Los Angeles-based Latin percussionist Luis Conte will be in Portland this weekend for two shows where he will be the featured guest with two Portland-based groups.
First, on Friday, February 12th, Conte will join the Portland Jazz Orchestra for a concert at the First United Methodist Church (1838 SW Jefferson St) for a concert called “El Rey del Timbal” where the big band will explore the music of Tito Puente. Don’t miss this chance to see Conte with some of Portland’s best jazz musicians, including Darrell Grant, Alan Jones, Farnell Newton, and more. Also, Portland’s own Latin-jazz king Bobby Torres will be joining the group on percussion for this special event.
Then, on Saturday, February 13th, Conte will join the Bobby Torres Ensemble at Jimmy Mak’s for another evening of hot Latin jazz. You won’t find another percussion section like this in Portland again in 2010: Bobby Torres, Carmello Torres (Bobby’s son), and Luis Conte.
This Friday (10/2), the Portland Jazz Orchestra will kick off its 2009-2010 season with a program called “Groovin’ Hard.” The concert will feature drummer Alan Jones driving the band through selections from the Buddy Rich book. This should be a fantastic chance to hear Alan stretch out on music that you wouldn’t normally get to hear him play. Plus, the sound of Alan kicking a big band is worth every penny they are asking for the ticket price ($22 / $15 students -- prices higher at the door).
During the rest of the season, you can look forward to “Linus, Lucy and the Duke” in December, “El Rey del Timbal” in February (the music of Tito Puente), and a special treat of “An Evening with Kenny Wheeler” in April.
To get you in the mood for some of what the Portland Jazz Orchestra has to offer, check out this video from last season -- “It’s Just Talk” from their concert featuring the music of Pat Metheny.
Today the Portland Jazz Festival released a list of national and international artists that will be performing during the “70th Anniversary of Blue Note Records” celebration in February. Here’s the list of headliners:
Friday, February 13, 7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, A Tale of God’s Will (Requiem for Katrina) Terence Blanchard Quintet with full orchestra plus Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet
Saturday, February 14, 2:00 pm, Portland Art Museum Ballroom, Joe Lovano’s Us5 plus Jacky Terrasson
This Friday, September 26th, the Portland Jazz Orchestra will kick off their 2008-2009 concert series with a celebration of John Coltrane. Here’s what the group’s website has to say about the concert:
We open our Concert Series in observation of a birthday, commemorating the profound legacy of John Coltrane(September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967). Paying homage to his soulful artistry and pioneering genius, our tribute is a unique line-up of Coltrane masterpieces — including the four-movement suite A Love Supreme and the gorgeous ballad Naima — thoughtfully arranged for big band by PJO members and friends especially for the occasion.
The concert will be held at the PCPA Winningstad Theatre at 7:30 PM. For more information and tickets, visit the Portland Jazz Orchestra website.
This Friday, the Portland Jazz Orchestra (resident ensemble of the Portland Jazz Festival) will perform the music of Quincy Jones and Pat Metheny. For this concert, the ensemble includes guest artists Alan Jones and Dan Balmer in addition to the usual cast of stellar Portland musicians.
Los Angeles-based Latin percussionist Luis Conte will be in Portland this weekend for two shows where he will be the featured guest with two Portland-based groups.
This Friday, September 26th, the 
This Friday, the