Mark Dubac | Oregon ArtsWatch

Nasalrod vocalist Jeffrey "Chairman" Couch with drummer Tim "Spit Stix" Leitsch. Photo by Michael Jung.

MusicWatch Monthly: Nasalrod at Mississippi, Gershwin with Ray Ushikubo, and a month’s worth of Black music from Michelle Cann to mousai REMIX to the Albina Music Trust

Matthew Neil Andrews February 1, 2024

The pronk quartet returns to live music, Oregon Symphony celebrates the “Rhapsody” centennial, Grammy-winner Cann performans a recital of Black women composers for PPI, Eugene Concert Choir releases their “Black is Beautiful” CD, and the Albina Community Archive goes live.

The North Pole Cello Sextet with drummer Sergio Carreno at Mississippi Studios for 45th Parallel Universe's 2023 Holiday Pub Crawl. Photo by James Shields.

Spontaneity and improvisation: 45 Parallel’s Holiday Pub Crawl featured a pair of singer-songwriters, a jazz trio, klezmer violin and clarinets, a cello sextet, and a warning from the fire marshall

Charles Rose January 9, 2024

45||’s four-venue evening sprawled across Mississippi Avenue in North Portland, featuring: singer-songwriters Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk; clarinetists James Shields, Mark Dubac, and new executive director Lisa Lipton, plus violinist and outgoing ED Ron Blessinger; the all-star jazz trio of John Nastos, Clay Giberson, and Christopher Brown; the North Pole Cello Sextet; and some fancy footwork.