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Sorry I'm late with this week's blog. You don't want to know.
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SPEAKING OF MR. C
He was out of town on one of his world journeys for a few months. Since he's been back he's been busy. His CD release is Thursday, April 16 at Jimmy Mak's and he has booked a late Saturday night jazz series called "Round Midnight" from 11:30pm to 1:30am at the Curious Comedy Theater.
A portion of the $8 admission fee will support jazz and art programming at Jefferson High School, where David teaches after school on Mondays and Wednesdays.
He says, "When I was first running around Portland, I realized that every club that had live music was just closing down around 11:30 p.m., except for the bars. This is an alternative for late night cats who want to interact with live music at a performance spot with a positive vibe."
This means I'll never get to hear any of it but ………
April 18: Impressions of Energy, featuring pianist and internationally traveled jazz composer David Ornette Cherry with special guest drummer Ron Steen. David, who has been groomed by some of the great jazz artists of our time, including his godfather Ornette Coleman and avant-garde trumpeter and father Don Cherry, the inventor of “world music,” writes, arranges and improvises music that blends the thick, sweet textures from David’s rich jazz, classical, African, and world music background.
April 25: Farnell Newton Project, featuring trumpeter Farnell “Bleek” Newton, who performs regularly with Klezmocracy, Mel Brown, Thara Memory, Cana Son, Johnny Polanco, Ricardo Lemvo, Conjunto Allegre and Darrell Grant to name a few. Farnell recently recorded his debut CD, co-led with pianist Marcus Reynolds.
He has bands booked through the end middle of June. This is very exciting. He's got some of the best players in town, and a wide variety of styles. David is a jewel, an asset to Portland that I hope more people appreciate.
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MORE LIVE JAZZ YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT
Right under our noses, one of the best and least publicized spots for hearing excellent playing is at the Three Degrees at the RiverPlace Hotel on the waterfront south of the Hawthorne Bridge. It's spsonsored by the Portland Jazz Festival, it's FREE and it's called, oddly enough PDXJazz@RiverPlace...from 8-11pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
It's a fine mix of ages and styles. Gordon Lee is there Friday and Dan Balmer Saturday. Next weekend it's Ben Darwish on Friday and a rare appearance by the Michelle Medler Trio on Saturday. (She's a Quadraphonne.) They're booked thru the middle of June, too.
So don't you tell me you can't go hear great music in Portland. I mght slap ya.
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THE NEWS FROM KMHD/OPB REMAINS THE SAME
OPB CEO Steve Bass hosted a group of KMHD DJs on Thursday night in the TV studio at OPB. Although he fleshed out some things, what I reported last week remains the same. They don't want to blow up the station. They want to keep the station pretty much intact with some tweaking. Tweaking is welcome.
Although the boards of Mt. Hood Community College and OPB have to approve the deal, believe me….it's a done deal. OPB is building the new KMHD studio and even has sign on the studio window saying, future home of KMHD
The three current paid staff at KMHD are likely to stay at MHCC. Two of the three are toxic assets and nobody is unhappy to see them go.
KMHD appears to be headed for a renaissance.
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DON'T FORGET "REMEMBER ME" THE PAUL DELAY MEMORIAL CONCERT ON SUNDAY
....at the Aladdin with all kinds of great bands and most of the people who played in Paul's bands.
Headlining the celebration is award-winning bluesman, James "Icepick" Harman. Over his 40-plus year career, Harman has released nearly 30 recordings, earned multiple Blues Music Awards, and performed with many of the world's greatest blues artists. Harman was a friend of and frequent collaborator with deLay on Mark Hummel's Harmonica Blow-off tours. Harman will be backed by former Paul deLay Band members Peter Dammann on guitar, Dave Kahl on bass, and Jeff Minnick on drums. The concert also features a stellar lineup of local blues talent, including Janice Scroggins, Linda Hornbuckle, DK Stewart, Lloyd Jones, and Franck Goldwasser. They will be joined by organist Louis Pain, drummer Kelly Dunn, bassist Don Campbell, and The Heart Attack Horns. Curtis Salgado and Alan Hagar will perform as a duo. Former deLay Band pianist, David Vest, who has relocated to Victoria, British Columbia, will perform with The Willing Victims.
