Trombonist Nick Sweet (recently graduated from the Berklee School of Music) will be putting together a special and rare Portland show on December 26th while he’s on a short break from the East coast.  He’ll be joined by three other Portlanders-turned-East-coasters including Jeff Picker on bass (Manhattan School of Music, Columbia University), Tyson Stubelek on drums (New England Conservatory), and John Nastos on saxophone (Manhattan School of Music).

All four musicians represent the results of jazz education in Portland and share common connections and teachers such as Thara Memory, Randy Porter, and Alan Jones.  Come out to the show and see what they’re up to now that they’re on to their own professional careers.

The show is at 6 PM on December 26th at Mississippi Pizza - 3552 North Mississippi Ave

On December 17th, the Someday Lounge will host a triple bill featuring DJ Tyler Tastemaker, the band Alpaca, and Commotion, which is headlining the evening.

Commotion is one of Ben Darwish’s many projects, featuring jazz, funk, and rock.  This evening is a special night for the band, as they will be joined by a horn section for the first time.  The Commotion horns will include home-for-the-holidays Nick Sweet on trombone, 15-year-old phenom Tree Palmedo, and John Nastos on saxophones.  The core of Commotion will be (as usual): Ben Darwish on keyboards, Chris Mosley on guitar, Sam Howard on bass, and Russ Kleiner on drums.  Also added to the band will be percussionist Chaz Hastings.

Music starts at 9 PM for a special economic-crisis price of just $3.

Drummer Drew Shoals is releasing his debut CD, “The Greatest Haven’t Been Born Yet” (Diatic Records) on Saturday, December 22nd. The release show will feature all of the musicians from the CD, including Damian Erskine, Ben Darwish, John Nastos, Dan Duval, Nick Sweet, and Jeff Picker. Also appearing will be Chris Mosley with his quartet, as well as original artwork by Pyar Anderson, Courtney Erskine, and Emmitt Pollard. The party starts at 8 PM at Design Counsel (1020 NW Lovejoy).