Oregon Music News

Hey now! Back again with Paul K Ward at the controls at studio blue…and that’s supposed to be all lower case. I’m Tom D’Antoni at my desk, not ready to go back to Artichoke Music. Wait, I’m not done. With Paul is famed guitar slinger Terry Robb, so good that the Cascade Blues Association stopped giving him best guitarist award and named the damned thing after him. Plus, at his home in Victoria, British Columbia is former Portlander, winner of a bunch of Blues Maple Awards for best pianist, Paul deLay’s last of the best piano players and boogie woogie master, David Vest. They have a new album of duets out called Criss Cross. And we’re here to find out why and wherefore.

Since Coffeeshop Conversations has returned from health-related hiatus (mine), first of all it’s been fun doing them again and second, I love the guests we’ve had. David Vest and Terry Robb last week in particular. If you missed them, I suggest you listen but not this minute because we’ve got a good one this time. Before we go any further, let’s give a big round of ammunition (as Doctor John used to say) to Paul K Ward who has kindly lent his talents and his studo blue…all lower case…to record, mix and fix these episodes while I continue to try to recover from what I have to recover from. The strange thing is that the first time that today’s guest Kyleen King made an appearance on Coffeeshop Conversations, in January 2023, we had to do it this way too. Me at my desk and Kyleen at home. I had covid that time. One of these days we’ll actually sit across from each other, I hope. By the way, Kyleen was also a guest last summer on Darka and Miri’s Light and Limn Podcast which also can be heard on OMN. So why such

We’re not back at Artichoke quite yet but we’re back in podcast production again. And happy to be. A giant thank you to Paul K Ward for recording these things until I am able to get back to Artichoke Music. I am at my desk and Paul is at the controls at studio bLue. Joining him is Chris Doss, the Executive Director of PDX Jazz, with us for his annual visit to talk about the 2025 Bi-Amp Portland Jazz Festival which takes place February 20 to March first, all over town.

A poem.

It’s the return of OMN’s Coffeeshop Conversations! We published the last new one at the end of August, at which time I became a much-to-frequent visitor to various medical facilities, had a number of surgeries and procedures and generally had a bad tme of it. I’m not out of the woods yet and not quite ready to return to Artichoke Music, but in the meantime Paul K Ward, pianist, composer, engineer and all around helpful person is recording these new episodes from his studio blue. I have to tell you that I am thrilled to be able to make fresh episodes of Coffeeshop Conversations again and I thank everyone who came to my aid and offered support of many varieties. I Love you all for it. So, here I am at my desk some of my guests join in at Paul’s studio, and there will be others in which we’re all internet connected. This time, it’s the latter. Meaning, today OMN’s National Editor Art Levine is on the line from his place in Washington DC. The jumping off point will be the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown

Sorry that there hasn’t been a new episode of Coffeshop Conversations at Artichoke Music for a few weeks. I’ve been looking at the four walls of a hospital room and then recovery at home, but most of that is behind me and here we go again, just in time for this year’s Montavilla Jazz Festival. With me is guitarist, composer, teacher and PJCE Records honcho Ryan Meagher, no stranger to this podcast. He’ll be performing at the festival but he’s much more than that these days. The festival runs from Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 1. This is what our conversation sounded like.

I wonder if you know that Lee Dorsey, the great New Orleans Soul and R&B singer, famous for songs like Ya Ya, Workin In a Coal Mine, and many others, was also known as the best body and fender man in New Orleans. We have an equivalent in Oregon. Kenny Goldstein has been a part of the music scene in Oregon for decades, a bass player in multiple genres and an ace auto mechanic. He has helped keep my last four beaters on the road, to be transparent. But do they have anything to do with each other? He’s in the Artichoke café with me right now.

In A Summer full of music festivals, one of the loveliest, happiest of them all is the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival. It happens Friday through Sunday, July 19-21. This is the 44th annual festival. It has gone through a lot of changes, some good and some not so good. These days it’s run by the Jazz Society of Oregon and one of the directors is Yvonne Lerch who is in Artichoke Music with me. She’s been on the Oregon music scene, in one form or another for a long time. The festial is free, so even though it’s this upcoming weekend, there’s no need to plan months in advance. Just come on out and sit under the magnificent St. John’s Bridge and have yourself the perfect summer’s day.

Hi. Tom D’Antoni back in The Artichoke for another OMN Coffeeshop Conversation. Next time our guest will be Yvonne Lerch, director of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival which is coming up soon. Also upcoming right here will be bass player Kenny Goldstein, who is also an ace car mechanic. And you’ll be happy to hear that OMN National Editor Art Levine has completed his mammoth story, not for us…and it turns out his appearance on this podcast is a double- header, half on UFO’s and half on AI. Today, an old friend from our days and nights at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Amanda Gresham will introduce us to a new EP from United By Music and we’ll get the lowdown on it and the wonderful work that organization does. So right now, once again, let’s meet Amanda Gresham.

Hi. Tom D’Antoni back in The Artichoke for another OMN Coffeeshop Conversation. Next time our guest will be Yvonne Lerch, director of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival which is coming up soon. Also upcoming right here will be bass player Kenny Goldstein, who is also an ace car mechanic. And you’ll be happy to hear that OMN National Editor Art Levine has completed his mammoth story, not for us…and it turns out his appearance on this podcast is a double- header, half on UFO’s and half on AI. Today, an old friend from our days and nights at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Amanda Gresham will introduce us to a new EP from United By Music and we’ll get the lowdown on it and the wonderful work that organization does. So right now, once again, let’s meet Amanda Gresham.

