CYNTHIA SCOTT FEATURING HOUSTON PERSON

“In a rich, soulful voice, she sings messages of hope and compassion.” – Jazziz
Cynthia Scott, a soulful, Grammy-nominated vocalist, leads a swinging quintet featuring the legendary tenor saxophonist Houston Person. Scott worked with Ray Charles as a Raelette before launching her successful solo career and subsequently performing with Hank Crawford, David “Fathead” Newman, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., and many others. JazzTimes says Scott blends “the sinewy grit of Gladys Knight and the sophisticated sass of Shirley Horn” with “nods to such idols as Carmen, Ella, Sarah, and Dinah.” The Chicago Tribune called her “a mesmerizing vocalist.”
Houston Person is a very special guest with this quintet. All About Jazz says, “Whatever imponderable talent it takes to stay at the top of one’s game for almost six decades, as Person has, he still has it in abundance.”

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JAZZMEIA HORN QUARTET

“The next big carrier of straight-ahead jazz’s vocal tradition.” – The New York Times

Jazzmeia Horn, making an important Smoke debut, leads a stellar quartet with pianist Victor Gould, bassist Jason Clotter, and drummer Michael Reed. An award-winning vocalist (2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition), Horn is “without a doubt among the jazz world’s most exciting young vocalists…her sound is explosive and bright and rich, catnip for audiences looking for boldness that’s still traditional,” reports Billboard. Downbeat adds, “Jazzmeia Horn harbors both astounding technique and an acute artistic vision…[she] has a thrilling presence with a musical sensibility that strikes a deft balance between mid-century jazz and contemporary neo-soul.”

Jazzmeia Horn – vocals

Victor Gould – piano

Jason Clotter – bass

Michael Reed – drums

***Friday & Saturday Showtimes: 7:00pm | 9:00pm | 10:30pm

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BILLY CHILDS QUARTET FEATURING SEAN JONES

“One of the most critically acclaimed pianists in modern jazz” – All About Jazz
Renowned pianist and composer Billy Childs makes a long-awaited Smoke Jazz Club debut, leading a very special quartet featuring acclaimed trumpeter Sean Jones with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Ari Hoenig. A native of Los Angeles, Childs grew up immersed in jazz, classical, and popular music influences, which he blends in powerful and personal compositional and performing voice.

A child prodigy who started performing at age 6 and studying at USC at 16, he was “discovered” by trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard, with whom he embarked on a successful performing and recording tour. He also recorded and performed with a number of other influential jazz musicians, including J.J. Johnson, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland, among many others, and with such varied artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Renee Fleming, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Kronos Quartet. Downbeat says, “The same creative spirit that’s propelled him from the bands of bop giants as a twenty-something side-player to a composer renowned throughout concert halls and across jazz festival stages remains unhampered.”

Billy Childs – piano

Sean Jones – trumpet except Saturday

Jason Palmer – trumpet, Saturday only

Matt Penman – bass Ari Hoenig – drums

***Friday & Saturday Showtimes: 7:00pm | 9:00pm | 10:30pm

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EDDIE HENDERSON QUINTET

Witness to History Record Release!

“His musical wisdom, gleaned during decades spent on the best jazz bandstands, informs every unerring note.” – Downbeat. Eddie Henderson – trumpet Donald Harrison – alto saxophone George Cables – piano Gerald Cannon – bass Lenny White – drums Trumpeter Eddie Henderson celebrates the release of a highly anticipated new recording, Witness to History, that reflects on his incredible life in music and whose arrival coincides with the 50th anniversary of his 1973 recording debut as a leader, Realization.

Joining Henderson for these release performances is the spectacular quintet of his closest collaborators that he convened for the recording, including alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, pianist George Cables, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Lenny White. Henderson’s “deft feel and plush sound made him a central figure in the worlds of jazz-funk and hard-bop in the 1970s,” according to The New York Times. The Chicago Reader adds, “His progressive, assured, and imaginative improvisations roll out in a glorious sun-splashed tone… he seems to dance through his solos, balancing his quick clockwork technique with bursts of bluesy soul.” The eternally youthful Henderson has proven again that he is still making some of the most important music of his career into his 80s.

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DEVIN PHILLIPS QUARTET

Devin Phillips, Saxophones | Kiran Raphael, Piano | Eric Gruber, Bass | Tyson Stubelek, Drums
Born and reared in New Orleans, Devin Phillips’s intense affair with the saxophone began at the age of eight. At 14, he was accepted into the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, whose alumni include Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr. and Nicholas Payton. There, trained in music theory and multi-styles composition, he graduated in 2000 with top honors. He has also tutored under clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste. Like many budding young horn players form the Big Easy, he put his time in playing with the local brass bands in a traditional process of initiation in the musical process. Devin Phillips has paid his dues performing, touring and recording with top jazz artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, The Headhunters, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, musician Lenny Kravitz, and Los Hombres Caliente, with whom he recorded two award-winning albums.
His reputation as a sax man with intricate and rhythmically innovative sounds made him a popular feature at jazz festivals: France’s Jazz de Vien Festival; Tokyo’s JVC Jazz Festival; Itanbul’s The Ruins; Spain’s Barcelona Jazz Festival; the Netherlands’ North Sea Jazz and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. In 2005, Phillips formed New Orleans Straight Ahead. But in August, Hurricane Katrina muted the music. With all gone, save his sax, and his family scattered throughout the U.S., Phillips evacuated to Portland and reformed New Orleans Straight Ahead with other musician evacuees. Phillips and took advantage of a program created by the PDXJazz Festival in partnership with Azumano Travel, which invited jazz musicians affected by the hurricane to come to Portland with their families, either for temporary shelter or for good. The invitation included free transportation to Portland, temporary housing, and access to an active jazz network with performance and workshop opportunities. Over the course of six months, more than 50 New Orleans musicians traveled to Oregon, a dozen musicians, including Phillips, have decided to remain in Portland. Since arriving, Phillips has performed at a number of local clubs and appreciated the opportunity to be part of the Portland Jazz Festival. Phillips says that opening the festival with “Amazing Grace,” talking with McCoy Tyner and being asked to stand in for one of Eddie Palmieri’s frontline players were high points for him.

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