This is a fan website, not an official website and not affiliated with the venue.
The below photos and videos are only from performances that I personally attended.
There are also photos of myself, Steve Grande, my wife, Barbara Cepinko, and friends
as these photos and videos were lifted from my own personal "Check-In" website at
SteveGrande.com/check-in.
"If this band appeared in New York City, they'd be a sensation!" That was guitar great--and one-time Mel Brown bandmate-- George Benson's reaction after hearing the Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group open for him back in September, 2003 at Oregon's prestigious Britt Festival.
In fact, this true all-star band--each member is widely viewed as tops in the Northwest on his instrument--has been a sensation for a long while now. With a collective resume that reads like a "Who's Who" of jazz, blues, and soul (all four members are Oregon Music Hall of Fame inductees), this group has the talent and confidence to be completely spontaneous--from their blistering solos to their improvised arrangements and segues. No wonder they've thrilled audiences wherever they've played.
Adriana and Olivia grew up playing together in the Portland scene. After meeting as teenagers, Olivia and Adriana bonded as close friends and musical collaborators throughout the past ten years. Their unique voices merge together to create a wide pallet of colors and emotions, giving vibrancy to their original compositions. Adriana and Olivia have both made tremendous growth in their individual careers and are honored to come together again as co-leaders with a spectacular quintet at The 1905.
Olivia Bio:
Olivia Fields is a saxophonist, teacher, and student from Portland. Oregon. Honored to join a deep legacy of Portland-grown women in jazz, Olivia hopes to expand this lineage with her own inimitable voice.
During the past year, Olivia has begun a transformative journey to deepen her knowledge and connection to both music and the saxophone. This journey has challenged her to reconstruct her relationship to rhythm, harmony, and storytelling in a way that facilitates radically honest and captivating performances.
Olivia works and plays with her quintet, which has been described as "a living organism", due to the band's organic and spontaneous approach to performance and improvisation. In addition to this quintet, Olivia performs regularly as both a leader and side-person at various local venues.
Adriana Bio:
Adriana Wagner is an emerging trombonist, bandleader, educator, and composer based in Portland, Oregon. Wagner earned a Bachelor of
Music in Jazz Studies at Portland State University, studying with George Colligan and Darrell Grant.
Adriana formed her quartet in 2022 and has performed at the Portland Literary Arts Festival with PDX Jazz (2022), PDX Jazz Festival (2023), Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival (2023), Creative Music Guild Festival (2023), Seaside Jazz and Blues (2024) Festival, Montavilla Jazz Festival (2024), and Portland's most popular jazz clubs like The 1905, and the Jack London Revue. She formed her quartet in 2022 performing entirely her original compositions. Her originals invite the listener on a visual storytelling journey through captivating melodies that can resonate above or become immersed within the composition's harmonic structures. The compositions are written from perspectives of heartbreak, struggle, beauty, and resilience. Influenced by many different music genres, she weaves styles together under a distinct jazz banner.
Wagner was recently named one of the inaugural recipients of the Music Oregon Echo Fund grant to help create her debut album. Her album "She Sleeps, She Wakes" was released on PJCE Records featuring her original compositions. The album was featured on Best Jazz on Bandcamp 2024.
She has worked with Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, Pleasure, George Colligan, Randy Porter, Domo Branch, Wayne Horvitz, Dolphin Hyperspace, Nicole McCabe, Brown Branch Big Band, Pleasure, PDX Jazz Presents: The American Refrain, Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Cambalache Orquestra and Pura Vida Orchestra, Reb & The Good News, Lily Sheers, and March Fourth.
Greg Goebel - piano, Garrett Baxter - bass, Chris - drums Upon Christopher Brown's return to Portland in 2012 - which was preceded by 13 years in the NYC area, as well as four years in the Marine Corps - the assemblage of his quartet quickly became one of note. And by 2017 his quartet had officially become the most visible Jazz group in all of Portland, with a steady weekly cadence of 3-4 performances, which was maintained until the start of the global pandemic. And even then, it took them no more than three months to return to a similar weekly performance schedule.
