Oregon Music News

In the Artichoke Café again. Coming up in the next couple of weeks, Peter Dammann to tell us all about the lineup for the Waterfront Blues Fesival, Terry Robb, famed guitar slinger, and Jazz bassist Dennis Caizza. Today I’m very happy to welcome China Forbes of Pink Martini but not only Pink Martini, she has a new album of her own in the works and will be singing with the Oregon Symphony on Saturd...

Next week on the pod, China Forbes pays a visit to Café Artichoke. Can’t wait for that one. Also coming up are Coffeeshop Conversations with Terry Robb and also Peter Dammann is coming in to tell us about the Waterfront Blues Festival lineup. Today Jazz pianist/composer Gordon Lee is here. He’s just as busy as ever. He’s a part of a memorial tribute to David Ornette Cherry on Thursday, April 13 at...

While we await the upcoming Coffeeshop Conversations arrivals of China Forbes, Gordon Lee and Peter Dammann it is my pleasure to introduce you to Shelley Garrett, the new Executive Director of Artichoke Music. She’s no stranger here, having booked the live music for the last couple of years, and also having been a fixture on the Blues scene in Oregon for a long time with her work with the Cascade...

In the Artichoke Music Café with Portland Radio Project Executive Director Veronica Bisesti today. Coming up, pianist/composer Gordon Lee, new Artichoke Executive Director Shelley Garrett, Peter Dammann who curates the Waterfront Blues Festival and just confirmed, China Forbes of Pink Martini. But today….Veronica Bisesti has been with Portland Radio Project since it began in 2013. She does the Sub...

There are some folks who just radiate light. I like to have them here on the pod. Today’s guest has been here before and when I heard she was involved in Siren Nation’s 16th annual tribute to Billie Holiday, I said, “Well ok! It’s time to have her back and catch up.” You know Marcia Hocker from her radio days at KMHD and now at KBOO. She’s curating the Siren Nation tribute to Billie Holiday where...

Portland music's Joey Scruggs got hit by a car and now some in Portland's music industry are having a benefit for him on Saturday, March 18 at the Mission Theater. Listen to Steve Wilkinson, who put it together.

Wayne Shorter - SO IT GOES - Christopher Woitach And Friends 3 7 23, 6.27 PM by Oregon Music News

It’s a beautiful day in the coffeeshop, otherwise known as The Artichoke Music Café. Next week, you know her as one of the great radio voices but do you know Marcia Hocker as a singer? She’ll be here. Sitting across from me today is trombonist/composer/teacher Adriana Wagner. What I’m wondering is how to I not ask her what it’s like to be a female trombonist without asking her what it’s like to be...

I’ve got good news today. After a few years of bad news in the music industry, there have been many musicians who have lately told me that they’re gigging more than ever. Now here comes Terry Currier who runs Music Millennium with similar good news. He’ll tell us all about it. It’s always good to sit down and talk with Terry. He’s been an immensely valuable member of the Oregon music industry for...

I never thank enough, the folks who made our theme music and allow us to use it. They are Derek Sims and Keith Schreiner for Ghost Jazz. Coming up in the next couple of weeks we’ll have trombonist Adriana Wagner and Mr. Music Millennium Terry Currier. I’ve been looking forward to today’s Coffeeshop Conversation. Beth Harrington is making her third appearance here, but her first since 2017. You kno...

This is a special edition of OMN’s Coffeeshop Conversations @ Artichoke Music. At the last moment three separate guests had to cancel. A bad thing, perhaps. But perhaps not because I turned to an old box of audio cassettes, the remnants of some of my earlier years in radio, and I ran across a tape of a conversation I had with the great drummer, percussionist, composer and icon…Max Roach. I had for...

You may have heard that in January, The 1905, Portland’s premier Jazz club was named by Down Beat Magazine as one of the best Jazz venues in the world. In the world. Not since the demise of Jimmy Mak’s have we had anything even close to what The 1905 has going for it. The top world-class musicians in an atmosphere equal to the music. With me in the Artichoke Café today is Aaron Barnes, one of the...

Guess what happens on March Fourth? It’s the twentieth anniversary of March Fourth. Actually every March Fourth is an anniversary of every other March Fourth but this March Fourth is the twentieth anniversary of March Fourth the band. That’s a Saturday and there will be a lot of fun at the Crystal Ballroom that day and night. One of the founders who is also one of two remaining members of the orig...

