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Festival Director
Dan Davey
Dan Davey is the Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon where he directs all jazz ensembles and teaches core music courses. Dan received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with a concentration in piano performance from the Berklee College of Music where he studied piano under Joanne Brackeen, Joe Mulholland, and Russ Hoffman and Hammond B3 organ under Dave Limina.
He received his Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University. He taught high school for eight years in Massachusetts before moving into higher education at Stonehill College for three years and now at MHCC. He was elected Jazz Chair for the Oregon Music Educators Association and writes for JazzScene magazine. He manages the WIBC U Honor Band of the Western International Band Clinic (Seattle, WA) and is on staff at the American Band College graduate program of Sam Houston State University. Dan works as a professional pianist, organist, and trumpet player and has performed at several notable venues around the country. He has played in several musical pit orchestras and also with the Southcoast Jazz Orchestra, the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, Herb Reed and the Platters, Doc Severinsen, Bobby Shew, and Allen Vizzutti. In addition, Dan has performed and collaborated with several leaders in the industry, including Tiger Okoshi, Dominick Farinacci, Earl MacDonald, Chris Vadala, Patrick Sheridan, Col. Arnold Gabriel, Anthony Maiello, Col. Lowell Graham, Peter Boonshaft, Paula Crider, Canadian Brass, and Boston Brass. |
Ryan Meagher - Festival Assistant & Clinician
Ryan Meagher (pronounced Marr), originally a native of San Jose, California, is a jazz guitarist and composer who launched his international reputation in New York City (NYC) in 2003 after completing his bachelor of music degree at San Diego State University. He spent his first few years in NYC discovering his compositional voice and honing his improvisational craft.
He is a co-founder and the Programming Director of the Montavilla Jazz Festival, the Director of Operations of the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble, Director of PJCE Records, Director of Portland State University’s “The Shed” Summer Jazz Workshop, Editor of the Jazzscene Magazine, Marketing and Advertising Consultant for the Oregon Coast Jazz Party, and was interim Director of Jazz Studies at Mt. Hood Community College before taking his vision to the Lower Columbia College Jazz Ensemble in Longview, Washington. He is also currently Instructor of Applied Jazz Guitar at San Diego State University. |
Site Coordinator
Kelly Gernhart is the Performing Arts Administrative Assistant at Mt Hood Community College.
Adjudicators & Clinicians
Derek Sims
Derek Sims is an in-demand trumpeter in both the jazz and classical Portland music scene. Derek graduated with honors from The University of Michigan with a Bachelors of Music degree. While at Michigan, he studied with the great Armando Ghitalla (Boston Symphony), and Charles Daval (Montreal, Seattle Symphonies). After college, Derek went to play with Princess Cruise Lines, and toured over 40 countries around the world for 2 years.
Mr. Sims has had the privilege of performing with such artists as Benny Golson, Freda Payne, Gerald Wilson, Arturo Sandoval, Ingrid Jensen, Bobby Shew, Randy Brecker, Bobby Watson, Pancho Sanchez, Wynton Marsalis, James Moody, Ron Miles, Martha Reeves, and Franki Valli. He has also performed with many different groups in the Portland area including: Mel Brown Septet, Carlton Jackson/Dave Mills Big Band, The Oregon Symphony, Columbia Symphony, Big Horn Brass, Alan Jones Sextet, Bobby Torres Ensemble, Soul Vaccination, Linda Hornbuckle, Pepe and the Bottle Blondes, Pink Martini, and Dahlia. Mr. Sims is the Adjunct Professor of Jazz Trumpet and the Jazz Band Director at Portland State University. He also teaches at the Alan Jones Academy of Music. He is the Musical Director for the Mel Brown Septet, and is also a clinician and faculty member of the Mel Brown Summer Jazz Camps. Derek directs a jazz combo at Mt. Hood Community College and is on the private lesson faculty. |
Paul Krueger
Originally from Lincoln, NE, Paul Krueger is a music educator, trumpeter and composer/arranger currently residing in Eugene, OR, where he is an instructor of Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon. Previously, Krueger served as the Director of Bands and Jazz Studies at Lane Community College from 2013-2016. In 2015, the Lane Jazz Ensemble was recognized as the community college winner in the large jazz ensemble category of the Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards. He has also previously taught jazz/instrumental music at the University of Oregon and at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, SD.
A winner of a Downbeat Magazine Award and three ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards, Krueger’s works for large jazz ensemble have been performed around the world. His debut album, The Wayward Traveler, was released in 2011 and features eight of his original compositions performed by his quartet and his big band works are published by UNC Jazz Press and eJazzLines. Krueger holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Masters degree in Music Performance (Jazz Studies) from the University of Oregon. |
John Nastos
Multi-instrumentalist John Nastos was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where he found his love of music while exploring the vibrant local music scene.
