- Dick Metcalf Contemporary Fusion Reviews Live Show Reviews
- Paula Santoro exciting live concert Paula Santoro/Jasnam Daya Singh house concert at Dr. Wheelz’ pad
- True jazz stars I-5 Allstars at ArtHouse Designs in Olympia, Washington
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 6 – Rich Halley 5 with Vinny Golia
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 5 â David Friesen Quartet
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 4 – Joe Manis Double Drums Quartet
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 3 – PJCE with Jasnam Daya Singh
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 2 â Trio Subtonic with Dan Balmer
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 1 – Ron Steen Quartet
- Charlie Saibel Tipsy piano bar Charlie Saibel’s first gig at Tipsy Piano Bar
- Montavilla jazz festival forefront creative expression Montavilla Jazz Festival 2017
- * jazzcamp portland ryanmeahger * Ryan Meahger’s Jazz Camp 2017
- Smoocho Gusto at Cascadia Grill, 2017/06/21
- A Tribute to John Keeslar LIVE SHOW review by Dick Metcalf
- Breaks and Swells Olympia fall arts walk Breaks and Swells LIVE SHOW review, Rhythm & Rye, Olympia, WA
- Steve Bentley Ensemble Great Northwest jazz supreme Steve Bentley Ensemble at Rhythm & Rye LIVE show Review
- Rob Scheps supercharged dynamic quintet Rob Scheps – Gil Evans Legacy Quintet – Olympia, WA
- Enchantingly memorable musical magic with FLOW (the Group) – Live Show Review, Royal Room, 2018/05/15
- Exciting jazz house concert LaVon Hardison – Live Show review
- Superbly entertaining guitar mastery Eric Tingstad – Live Show review, Harbor Sounds concert series
Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 1 – RON STEEN QUARTET: I don’t think the organizers could have picked a better act to open the 2017 festival… Ron’s fantastic (& timely) drums were the anchor for a whole series of tunes composed by the quartet’s pianist, Phil Goldberg… the short video I captured clearly displayed the energy all the players have for great jazz, with Ryan Meagher doing some superb guitar and bassist Dennis Calaza running some very tasty lines through the piece, as you’ll hear below…
This was my first “live” listen to Ryan’s mellow jazz guitar work, so that was a genuine treat for me… additionally, the thing that was most striking about this quartet is that every note, every nuance was right “on time”… jazz just doesn’t get any better than that… I loved Phil’s piano work (of course, I suspect his energy levels were so stellar because the tunes featured his originals)… and Dennis’s bass work was simply fascinating. An absolutely GREAT jazz set from true professionals – again, a perfect way to start this fantastic festival off!
Ron has played with many of my musical heroes, too, like Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon and Charles Lloyd… he has a very active schedule in the Portland area, and I’ve no doubt I’ll be cruising on down Portland way many times over the next few months to witness his great work!Â