Concert Review: John Scofield at Revolution Hall

The opportunity to hear John Scofield perform at a venue named Revolution Hall on election night acted as an irresistible siren song. The compulsory purchase of a $60 general admission ticket allowed me to join more than 1,000 people at the Portland venue on Tuesday, November 3, for the guitarist’s appearance on his Electrospective tour.

Early election results made the crowd giddy, the sound was excellent and the absence of chatter was refreshing. So why was I disgruntled? Even though I knew what I was getting into, the unrelenting barrage of jamband-friendly jazz fusion quickly wore me out.

Joined by organist Larry Goldings, bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Adam Deitch, the 74-year-old Scofield played solo after blistering solo on selections pulled from his vast discography. While I expected the focus on lively groove-oriented material, I’d hoped Scofield would appease fans like me with a few songs featuring other aspects of his talent.

Nope. Almost all of the quartet’s 135-minute outing was intended to keep the capacity audience shimmying. It was way too much of an undeniably good thing. Only a touch of swing on “Trim” from the 1986 album Blue Matter and a sensitive reading of “Cryin’ Time” from Scofield’s 2005 tribute to Ray Charles deviated from the unrelenting flow of frenetic jams.

I’m fond of classic Scofield compositions like “Chank” and “Jungle Fiction” but the lack of variety from a brilliant artist whose most recent album is gorgeously contemplative was disappointing. Still, it seems churlish to complain about more than two hours of hyper-aggressive Scofield. He still has my vote.

Gig Review: NO(w) Beauty at the Jack London Revue

Hermon Mehari was Plastic Sax's Person of the Year in 2009. The young trumpeter’s work ethic, optimistic demeanor and expansive taste made him one of the brightest artistic lights in Kansas City 17 years ago. When I wrote a cover story profiling Mehari for Ink magazine two years later, it had become even clearer that he was going places.

Performing for 15 people in the basement of a pool hall in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, October 27, might not seem like an impressive achievement, but the mere fact that Mehari’s Paris-based quartet NO(w) Beauty is touring North America is a remarkable feat. I paid $25 to hear the ensemble’s eighty-minute outing.

Consisting of co-leaders Mehari, pianist Enzo Carniel, bassist Damien Varaillon and drummer Stéphane Adsuar, NO(w) Beauty focused on selections from its self-titled 2023 album and this year’s (Un)Seen. Always pretty but never cloying, the quartet’s approach is equal parts contemporary Euro-jazz and conventional American post-bop.

A performance by the Joshua Redman Quartet aside, NO(w) Beauty is the most cohesive jazz group I’ve encountered in 2026. Carniel’s magnificent playing often evokes the compositions of Frédéric Chopin. The muscularity of Varaillon and Adsuar check the florid inclinations of their bandmates.

Mehari’s fragile tone has evolved into a refined, emotionally evocative trademark. The strength of NO(w) Beauty’s Portland appearance and the excellence of (Un)Seen make the resolute Mehari a leading candidate for a second nod as the Plastic Sax Person of the Year.

Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes

*From a press release: On Saturday morning, October 10, saxophonist Adam Larson spends two hours in the Blue Room teaching improvisation, composition, and the music business… He’ll demonstrate improvisation, have participants play for him and with him, and leave room for questions, so bring your instrument. Participants also receive a PDF covering the material he goes over… The workshop is open to musicians on any instrument and in any style, from middle school students to working players. Band directors and teachers are encouraged to bring their students… $20 students and educators, $35 general admission.

Gig Review: Alden Hellmuth at The 1905

Smitten with the innovative attack of Tether, the latest album by Alden Hellmuth, I purchased a $39 seat at the bar of the fifty-person capacity Portland jazz venue The 1905 to hear the New York based saxophonist’s band on Thursday, September 10. I was disappointed to subsequently learn that Hellmuth wouldn’t be accompanied by the musicians featured on Tether.

Only one selection from Tether was performed in a 65-minute set, and even it was rendered in a comparatively conventional form by Hellmuth and a Portland based ensemble of trumpeter Noah Simpson, pianist Kerry Politzer, bassist Garrett Baxter and drummer Ken Mastrogiovanni.

Aside from the single Tether track, the setlist included several unrecorded new compositions, a Coltrane cover and an appearance by vocalist Lo Steele on “Save Your Love for Me.” I may not have heard what I paid for, but I received an insightful clinic on the formidable talents of five Portland artists.

Seven Hours at the Montavilla Jazz Festival

I recently accepted a dream job in Portland, an engagement necessitating an expansion of the geographical focus of Plastic Sax. My first serious investigation of the town’s jazz scene consisted of spending $43 for a one-day pass at the three-day Montavilla Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 5.

During the seven hours I spent in the Montavilla neighborhood I heard a pleasing array of sounds. I was compelled to leave before the more popular acts performed at the biggest and most prestigious stages, but I was amid about 200 revelers and dozens of festival staff and volunteers during my abbreviated time at the event.

Portland seems capable of holding its own with Kansas City as a jazz town. Its large-scale jazz festivals and constant influx of appearances by touring jazz acts certainly put Kansas City to shame. Excluding the student bands I caught in cafés and breweries, a summary of what I heard follows in order of my personal preference.

The Collective: Curated by Dae Bryant
An emcee introduced a set by Dae Bryant’s The Collective by suggesting the ensemble would pay tribute to Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. Instead, I detected the influence of new-school improvisers like Flying Lotus, Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey. The electro-acoustic attack, spoken word proclamations and Darrell Grant’s extended gospel riffs were precisely my thing.

Four for King: The Life, Spirit, and Music of Nancy King
Longtime readers of Plastic Sax know I’m allergic to vocalese and scat. I chose to catch Sherry Alves’ homage to the late Portland vocalist Nancy King on a hunch that it just might be something special. The bet paid off. Bolstered by former King accompanists Randy Porter and Todd Strait, Alves’ passionate advocacy of a neglected artist won me over.

Wen’ipt
It’s my understanding that Oregon, much like Oklahoma, has a large Indigenous population. Orion White, the bandleader and baritone saxophonist of Wen'ipt, gave voice to his people’s struggles and hopes in a ferocious outing. Although the band played a couple Jim Pepper covers, Wen’ipt’s unique sound is entirely fresh.

W4RP Trio
W4rp Trio, the only band I heard that isn’t based in the Pacific Northwest, played a hybrid style reminiscent of Yo-Yo Ma’s collaborations with progressive bluegrass musicians such as Béla Fleck and Chris Thile. A selection fusing compositions by  Johann Sebastian Bach and Craig Taborn exemplified W4rp Trio’s approach.

Shelly Rudolph’s Orfea Rising: A Jazz Myth Suite
Greek mythology! Aerialists! The premiere of Shelly Rudolph’s ambitious new song cycle Orfea Rising was an impressive spectacle.

Concert Review: OHMA at The 1905

My return to Portland’s resurrected jazz supper club The 1905 wasn’t quite perfect on Sunday, November 2. One couple amid the capacity audience of 50 occasionally raised their voices above the cosmic future-jazz of OHMA. Aside from that blemish, the experience was copacetic.

OHMA, the duo of multi-instrumentalists Mia Garcia and Hailey Niswanger, appeared at the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle the previous night. Supplemented by drummer Cory Limuaco, OHMA leaned more into jazz than it did at its 2022 concert at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City.

Both The 1905 and OHMA seem to be flourishing. The club’s atmosphere was even more welcoming than on my previous visit. And Garcia and Niswanger are at the crest of a musical wave that includes fashionable acts like Carlos Niño and SML. Given the $30 cover charge, near-perfection was good enough.