“Now at 8 on Saturday night, the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble will be playing at the Community Music Center. They’re a 14-piece group that was formed in June a year ago, by 2 Portland State graduates, tenor saxophonist Gus Slayton and pianist Andrew Oliver. The group was created to support original compositions and arrangements. Here they are with a tune written by Oliver after touring Africa. It’s called ‘Another Day, Another 30 Dollars.’
“The group only performs four times a year. This is their last show this year. The Oregonian’s Luciana Lopez says it’s a chance to check in on Portland’s jazz scene: ‘Portland does have a rich jazz scene, it doesn’t always get a lot of attention, and it doesn’t always get the community-wide recognition that it does deserve. And so this is a chance for Portland jazz composers to get together and to foster that sense of community that will help them get that recognition in the future.’ You can check them out at 8 on Saturday at the Community Music Center on SE Francis St. and 39th Ave. Tickets cost $10, or $7 if you have a student ID.”