James Powers Quartet

Trombonist James Powers has been connected to creative music his whole life. A third generation musician who’s made his home in many styles of music, he’s always sought to meld disparate influences together. For James, the love of music began early, attending his first concert of orchestral music at 8 days old, and seeing his father play places like The Tugboat and the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, when still in diapers. James is largely self taught, and his unique artistic voice reflects this, though that’s not to say he’s uneducated, having been mentored by a number of world-class musicians like Alan Jones, Steve Davis, Michael Vlatkovich and Rufus Reed. James Recently released an album with his avantfunk trio JP3 on PJCE records, and can also be heard playing in his rock trio REACTOR, March Fourth, Buddy Jay’s Jamaican Jazz Band, The Frank Irwin Quintet, and Andrew Oliver’s Bridgetown Sextet, amongst many other projects.

His passion for music beginning with playing the tuba, Liam Hathaway then began playing bass 10 years ago. He grew up in Newberg, Oregon, where he became the self-taught musician that is known in the Portland jazz scene today. He later studied at Portland State University with the great George Colligan. Playing with Colligan, Ron Steen, in his own groups, and in other young cats’ ensembles, Liam has played hundreds of gigs at bars, restaurants, weddings, and various events in and around Portland. His undying love for free, avant-garde, and standard jazz has been brought on by Ornette Coleman, Richard Davis, Don Cherry, Miles Davis, and more. He has recorded albums with Keith Cheek, Shaymus Hanlin, and soon releasing his own album entitled “The Farm”. 

Wes Georgiev is a pianist, composer, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. Growing up in a multicultural and musical household, Wes began playing music at a very young age, learning the rhythms and tones of Bulgarian folk music by ear with the guidance of his parents. He then began 9 years of classical piano study, and transitioned to learning the Black American Music idiom known as jazz at age 12. In his music, Wes aims to transcend notions of “genre” to tell stories steeped in natural, archetypal themes, allowing listeners to superimpose their own stories and experiences as a means to find healing.

Wes performs several times a week throughout the region as a sideman and band leader at venues such as the 1905, The Jazz Station, Jo Bar, Vino Veritas, Teutonic Wine Company, Jack London Revue, Clyde’s Prime Rib, Wilf’s, and others. He has worked with Rob Scheps, Alan Jones, John Stowell, George Colligan, Ron Steen, Mark Zaleski, Jon Lakey, Bobby Torres, Nicole McCabe, Noah Simpson, Andres Moreno, and more. Wes studies privately with George Colligan and Alan Jones. Wes has been honing his compositional craft for over ten years. While he prefers writing for small group, he was recently commissioned by the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble to compose a piece featuring their 12-piece ensemble led by George Colligan.

Carlos has always been surrounded by music his whole life. Starting with the piano at a young age he developed an ear for melody and rhythm that soon bleed into the drum set. Carlos started out playing rock, punk, and metal music and that heavy hitting foundation still finds its way into his music today. In middle school he slowly fell in love with the improvisational aspect of jazz music and began his mentorship with local giant Alan Jones. Through high school he became much more serious about pursuing music as a career and started playing on stage alongside mentors such as Chuck Israels. Now in his early 20’s, Carlos is working on releasing a trio album of his own music.

Rich Halley

Rich Halley is a tenor saxophonist and composer based in Portland, Oregon. He is known for his imaginative compositions and his fiery playing. Rich has released 24 critically acclaimed recordings as a leader and has recorded over one hundred original compositions. His latest album, “Boomslang”, features Los Angeles cornetist Dan Clucas, Canadian bassist Clyde Reed and drummer Carson Halley.  Halley’s recent release, “The Shape of Things”, was on a number of lists of the best jazz albums of 2020. All About Jazz describes his music as:“Uncluttered, bold and powerful” and Tom Hull calls him “One of the major tenor saxophonists of our time.” DownBeat said: “Oregon-based saxophonist Rich Halley has been turning out smart, brawny music for a couple of decades.”

Rich currently leads the Rich Halley 4, a group which has released six albums of original music, and the Rich Halley 3, a tenor/bass/drums trio. Rich was also the leader of The Lizard Brothers, a four horn sextet, and The Outside Music Ensemble, a horns and percussion group dedicated to unamplified outdoor performances. He has performed with Matthew Shipp, Tony Malaby, Vinny Golia, Bobby Bradford, Nels Cline, Julius Hemphill, Andrew Hill and Oliver Lake. For 26 years he was the artistic director of the Penofin Jazz Festival, a small festival in Northern California that presented many of the leading figures in creative jazz. Rich was a founder of Oregon’s Creative Music Guild. He was educated as a field biologist, and his lifelong interest in nature has informed his music and led him on many trips into wilderness regions around the world.