In the coming weeks, Amanda Gresham of United By Music will be here. Yvonne Lerch will stop by to talk about curating the Cathedral Park Festival. Art Levine, our National Editor hasn’t finished his 5 thousand word piece yet…and it isn’t even for us. And you’ll meet Kenny Goldstein a bass player and mobile car mechanic. Today Tim DuRoche pays us another visit. He’s a great hang and a terribly smart guy, a musician and former Jazz journalist. There’s a new Battle Hymns and Gardens album with the two sax players from the Blue Cranes. Let’s find out about it and listen to a track at the end.

Springtime at the Artichoke. Coming up soon on Coffeeshop Conversations…Yvonne Lerch will us about curating my favorite music festival of the summer…Cathedral Park. Also, an interesting person who combines the life of a Blues musician with a car mechanic. And I promise our National Editor, Art Levine will finish his five or six thousand word piece on UFO’s in time to make an appearance here. Today Amy Maxwell, founder of Ticket Tomato who is here to fill us in on the Live Nation situation, how we got here and what’s to come.

Hi, Tom D’Antoni, as always, with another Coffeeshop Conversation from Artichoke Music. Coming up soon we’ll have OMN’s National Editor Art Levine with a conversation on UFO’s and music, not that they have anything to do with each other. Also upcoming, Ticket Tomato’s Amy Maxwell on the Live Nation controversy, Yvonne Lerch on booking the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival. A new episode every week. Today, Adam East is in the building. He’s been at the Alberta Rose Theatre since it opened in 2010 and has helped build their reputation as one of Portland’s best loved venues He’s their talent buyer. You may also know him as a musician, which he still is.

Six years ago, the last time David Monette was our guest on Coffeeshop Conversations, we called him “Portland’s Stradivari” because the trumpets he designs and builds are the equivalent of a Stradivarius violin…and he makes them for some of the world’s greatest musicians at his shop out near the airport in Portland. He's back because he has a new book called “Calculus of Life: A Practical Guide to Transcendence.” What does that have to do with music? According to David, just about everything. He’ll be giving a talk at Portland’s New Renaissance bookstore on Saturday, May 25. On Tuesday, May 21st, he’s bringing musicians in from nearly everywhere to perform and to mark the publication of the book. The event is sold out but he’ll be streaming it. Watch it here. Let’s talk with David Monette.

Back in the Artichoke today with singer/actor Lo Steele, daughter of Portland’s LaRhonda and Mark Steele. Coming up soon…trumpet genius David Monette with his new book on transcendence, our National Editor Art Levine on UFO’s and (maybe) music, plus Adam East the talent buyer from the Alberta Rose Theater. But right now Lo Steele is sitting across from me. We’re so lucky in Oregon to have musician families like this one. After you’ve listened to this one, Follow the link to a video episode with LaRhonda and Mark. Right now, meet Lo Steele.

I hardly know what to say. Eddie Martinez, one of the best known session guitarists in history just left the Café at Artichoke Music after nearly an hour of inspired conversation. Now look. I don’t mean to disparage the over four hundred other guests we’ve had on in ten years of OMN’s Coffeeshop Conversations but this one is at or near the top. It’s the third time he’s been on the podcast. I asked him to join me because he has a gig at Jack London Revue on Friday May 3rd. He also has a new EP on the way. We find out about both but mostly we had a bracing conversation. I hope you enjoy It as much as I did. I think he did too.

Every year at this time, we get together with Peter Dammann, Artistic Director of the Waterfront Blues Festival and ace guitar slinger to find out who’s in the festival lineup. He's joining me in the Artichoke Music Café. Next week Lo Steele will be here and coming up guitarist Eddie Martinez and also OMN’s National Editor Art Levine will be talking to us from Washington D.C. But now lets turn our attention to the fourth of July and the shores of the Willamette where tens of thousands of fans gather at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Here’s Peter Dammann to let you in on who’s playing this time around.

As promised, with me in the Café at Artichoke Music is Jennifer Carrizo, Senior Talent Buyer for the Crystal Ballroom, the Mission Theater and the Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma, all part of McMenamin’s wonderfully funky empire. It’s hard to believe we haven’t had many from the venue management side of de bizz eh nezz. But here we are. What does a talent buyer do? Senior or not. I’ll tell you this, the reason you can go out and hear music is because the talent buyer has made a deal which brought that band to you. Let’s meet Jennifer Carrizo.

I’m happy we’re back here in the café at Artichoke Music.. Next week, Jennifer Carrizo from McMenamin’s will be here to talk about what’s going on at the Mission Theater…the answer is a lot! But this week a new conversation from a couple of months ago (and I apologize for the delay) with one of our best singers and songwriters, Anandi. She has a lot to say about Jazz singing, especially the Latin variety. At the time we talked she had just released a new album called A Better Way. We’ll hear a track from it at the end of our conversation Please meet Anandi.

We’ll be back at the Artichoke Music Café next time but this episode had to be recorded today, before a fund raiser to help complete a documentary on the life and death of one of Oregon’s favorite musicians, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist member of Pink Martini and Lions of Batucada among others; Derek Reith who committed suicide in August of 2014. Today Director Joanie Fox will talk to us about Derek, the film and the fund raiser which is being held at Pink Martini World Headquarters in downtown Portland on Thursday, April 4, 5-30 to 7pm. Let’s welcome for the first time, Joanie Fox.