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Music

New Players at the Heart of Portland Jazz

Portland Jazz Festival slipped by like a stealth bomber, like an underground speakeasy, like a super-hip fad, like so many things we can’t all see. The annual flower of PDX Jazz draws audiences into theaters and clubs by the hundreds with dozens of shows. After twelve years, it has earned the expectation of carrying legendary […]

Categories
Music

Dancing Fingertips of Joëlle Léandre

Joëlle Léandre rips it. She leans in to the double bass with eyes sealed shut to block out all but tactile and audible information. It is self-imposed sensory deprivation because improvising is difficult—making music in that manner requires a certain kind of focus. Perhaps it compares to singing with virtuosity and dancing with choreography at once: […]