Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble presents nine commissioned pieces of jazz inspired by singular Black leaders and communities performed by our signature 12-member ensemble!

The original works draw on the poetry of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, the legacies of tennis greats Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson, the revolutionary term of the president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, and Reverend James Lawson’s conception of nonviolent resistance. The performance will also include an arrangement of Ezra Weiss and Dr. S. Renee Mitchell’s “Vanport’s Siren Song” for the full ensemble. The concert is free to attend. RSVPs are recommended!

In addition to Weiss, the concert features works by Oregon Governors Arts Awardee Darrell Grant, Oregon Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year Todd Marston and Emmy Award-winner Steven Golliday, “Irresistable” (San Fransicso Chronicle) electronics-meets-contemporary classical composer Kirsten Volness, Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Jasnam Daya Singh, and Eugene-based composer/guitarist/educator Nathan Poehlke, and rising star composer/trombonist James Powers.