BLUE CRANES + JAMES POWERS / LAUREL’S BARN

“A truly unconventional approach to improvised music.” WNYC

Portland jazz ensemble Blue Cranes has long established itself as a forward-thinking entity. The quintet, made up of Reed Wallsmith on alto saxophone, Joe Cunningham on tenor saxophone, Rebecca Sanborn on keyboards, Jon Shaw on bass, and Ji Tanzer on drums, is steeped in the history and sound of the artists that came before them, but too curious and creative to simply replicate the past. Blue Cranes wants to explore.

That idea has never felt more true than with the group’s fifth and most ambitious album to date: Voices. For the first time, the band chose to record a suite of songs in collaboration with vocalists. Calling on an array of friends and artists that they have long admired—all with connections to the band’s hometown of Portland, Oregon—Blue Cranes sought to bring new energy to their work.

“We wanted to push ourselves and our collaborators into unfamiliar territory,” says co-founder Reed Wallsmith. “It is very much a Blue Cranes album at heart, written and performed in the spirit of collaboration and discovery.”

Blue Cranes will be joined on stage by Laura Gibson, Laura Veirs, and more special guests in this special, one-time-only, all-ages, FREE performance to celebrate the release of Voices.

Voices is currently available HERE 

JAMES POWERS / LAUREL’S BARN

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.

Hear his debut album Damnation of Memory HERE

Laurel’s Barn is a band born of friendship, mutual respect, and fun. Liam Hathaway initially put the group together for a session in the barn of family friend Laurel Hood, daughter of multi-instrumentalist and composer Ernie Hood. The band exists in small part as a bit of a tribute to Ernie, and in large part as an excuse to play some fun music with friends. The band is composed of: Liam Hathaway on bass, Wes Georgiev on keyboard, Carlos Andres Moreno on drums, and James Powers on trombone.