REBECCA KILGORE TRIO

Rebecca Kilgore, Vocals | Randy Porter, Piano | Tom Wakeling, Bass

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ITAMAR BOROCHOV QUARTET

Itamar Borochov, Trumpet/Effects/Vocals
Rob Clearfield, Piano/Effects
Sam Weber, Bass
Jay Sawyer, Drums
Raised in the cosmopolitan port city of Jaffa, now a significant presence on the international jazz scene, Borochov is creating a new musical hybrid – bringing the sacred sounds of his upbringing to a jazz quartet setting. His third release Blue Nights (Laborie Jazz 2019) is a nine-track multi-cultural joyride of enchanting lyricism, exotic motifs, anthemic builds and virtuosic expression. Borochov first heard Sephardic music in his local synagogue and absorbed these ‘maqams’ (modes) of the greater Middle East and North Africa alongside a range of other musical influences, including the Mizrahi and Ashkenazi musical flavors that are his birthright. He began playing trumpet at the age of eleven and immersed himself in the discovery of jazz, inspired by the jazz trumpet lineage of Louis Armstrong, Clark Terry, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, and Booker Little through to Wynton Marsalis, and citing the influence of Ben Webster for his assured yet wistful warm airy tone.
In 2007 Borochov relocated to New York to study at the New School and attend Barry Harris’s weekly workshops. His deep knowledge of these various musical disciplines is incorporated organically into his original jazz writing, building a bridge between the near-East and the modal styles of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and others. ​ “This synergetic quest is accomplished with great integrity, demonstrating in-depth knowledge only possible from one who has experienced these traditions firsthand.” – Jazz Magazine In addition to recording three albums as a leader, Borochov also appears on three albums with Yemen Blues, of which he was a founding member, arranger and co-producer. He has toured across four continents and performed at prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, SummerStage at Central Park, Blue Note NY, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Bimhuis, Flagey and international festivals including Roskilde, Vitoria, Lviv, Montreal & Ottawa Jazz Festivals, London Jazz Festival, Moscow Jazz Festival, Tel Aviv & Red Sea Jazz Festivals, Jazz à Liège & Shanghai World Music Festival.
The Itamar Borochov Quartet was chosen to showcase at WOMEX 2019 in Tampere, Finland. In 2021 Borochov was commissioned by Brazos Valley Symphony, Texas to compose a suite for jazz quartet and string orchestra – ‘Emergence’, which he first performed with the orchestra in June 2021. He also recorded a new work composed especially for him by Shanan Estreicher – ‘All You Shining Stars’ for improvised trumpet and string septet, which premiered online in February. ​ Borochov won the prestigious 2020 LetterOne ‘Rising Stars’ Jazz Award European edition, which was presented to him in February 2021 by vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. He returned to the studio in New York in 2022 with his quartet and producer Matt Pierson​ to record his fourth album, due for release in 2023. “His melodies are direct and often plangent, his harmonies and rhythms sturdy and repetitious.
Showtimes ~ 7:00pm | 9:00pm

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IMMANUEL WILKINS

The music of saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins is filled with empathy and conviction, bonding arcs of melody and lamentation to pluming gestures of space and breath. Listeners were introduced to this riveting sound with his acclaimed debut album Omega, which was named the #1 Jazz Album of 2020 by The New York Times. The album also introduced his remarkable quartet with Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums, a tight-knit unit that Wilkins features once again on his stunning sophomore album The 7th Hand.

The 7th Hand explores relationships between presence and nothingness across an hour-long suite comprised of seven movements. “I wanted to write a preparatory piece for my quartet to become vessels by the end of the piece, fully,” says the Brooklyn-based, Philadelphia-raised artist who Pitchfork said “composes ocean-deep jazz epics.”

Conceptually, the record evolves what Wilkins begins exploring on Omega, which included a four-part suite within the album. On The 7th Hand, all his compositions represent movements, played in succession. “They deal with cells and source material like a suite would,” says Wilkins, “but they function as songs, as well.”

While writing, Wilkins began viewing each movement as a gesture bringing his quartet closer to complete vesselhood, where the music would be entirely improvised, channeled collectively. “It’s the idea of being a conduit for the music as a higher power that actually influences what we’re playing,” he says. The 7th Hand derives its title from a question steeped in Biblical symbolism: If the number 6 represents the extent of human possibility, Wilkins wondered what it would mean — how it would sound — to invoke divine intervention and allow that seventh element to possess his quartet.

Wilkins often draws inspiration from critical thought. Even the striking album artwork challenges convention: “I wanted to remix the Southern Black baptism, and also provide critique on what is considered sanctified and who can be baptized.”

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MACHADO MIJIGA

Multi-instrumentalist and Portland native Machado Mijiga wears many hats, both literally and metaphorically. Classically-trained, jazz-weathered, and eclectically inclined, Mijiga left the proverbial creative “box” at a very early age, with access to many instruments and a diverse musical background brought about by an intercultural heritage.
Mijiga is a musical polymath; composer, producer, bandleader, educator, gear fanatic, and audio engineer, to name a few. Authenticity and uniquity assume the locus of Mijiga’s artistic identity. Self-expression is the prime directive, and the medium of choice changes like the weather.

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CHUCK ISRAELS JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Chuck Israels is a composer/arranger/bassist who has worked with Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, J.J. Johnson, John Coltrane, and many others.  He is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966 and for his pioneering accomplishments in Jazz Repertory as Director of the National Jazz Ensemble from 1973 to 1981.

Among Chuck’s many recordings as a bassist, some outstanding ones include: Coltrane Time, with John Coltrane; My Point of View, with Herbie Hancock;  Getz au Go-Go, with Stan Getz; and many recordings with the Bill Evans Trio, including The Town Hall Concert; The Second Trio; Trio ’65; Live at the Trident; Time Remembered; and  Live at Shelley’s Manne Hole.

Recently retired from directing the jazz studies program at Western Washington University, Chuck has moved to Portland, OR to work in its vibrant jazz community and participate in his favorite Northwest city’s cultural life.

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