Piedmont Piano Company invites you to join us for an afternoon performance with acclaimed jazz pianist
Randy Porter
with John Witala, bass and Tim Bulkley, drums
Sunday, July 25 at 4PM
at Piedmont Piano Company's new store located at
18th & San Pablo, Oakland (1728 San Pablo Ave.)$15 donation requested - please call 510-547-8188 to reserve tickets with your credit card
Pianist Randy Porter has a refined understanding of improvisation and the spontaneous communication between musicians. He draws from a rich palette of sonorities found within his imagination and the depths of the piano. Lynn Darroch of The Oregonian states, "Porter has built a reputation as a musician's musician, a knowledgeable, inventive, and sophisticated player with a remarkable sense of time and gorgeous keyboard facility. . ."
He has performed with many jazz greats, including Freddy Hubbard, Art Farmer, and Benny Golson. He has also performed with the Charles McPherson Quartet throughout the US and in France, Italy, Greece, and China. The Charles McPherson Quartet has re-created the music from the classic recording Charlie Parker with Strings, performing with many orchestras nationwide. Currently, Randy tours with Diane Schuur and Bobby Caldwell, conducting the Jazz Orchestra for their “Sing in Swing” tour.Musical highlights include performing at Kimball's with Art Farmer and Clifford Jordan, the Blue Note in NYC with Diane Schuur, Seattle's Jazz Alley with New York Voices, Yoshi's in San Francisco with Karrin Allyson and Rebecca Kilgore, The House of Blues in Chicago and BB King’s Blues Club in NYC with Gino Vannelli, the Monterey Jazz Festival with Madeline Eastman, the Chicago and Detroit Jazz Festivals with Charles McPherson.
Randy's compositions and arrangements can be heard on his own recordings: Thirsty Soul, with John Wiitala on bass and Reinhardt Melz and Todd Strait on drums, Brio, also featuring John Wiitala and Reinhardt Melz, Modern Reflections with Nancy King on vocals, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Mel Brown on drums, and Eight Little Feet with Bob Magnusson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. Samples of Porter's writing and playing can be found on Apple's iLife jingles. Porter also composed the music for the 2009 documentary, Deep Green.
Randy has been a performer and educator at the Port Townsend Jazz Festival for many years where he has played with Bud Shank, Maria Schneider, Ingrid Jensen, and Terrell Stafford and where he has coached many young jazz musicians. He has also worked several years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West with singer Madeline Eastman. Porter teaches master classes and adjudicates student combos and bands at highschool and college jazz festivals. Currently, Porter teaches jazz piano at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
". . . Porter's superb technical facility allows him to weave tricky meters and clever cross-rhythms into a spirited, organic whole that emerges simply as beautiful music. " - Lynn Darroch, The Oregonian 7/08
"(Randy Porter is). . . possessed of a fabulous technical command of his instrument, which in his case manifests itself not so much in rapid and glitzy runs as in subtler pianistic virtues: gorgeous touch, remarkable independence of left and right hands, and seemingly effortless execution of his harmonically rich musical outpourings." – Glen Good
"The phrase that hooked me comes at the hands of pianist Randy Porter... As a soloist, Porter is soulful and intelligent." – Jason West
Randy Porter has appeared with the following artists:
Charles McPherson
Art Farmer
Freddy Hubbard
Benny Golson
Clifford Jordan
Eddie Vinson
Terri Lynn Carrington
Wynton Marsalis
Diane Schuur
and many more...
For more information: http://www.randyporter.com/