend Burniss Travis.

Both Gretchen and Lionel are individually renowned for the extraordinary mastery of body and voice in their music enabling them to create intricate, infectious rhythms. Fans will undeniably be excited to hear what happens when these two rhythmic virtuosos come together – the two styles seamlessly intertwined – and the resulting sound is truly magical: soothing yet joyful and full of light with Gretchen’s love for Brazilian music and Lionel’s West African roots shining through – it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before! Due out May 19, 2023 on Edition Records, this really is a record for the soul.

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