Since 2017, the quartet has created a home for themselves at the famed 1905 Jazz club in Portland. And through their regular performances, they've not only helped to raise the profile of the venue to one of the world's top 100 Jazz clubs according to Down Beat Magazine, but of Jazz itself in Portland. So in a market where it's difficult to maintain group's with the same personnel, it's arguable that the Christopher Brown Quartet succeeds as being one of, if not the best, Jazz "groups" in all of Portland--which in turn is what gives them such a powerful, polished, and identifiable sound.
One of the best kept secrets of the Northwest jazz scene, flutist/vocalist/pianist, Cheryl Alex has been central among the region's jazz community for over twenty years. Cheryl's original compositions reflect a deep harmonic sense with memorable melodies and Latin influences. Ed Bennett has long been considered one of the West Coast's premiere string bass players. Living in Portland, Oregon since 1990, Ed's work has taken him virtually everywhere in the world. He has worked with, toured internationally, or recorded with many legendary jazz figures.
Kerry Politzer - piano, Olivia Fields - sax, Artie Adams- bass, George Colligan - drums. The band will be doing Kerry's original compositions and a few by Olivia that she has featured before at The 1905, as well. Pianist/composer Kerry Politzer has released eight albums as a leader, the most recent of which is "Ruminations" (PJCE Records, 2024). She currently serves on the music faculty at Portland State University and Clackamas Community College, and is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. Olivia Fields is a saxophonist from Portland, Oregon. While growing up in the Portland jazz community, Olivia studied with jazz legends John Nastos and Alan Jones, who encouraged her to develop the fiery tone and interactive playing she has come to be known for. Olivia recently completed her Master's degree in Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon, where she studied with world-renowned musicians Idit Shner, Joe Manis, Steve Owen, and Keith Brown. Kerry performs and gives clinics around the country with recent performances at Sam First, Mezzrow, Mr. Tipples, and the 25th Annual Gene Harris Festival.
Mel Brown - Drums, Renato Caranto - Tenor Saxophone, Dan Balmer - Guitar (There was a substitute guitar player tonight), Louis "King Louis" Pain - Hammond B3. "If this band appeared in New York City, they'd be a sensation!" That was guitar great--and one-time Mel Brown bandmate-- George Benson's reaction after hearing the Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group back in 2003. In fact, this true all-star band has been a sensation going back to 1997, when they began a 20-year run on Thursdays at Portland's legendary "Jimmy Mak's" music venue (The Oregonian dubbed them "Jimmy Mak's signature group"). With a collective resume that reads like a "Who's Who" of NW jazz, blues, and soul, this group has the talent and confidence to be completely spontaneous--from their blistering solos to their improvised arrangements and segues. No wonder they've thrilled audiences wherever they've played.
Normally we order pizza by the slice, but it appears The 1905 has declared Sunday to be "Pasta Night" and had several different kinds of pasta on the menu instead of pizza.
Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist and composer Nick Biello brings a quartet to The 1905 featuring longtime musical collaborator and NYC bassist Alex Tremblay. Together, they will be presenting a program of new music, supported by George Colligan on piano and Chris Brown on drums. Nick has shared the stage with world-class artists, such as Slide Hampton, Cedar Walton, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Clarence Penn, and John Benitez. 2024 saw his trio project release, "Between Light and Shadow", available on La Reserve Recordings, which received critical acclaim. His new album, "New America", featuring Charlie Porter and George Colligan, will be available in May.
Xylyn Hathaway. Portland, Oregon. Xylyn Hathaway has become a conduit of vulgar-beauty-jazz music that sinks teeth into the space it fills. They paint canvas into composition and wield an upright bass like bazookas, exploding hearts open peeled backwards into one bouquet of manic laughter from the pit of your chest.