Before graduating from high school, John enrolled at Portland State University, where he studied with Alan Jones, Darrell Grant, and other Portland jazz luminaries. During that same year, he started performing with the Mel Brown Septet, the Gordon Lee Big Band, and other professional Portland groups. In 2004, Nastos graduated from high school and moved to New York City on a scholarship to study jazz at the acclaimed Manhattan School of Music. At MSM, John studied saxophone and composition with Dick Oatts (Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra), Bob Mintzer (Yellowjackets), Steve Wilson (Chick Corea), and Mike Abene (WDR Big Band). In 2007, John completed the four-year degree program in just three years. Since returning to Portland, John has performed with the who’s who of the Portland scene, including the Mel Brown, the Bobby Torres Ensemble, the Oregon Symphony, the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Darrell Grant’s On the Territory, and the Damian Erskine Project. He has recorded with the Chuck Israels Orchestra, Intervision, Ben Darwish’s Commotion, the Jessie Marquez, and others. He has toured extensively with Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Schuur, playing performances with her in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has also toured with the Grammy-winning artist Esperanza Spalding. Nastos is currently on faculty at Portland State University and Mt. Hood Community College, and maintains a busy performing, recording, and teaching schedule around the Portland area. |
Gary Hobbs
Drummer Gary Hobbs is a native of the Pacific Northwest and lives in Vancouver, WA. He has played professionally for over 4 decades and appears on over 60 recordings. Gary played with The Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1975 through 1977. Through the years Gary has played with Randy Brecker, Bud Shank, George Cables, Ken Peplowski, Pete Christlieb, Greta Matassa, Anita O'Day, Dan Siegel, Glen Moore, The New York Voices, Eddie Harris and many more. Randy Brecker, Bill Mays, Kurt Elling, Dave Frishberg, David Freisen, Bobby Shew, Bobby Watson, Bob Florence, Carl Saunders, The Woody Herman Orchestra,Terry Gibbs, Jaquie Naylor, Jim Widner Big Band, Stan Kenton Alumni Big Band and Tom Grant are just a few of the artists that Gary has recently performed with.
Carnagie Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Tivoli Garden, Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap are among the venues Gary has played along with scores of festivals and clubs all over the world. Gary is very active in Jazz Education teaching at The University Of Oregon and traveling all over the US doing clinics, concerts and jazz camps with the help of Crescent Cymbal Company and Yamaha Drum Company. Gary is on the private lesson faculty at Mt. Hood Community College. |
Tim Gilson
Tim Gilson has been a mainstay in the Northwest for many years. In 1985 he joined the Mel Brown Quintet with which he recorded the award winning 'Gordon Bleu' CD. During this time Tim had the opportunity to play with many nationally acclaimed artists including Mose Allison, Ritchie Cole, Bud Shank, Herb Ellis, Julian Priester, John Handy, Ernestine Anderson and many others. In 1988 Tim won 2nd place in an international bass competition in Los Angeles and shortly thereafter substituted for John Clayton with 'Slide Hampton and the New Jazz Masters' in a concert in Sacramento. He toured Japan in 1993 with the Mel Brown Quintet with special guest artist Chuck Findley on trumpet; then in 1994 he moved to Madison Wisconsin where he served as Principal Bassist with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and substituted on a regular basis with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Since returning to Portland in 2002 Tim plays regularly with the Oregon Symphony backing guest artists such as Dee Daniels, Byron Stripling and Herbie Hancock. Tim has also accompanied several guest artists including Wycliff Gordon, Antonio Hart, Matt Wilson, Ingrid Jensen and Wynton Marsalis during their tours of the Pacific Northwest.
Tim is on the private lesson faculty at Mt. Hood Community College and has directed many ensembles at the college over the years.. |
Joseph Jefferson
Joseph L. Jefferson is a trombonist and educator, who maintains an active performance schedule as a soloist in Classical, Jazz, and commercial musical settings both nationally and internationally. As a specialist in the areas of trombone and low brass, Joseph has served as a guest artist, clinician, and adjudicator for both high school and collegiate music programs throughout the United States. Currently, Joseph performs regularly with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble as well as the Rose City Trombones. Additionally, he maintains an active freelance schedule throughout the Pacific Northwest. Previously, Joseph served as second trombonist for the Tidewater Winds; a professional wind ensemble that performs in the “Sousa Band” tradition. He has also performed with world-renowned artists and groups, such as: The Irish Tenors, U.S. Army Continental Band, American Guild of Organist Brass Ensemble, and John Phillip Sousa IV. As a jazz musician, he has performed with artists, such as: Louis Romanos Quartet, Jae Sinnett, Mike Berkowitz, Mark Michelson Big Band, Randy Brecker, Slide Hampton, Sinatra at the Sands Big Band Review. Commercially, he has performed with "Right On" – The World’s Greatest Show Band, and 10 Spot Variety Band, as well as international R&B artists Dwele, Jon Bibbs, and Raheem Devaughn. As a collaborative artist, he has worked with renowned Oregon poet, Lawson Inada, for an evening of jazz and poetry. Joseph has been featured as a soloist with the Fruitland Wind Ensemble as well as the Treasure Valley Wind Symphony, and premiered compositions by Andrew Durkin, James Hosay and Robert Senay.
