Ralph Carney

Ralph Carney

“… Life in Akron Ohio in the 60’s was typical midwestern, you know, regular barber, crewcut, army men, a bunch of friends on the block, we pretended we were Zorro, Batman, Vikings, etc. The usual dramas of friendship and betrayal. Kennedy, frisbee, superballs, etc. I was into wind up record players and derbies and old magazines. I felt the ghosts and now I know about past life stuff. Older brother and sister, dad who worked on polyester research, mom who smoked Carletons and had a creative imagination. I drew cartoons and stuff. 7th grade was the worst; but I grew my hair out a bit. Art class was my favorite. In love with lots of girls, only they didn’t know. 8th grade — ZOING!! Puberty hits and obsession with being a musician, started on a 5 string banjo. Bluegrass, country blues, Beatles (still). Banjo, violin (fiddle), harmonica. Then at 15 I took up saxophone, JAZZ JAZZ JAZZ. Mostly Blue Note, Rahsaan, Coltrane. Self taught. Worked in a cool mall record store. Graduated high school, joined “Tin Huey” older guys from different high school. Into Iggy and German rock, Faust, Can, etc. Played 3 nites a week in a basement. Also worked with Alan Myers of “Devo” playing out jazz. 1 year of college in Kent Ohio, went to see a lot of music. Jazz gigs in Cle. Sun Ra. Weather Report. Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Yuseff Lateif.” – Ralph Carney

Tim DuRoche

Tim DuRoche is a Portland-based jazz drummer, cultural writer, radio host, and artist-civic ecologist.  My work over the last 25 years (live performance, community engagement and conversation, curating, public art and journalism/creative nonfiction) has been part of an evolving fascination with the improvisational weft and warp that occurs between art, entertainment, history, culture, and the public realm.

Andre St. James

Bassist Andre St. James is a cornerstone of the rich, thriving Pacific Northwest jazz scene and works regularly with his own quintet, the Andre St. James/Roger Woods Nonet, Mel Brown Septet. One of the best-known and most respected figures of Portland’s jazz scene, St. James currently teaches at Reed College and Bravo Youth Orchestra(Teaching Artist) and was a faculty member of the Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz from 1989 to 2004.Western Oregon State College 2008 to 2012.

Over the last three decades, St. James has worked with an astonishing who’s who of modern jazz including giants like Sonny Rollins, the Harold Land-Blue Mitchell Quintet, Andrew Hill trio and large bands, Bobby Hutcherson, Charlie Rouse,  Joe Pass, Kai Winding ,Herb Ellis  James Moody,  Nancy King, and George Cables Houston person, Mike Wofford Julie Silvano, Andrea Wolper. St. James’ strong sense of lyricism, buoyancy and surging momentum, as well as a deep respect for both tradition and innovation, have taken him to both ends of the jazz spectrum-from  bop and beyond. He has enjoyed freewheeling, open-ended avant-garde,  like Julius Hemphill, Marty Ehrlich, Eugene Chadbourne, Michael White, India Cooke, Kash Killion, Mal Waldron, and Sun Ra, Geo Sams, Pharoah Sanders, Alan Shorter, Roscoe Mitchell, Vinnie Golia, Reed Wallsmith, Tim DuRoche Thollem McDonas Noah Bernstein, John Gross Burton Greene, Dana Reason Billy Hart, Juini Booth Mark Levine, Ezra Weiss, Farnell Newton Gordon Lee Renato Caranto David Ornette Cherry, to name a handful.