The 2012 Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, which was rescued from certain death last summer is back and bigger than ever. The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival 2013 has added two new venues to the spectacular event under blue skies (for the most part) and stately columns of the St. John’s Bridge. The Central Hotel formerly “Dad’s” and The Colony will host workshops and nighttime concerts for which there will be a charge. The music under the bridge remains free as the breeze off the Willamette.
Once again, Oregon Music News is happy to be a media sponsor. Our Tom D’Antoni will be mc’ing on Friday representing both OMN and KMHD. Friday has once again been designated as Blues night, although Funk, Soul and a brass band will rule.
Sean Ongley is Executive Director of the Festival. OMN spoke with him at KMHD shortly after Ongley got off the air with Matt Fleeger.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Here’s the lineup
Workshops and nighttime shows begin on Thursday, July 18, For shows at the other venues, visit their schedule page
Friday, July 19th, 5pm-9pm under the bridge
Lulu La Fever & Hot Tamales
5pm
Is she swing? Blues? Rock? If you’ve never seen her, here’s your chance to find out if she’s one or all. Nice red guitar, no matter what. Her band is usually Brandy Hutchinson on Drums, Marc Hutchinson on Sax, Leah Hinchcliff (who you’ve seen with the Quadraphonnes) on Stand Up Bass, Jon Lindahl on guitar.
Transcendental Brass Band
6pm
Since March Fourth is always on the road, TBB has been getting a whole lot of work. This town IS big enough for two marching bands, although this one doesn’t have stilt and/or fire-dancers. These folks have a lot of fun and are fine players in addition. The pic is from the Waterfront Blues Festival when they paid a visit to the Oregon Music News Comfy Booth™. Thing is, even when they stop marching, they’re actually good musicians.
Roseland Hunters
7pm
They’ve very quickly become a Portland fave. Bold funky New Orleans is what you get from leader/guitarist/vocalist Michael Quinby and his rotating bunch of merry men. Not sure which rhythm section will be here, but it’ll be good and funky. You like the Meters? You like a funky second line? Listen to “Steal for Me,” a track from Roseland Hunters their newly released EP.
Norman Sylvester
8pm
Daddy, daddy…the Boogie Cat never stops being funky. If you haven’t seen him lately, it’s always interesting to see who is singing with him. Many of Portland’s finest have come through his band inclding LaRhonda Steele and Gretchen Mitchell. That will be you taking a short break from dancing to Roseland Hunters and bouncing back as soon as you see the well-dressed Mr. S.
Saturday, July 20th, 2pm-9pm
Roosevelt High Jazz Band
2pm
The pride of St. Johns
Dmitri Matheny
3pm
He’s a flugelhorn player who lives in Phoenix. He’s bringing his band. He was first introduced to jazz audiences in the 1990s as the protégé of Art Farmer. What else do you need to know? Memory fails to indicate if he has played Portland in the past. A very nice afternoon discovery in the bright sunshine.
NOPO Big Band
4pm
Just what it says. A community-based big band from North Portland. Led by Mike Tolon, the Music Director, they’ve been around since 2010. The latest census puts them at: a 17-piece ensemble is arranged as a typical 5/4/4 + rhythm section big band: 5 saxes, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, and a rhythm section of guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. The band started as a random mix of musicians,..some experienced, some novice.
Tom Grant
5pm
Not sure which Tom Grant will show up, the straight-ahead TG, the smooth-Jazz TG, the fusion TG or what? Tom Grant fans don’t care. They love him anyway he chooses to perform. He’s one of those players who is so popular, he gets almost no publicity. Yogi Berra did not say that. He’s just been a happy fixture in Portland for so long, he can get ignored by media who are focused on the next big thing (or player who moves here from New York).
Trio Flux
6pm
They are Neil Mattson (guitar), Julio Appling (bass), and Adam Ochshorn (drums). They are also one of the most compelling, inventive satisfying Jazz bands in Portland. They have a new album out, but they didn’t send it our way, so we can’t tell you about it. Mattson claims as his influences “Ornette Coleman, Bill Frisell, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden, and Pat Metheny, to name a few.” Listen closely. There’s a lot going on here.
Stan Bock and the New Tradition
7pm
Stan Bock, Trombone/Euphonium; Renato Caranto, Tenor Sax; John Nastos, Soprano/Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet; Clay Giberson, Piano/Fender Rhodes; Tim Gilson, Fretless Electric Bass; Christopher Brown, Drums/Alto Sax. That should tell you all you really need to know about this collection of some of the finest Portland Jazz musicians. Their first album is called Feelin’ It. Here’s “Up In the Air”
Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra
8pm
He’s the bassist/composer who is always associated with Bill Evans. He moved here a few years ago and promptly thrilled everyone by his compositions and arrangements and simultaneously pissed everyone off with some seriously bad attitude. If we had to personally like every great artist in the world, we’d miss a whole lot of wonderful performances and rewarding music. Expect precision from his orchestra. An excellent way to close out the second day of the festival….outdoors anyway.
Sunday, July 21, 3pm-8:30PM
New West Guitar Group
3pm
They’re from L.A. and you may have never heard them, although I hope you’ve heard of one of them. John Storie is a Portland native and former student of Dan Balmer. He was the Jazz Society of Oregon’s scholarship winner in 2002, and founding member of the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra. Recently, their album “Round-Trip Ticket” (Summit Records) hit #22 on the JazzWeek charts.
Jessie Marquez
4pm
In the heat of the day, Ms. Marquez will make things just a little hotter with her Latin vocals…Brazilian and Afro-Cuban strong here. Her latest release, All I See is Sky, produced by pianist Clay Giberson and bassist Phil Baker. Pretty good company. Her first release, Sana Locura (2004), recorded in Havana with members of the Afro-Cuban All Stars, reached the top of the Latin jazz and salsa charts in the United States and Europe. Can you think of a better way to spend an afternoon?
Ventura Trio
5pm
The Latin beat continues with this Brazilian ensemble. Buzzo Bruno on bass, Janice Pezoa on piano and Mark Rocha on drums weave the traditional with the contemporary. It is very exciting to have a real band from Brazil in town. A lot of people attempt it with varying degrees of success, but nothing succeeds like the real thing. Bruno says, “Ideas always come from somewhere, is always a copy of something in progress, but the art is born and ends when the imitation comes something new and substantial” says Janice. Furthermore it is possible to observe scholarly influences mixed with informality instrumental music improvisation.”
Eri Yamamoto Trio
6pm
She is a pianist in from New York City bringing band mates David Ambrosio, bass and Ikuo Takeuchi, drums. After moving to the USA from Japan in 1995, she has built a strong reputation not only stateside, but internationally. Herbie Hancock likes her. She has collaborated with heavyweights William Parker, Daniel Carter, Hamid Drake and Federico Ughi. The festival has gone a long way in introducing performers never seen by Portland audiences. It’s what a Jazz festival is supposed to do. Nice going.
Blue Cranes
7:30pm
No, there just isn’t a better way to close out the outdoor portion of the festival than this. Aren’t you excited just thinking about it? Here’s an OMN interview with BC’s Joe Cunningham from May 2013 on their latest album, Swim. First, listen to “Everything Is Going To Be OK” from the album:
Click here to view the embedded video.
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