In 2016, Joseph joined the faculty at the University of Portland as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles. Prior to coming to the University of Portland, Joseph served Trombone Faculty at Boise State University’s Jazz Combo Camp, Director of Instrumental Music at Treasure Valley Community College, Adjunct Instructor of Music at Tidewater Community College, and Brass Specialist at John Handley High School. Joseph has earned degrees from West Virginia University (D.M.A.), Shenandoah Conservatory (M.M.) and Norfolk State University (B.M.). Dr. Joseph L. Jefferson is an active member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., International Trombone Association, Texas Music Educators Association, and the College Music Society. |
Collin Wilson
Collin Wilson, DMA, is an active saxophone and woodwind specialist, playing in classical and jazz styles. He is also in demand as a teacher and clinician, currently serving in a new position as an Assistant Professor of Instrumental Music at Columbia Basin College where he directs the jazz ensembles in addition to teaching saxophone, jazz history and music theory. He has previously served on the faculties at Central Washington University, the University of Idaho and Clark Community College. Collin earned a Doctorate in Saxophone Performance from the University of Illinois, where he studied with prolific recording artists Chip McNeill and Debra Richtmeyer, as well as a Master of Music (Illinois) and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oregon. Upcoming projects include a recording session with the CBC Jazz Band, a small group recording of original material, and a weeklong jazz residency in Kobe, Japan.
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James Miley
Composer and Jazz Pianist James Miley, recipient of the prestigious IAJE/ASCAP Gil Evans Fellowship in Jazz Composition, has been a featured composer at the International Jazz Composers Symposium in Tampa, FL, and made his Carnegie Hall debut as a composer with After the Water, the Clouds (2006), premiered by the James Logan Wind Symphony under the direction of Ramiro Barrera. His work for large jazz ensembles has been commissioned by many of the top university and high school big bands in the nation, most recently for the California All-State Honor Jazz Band, the University of Texas at Arlington, the Las Vegas Academy and the Monterey Next Generation Festival. He has appeared as a guest composer and director at numerous national and international festivals and universities over the past decade, including the Universities of Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, and Oregon, CSU Northridge, California Institute of the Arts, and the Kathmandu, Sundance (Nepal), Reno, San Joaquin, and Monterey Jazz Festivals. His catalog of compositions and arrangements is available through Walrus Music, Sierra Music and UNC Jazz Press.
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Ben Medler
Ben Medler is a talented mulit-instrumentalist performing and teaching: trombone, acoustic and electric bass, trumpet and vocals. He is on faculty at Portland State University in the Jazz department & as a Trombone instructor at Lewis & Clark College. Ben is the current bandleader & musical director of The Shanghai Woolies. He also directs and composes for Trombone 8 and the Trombone Encounters Project and is an active freelance musician in all styles.
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Dan Balmer
Dan Balmer is one of only five people to be members of both The Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Jazz Society of Oregon Hall of Fame. Go By Plane is a collaboration of Portland-based musicians Balmer, keyboardist Clay Giberson and drummer Micah Kassell who play a self-described style of “space age jazz fusion” that incorporates elements of modern jazz and rock that flows but with a restrained intensity – a very tasty brew that will certainly engage your ears and mind.
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Clay Giberson
An innovative voice in the contemporary jazz scene of the Pacific Northwest, pianist and composer Clay Giberson is part of a new generation that is redefining jazz. Emotionally compelling, the music grooves as much as it dazzles with harmony, lyricism and rhythmic intricacy.
Giberson’s performances convey a deep appreciation of structure and form but pay equal tribute to the pulse and sonic landscape that frame his musical ideas. Clay’s musical personality owes something to his childhood spent on a farm in Woodland, Washington. His mother, a classical piano teacher, infused his early life with music and he grew up both in the fields and at the piano. He studied jazz piano at the University of Miami and later established himself in New York where he also earned a Master’s degree in music technology. He has performed throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the South Pacific, Caribbean and Japan. Clay currently resides in Portland, Oregon where he teaches, records, produces and performs. |
Participants with disabilities: to request accommodations please contact the Disability Services Office at (503) 669-6923 or (503) 667-7670 (TDD) at least two weeks prior to the event.