David Vest is going to be a guest on my KMHD show Saturday night. He is going to play some Sun Ra at the concert. I can't wait to hear that...and see the expressions on the faces of the audience.
Proceeds are going to establish a scholarship in Paul's name at Ethos.
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DIANE RUSSELL'S PORTRAIT OF GATEMOUTH BROWN INSTALLED ON HIS GRAVESITE
….on Tuesday in Orange, Texas. She says, "The headstone is made of black granite, and stands over five feet tall with the shape of Gate's signature Firebird Guitar in the center. The 8x10 ceramic inlay of my painting is just to the right, along with a quote by Gatemouth. " Find out more here.
She has a show up at The Pines Tasting Room in Hood River and she'll be showing at the Silverton Jazz Festival, May 9, the Mt. Tabor Art Walk, May 17-17 and the Lake Oswego Art Festival, June 26-28.
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BYE BYE, I'M LEAVING. WAIT, NO I'M NOT
Torch singer Karen Maria Capo, often heard at Tony Starlight's was going to move to L.A. She even played her farewell gig. And then…..
You've heard the rumors; I was offered a great new job in Los Angeles! And I thought ... hmmm, I have no job, I have no man, and I just lost my house, so I'm already packed! A no brainer!
Then, I got offered a really good job here! Not as good as the one in LA, but ...it's here! hat to do, what to do .....
Then so many people came out to my show at Tony Starlight's and showed me love.
And those who couldn't be there called and emailed and showed me more love, and my massage clients begged me not to leave them and I knew I had to stay!
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BOGVILLED MY MIND
One benefit of being late with the blog this week is that I can tell you that the preformance of Bogville at Mt. Tabor Pub was spectular. I didn't need to go to sleep to have a nightmare, the play/musical/performance was a living nightmare. In the good way.
It was set in the town of Bogville, some sort of turn of the 20th Century hamlet of zombies and cruelty. It had elements of what you could only call Victorian, maybe Elizabethan Butoh. The costumes were spectacular, the music discordant and also zombie-like. The song celebrating madness at the end of the first act was enough to set off long dormant drug flashbacks.
Most surprising was the singing of Noah Mickens. I've never heard him sing like that before…almost operatic. Not to say he hasn't before, but it was new to me. His crimson hair I've seen before. He played the cruel (mayor?). I dunno.
Ran into Erick Stern of the handlebar moustache and Vagabond Opera outside during the break between acts. They have a new album coming in May which he promised to get to me so I can play it on the radio. While we were talking, Soraiah, Portland's favorite Tuvan throat singer, walked up to us more as Enrique than Soriah. Always nice to catch up with him.
What's funny is that all these artists who perform dark works are mostly really nice people. I'm not sure they want you to know that, but I hope they do.
I hear that Bogville may come back again. Don't miss it.
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YOU WEREN'T LOSING YOUR MIND, THAT WAS LIV WARFIELD ON LENO SINGING WITH PRINCE
Let's hope this is the big break she deserves.
Watch it:
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BOIDS AND BLUES
This weekend on the coast, there will be the Pacific City Birding and Blues Festival sponsored in part by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Workshops from whale watching to bird photography and guided hikes are part of it.
Lloyd Jones, Rob Richter and the Ty Curtis band are playing.
More here.
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IN CASE YOU NEVER SAW HIM….HERE'S RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK
Just for the hell of it.
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KEEPING UP YOUR RESOLVE DURING THESE TOUGH TIMES
Made me think of an old 50s piece of schtick.
Eddie Lawrence the old philosopher:
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Pass this blog on!
…and leave a comment!!!
Listen to my KMHD show on Saturday nights 10pm-2am. Jazz till 12 and then The Bar opens at Midnight! Studio line 503-661-8900…call me sometime, it gets lonely out there!
Email me at tvdpdx@gmail.com
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