It’s Biamp Portland Jazz Festival time of year again, and as we always love to do, we asked PDX Jazz Executive Director Chris Doss to come here to the Café at Artichoke Music and tell us who’s playing this year, from beginning to end (that’s Thursday February 16 through Saturday, February25. It’s a big musically diverse concert series in several venues. Kind of like we say at KMHD…Jazz Without Bou...

This time with me here is pianist/composer Greg Goebel, known for his virtuosity as well as his versatility. We’ll get into that and at the end of our conversation we’ll here one of his compositions. He’ll also talk to us about that and his work with Chris Brown and how some Jazz takes on some popular tunes fits into what he does. That synthesis is part of the history of Jazz, and it hasn’t stoppe...

We’ll be back at The Café in Artichoke Music next week. Mean ole Mr. Covid laid me up for a few weeks but things are much better now. Nevertheless, I am using an ancient arcane device known as the telephone to talk with this week’s guest Steve Swatkins, he of the keyboards and voice box, a composer and bandleader as well as a member of Allen Stone’s band. His new album Friends and Other Necessitie...

Hi there. We’re not in Café Artichoke today because I have the covid. I am not in any danger but I don’t want to give it to anyone and so I am at my desk, and at her home in Portland is violist Kyleen King. She is having the time of her life, having played the Moda Center on New Year’s Eve and an appearance on Saturday Night LIve both as a member of Brandi Carlisle’s band. Matter of fact, she’s pl...

Thanks to Artichoke Music’s Chairman of the Board and Artistic Director Paul Ward, we have two guests in the Artichoke Café today…and Paul is at the controls, along with a mic for himself. Our guests today are singers and songwriters Bre Greg and Colin Hogan who have a double album release coming up on Saturday, January 14 at the Alberta Rose Theatre. Bre’s band Red Bird will be playing and The Co...

Jim Brunberg is back. He’s been here a lot during the pandemic because he was one of the folks who were responsible for getting federal and state money to our venues to keep them open. We’re not going to talk about that today. We’re going to talk about his new album Songs of Stupid Hope. We need this album now and you can quote me. We’ll find out why during our conversation which, if you know eith...

It’s the last of a trio of inadvertent Coffeeshop Conversations with accordion players for which I have no explanation other than they all have clever, sparkling personalities. First was Darka Dusty, then Courtney von Drehle and today it’s Jetty Swart. I asked her how to pronounce her name, and since I don’t edit these things, you’ll hear her explanation in detail including her other name, Jet Bla...

It’s the second installment of Why Did He Choose to talk with accordion players three episodes in a row. Last time it was Darka Dusty, next time it’ll be Jety Swart aka Jet Black Pearl and this time it’s our old friend Courtney von Drehle. Bela Balogh, his collaborator of a couple of decades in groups like Three Leg Torso was supposed to be here too but he had a gig tossed his way at the last minu...

We have a very interesting series beginning with this episode of Coffeeshop Conversations @ Artichoke Music with very interesting people. The one thing they have in common is that they all play accordion. Now when I asked them to guest, that fact did not occur to me. Don’t ask why because I don’t know. I just like all of them. In the next two weeks Jetty Swart aka Jet Black Pearl and then our old...

Welcome back to the Café at Artichoke Music. Wanted you to know that next week Darka Dusty will be here to talk about all things Ukranian (including music). Today we have light in the Café and it’s brought to us as she brings it to everywhere she goes…it’s MizEtta….Arietta Ward. If you’ve been in the Portland music scene for any length of time you saw her grow up…the daughter to our beloved Janice...

Coming up next week here in the Artichoke Café, MizEtta, Arietta Ward, and the following week Darka Dusty will be here to talk about Ukraine and a lot more. We’re on a great run of Coffeeshop Conversations. Last time it was Jeremy Wilson and today it’s pianist/composer Kerry Politzer who has a new album on Portland’s PJCE label. It’s called In a Heartbeat and features an all-star band which includ...

Next week Miz Etta, Arietta Ward will be here in the Artichoke Café with me to tell us about her European tour. The week after, composer, pianist Kerry Politzer about her new album. You’ll like them. Today Jeremy Wilson who you know as an Oregon Music Hall of fame inductee for his long career which, of course includes the Dharma Bums. He’s also known for starting the Jeremy Wilson Foundation which...