Portland Lindy Exchange 2024
Bands
Bridgetown Sextet
The Bridgetown Sextet has been providing Portland and the Pacific Northwest with authentic and energetic 1920s and 30s jazz, stomp, blues, and swing for over 15 years, with a trademark sound evoking Creole New Orleans, the stomp of prohibition era Chicago, raucous and wild 1920s Memphis and Kansas City, fast-paced Harlem stride piano, and the tight swing of depression era Manhattan.
Performing music by icons of early jazz such as Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Clarence Williams, and Bix Beiderbecke, as well as lesser known musical stylists, territory bands, and innovators such as Bennie Moten, Alex Hill, and Jabbo Smith, the Bridgetown Sextet has cemented its reputation as a favorite among both listening audiences and dancers in the Pacific Northwest.
The band was founded in 2008 by Andrew Oliver and Scott Kennedy and has seen various personnel changes over the years as band members have come and gone from the Portland area. Now a seven-piece band with the recent additions of Sam Dechenne on trumpet and Tyson Stubelek on drums, as well as Andrew’s return from London in 2020, the Sextet continues to refine its visceral, joyful, and authentic approach to traditional jazz, stomp, and swing.
The band has performed at the Portland Jazz Festival, Portland Lindy Exchange, Camp Jitterbug in Seattle, the Seaside Jazz Festival, traditional jazz socities around the Northwest, and all the major Portland area clubs past and present including the Jack London Revue, the 1905, Jimmy Mak’s, the Blue Monk, Secret Society and Duff’s Garage.
Andrew Oliver – piano, bandleader
Sam Dechenne – trumpet, cornet
David Evans – clarinet, tenor sax
John Moak – trombone
Doug Sammons – guitar, banjo, vocals
Eric Gruber – bass
Tyson Stubelek – drums
Jacob Zimmerman
Seattle-based saxophonist / clarinetist / arranger specializing in jazz from the 78-rpm era (1920s-50s). Jacob has performed recently with Rachael & Vilray, The Jonathan Stout Orchestra, and Ray Skjelbred.
Jacob Zimmerman was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He was a member of the award-winning Garfield High School Jazz Band studying under Clarence Acox. He moved first to Boston to study jazz saxophone at The New England Conservatory and then the Bay Area to study composition at Mills College. After moving back to Seattle in 2012, he began to establish himself as an in-demand freelance saxophonist and clarinetist. He developed a reputation for specializing in earlier jazz from the “78-rpm era” (1920s-50s). Jacob has performed for many swing dance and traditional jazz events both nationally and internationally. In 2019 he joined up with Rachael & Vilray whose first two albums (“Rachael & Vilray” and “I Love A Love Song!”) prominently feature Jacob’s playing and arranging.
As a bandleader Jacob plays concerts and holds down several weekly gigs in Seattle. His most recent recordings captured the sound of his regular working band. Known for a deep knowledge of the American Songbook and jazz repertoire, Jacob is a valued member of local bands led by Ray Skjelbred, Jonathan Doyle and many others.
The Jacob Zimmerman Quartet’s new singles “Hooray for Hollywood” and “Strange Meadow Lark'“ are now available for pre-order at: jacobrexzimmerman.bandcamp.com
photo by Haley Freedlund
Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band
Founded in 2020, the Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band is a Portland, OR based swing band led by drummer and swing dancer Eddie Montejo. Formed by dancers and for dancers, the Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band plays solid, four-to-the bar swing with a commitment to making danceable music for lindy hop and swing.
The band is inspired by the vintage sounds of Lionel Hampton, Louis Jordan, and Jimmie Lunceford with an emphasis on the brief but sweet 1940's "transition-era" sound that blended big band swing, jump blues, and vintage rock n' roll.
The band pays loving tribute to the masterful Black and African American bandleaders and musicians of the time with adapted arrangements of well-known classics and lesser-known cuts like "Johnny Come Lately" (Ellington/Strayhorn), "You Talk a Little Trash" (Cootie Williams), and "Till Tom Special" (Lionel Hampton).
Eddie Montejo - Drums + Percussion
Alejandro Novie - Keys
Evan Landman - Electric Guitar
Breckenridge Cartwright - Double Bass
Jessica Hughes - Vocals
Brad Davis - Trumpet
Dr. Ray - Saxophone
Bryant Byers - Trombone
The Stealin’ Apples
Since the age of 16, Shane Allen has been a gigging musician and dedicated student of the jazz tradition, blessed with the opportunity to learn from modern giants as well as classic masters.
After graduating from the acclaimed jazz program at Houston, TX’s High School for Performing and Visual Arts, Shane was a four-year staple member of St. Olaf College’s top jazz band, which won Downbeat Magazine’s Best Large Ensemble award in 2011.
Since graduating, he has worked as a modern/ballet dance accompanist, played for lindy hop house parties in Minneapolis, and haunted the many late night jams at Herräng Dance Camp.
The Stealin’ Apples are Shane’s love letter to classic, rowdy, four-on-the-floor swing dance music. Collaborative and community-focused, these groups swing the standards with depth and vibrancy, bringing together voices from all corners of the Eugene jazz community (and beyond!) They are polyphonic and multigenerational, delivering riffs and rhythms tuned expressly for dancing.
Shane Allen - Piano
Devin Perez - Trumpet
Idit Shner - Alto Sax
Glenn Griffith - Trombone
Alexandre Pabst - Bass
Alex Van Rysselberghe - Drums
The Hot Lovin’ Jazz Babies
THE HOT LOVIN’ JAZZ BABIES is a high-powered swing ensemble based in Portland, Oregon featuring Doug Sammons and Dee Settlemier, front persons for the long-time Portland swing band the Midnight Serenaders. The group was put together at the beginning of 2015 specifically for the Secret Society’s (Portland's former premier dance club) Thursday Swing night series, and has since become a favorite of Portland’s swing dance community. The Hot Lovin' Jazz Babies strive to resurrect the spirit of late 1930’s small band ensembles such as Fats Waller & his Rhythm, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra and Billy Holiday and her Orchestra. The group has a monthly residency at the Alberta Street Public House in Portland, OR, and perform at other Portland area dance clubs. They have also been featured at past Portland Lindy Exchanges.
Dee Settlemeier - Drums/Vocals
Doug Sammons - Guitar/Vocals
Pete Lampe - Bass
John Moak - Trombone
David Evans - Sax/Clarinet
Garner Pruitt - Trumpet
Andrew Oliver - Piano
Smut City Jellyroll Society
The Smut City Jellyroll Society is a wild and crazy bunch of fun loving musicians playing blues and early jazz from the 1920’s and 1930’s. With a unique sound somewhere between ragtime blues, early jazz and jugband music, the Jellyroll Society keeps it loose and lively with a driving syncopated swing that gets the dancers out on the floor. The music is from a variety of sources: Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, The Harlem Hamfats, Memphis Jug Band, Blind Boy Fuller and others. The Society also has a couple of original tunes in the repertoire with more on the way. The lyrics are fun and a bit on the risqué side. Smut City Jellyroll Society plays shows at some of the finest venues in town and is available for private events and swing dances.
Doug Shafer – guitar, vocals, Bambazoo kazoo
Chelsea Barnes – vocals, Bambazoo
Charles Pike – drums, vocals, washboard
Shoehorn Conley – tap dancing, harmonica, sax, vocals
Bernardo Gomez – bass
The Lone Fir Hot Club with Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews
A project begun by violinist/vocalist Tyson Bittrich and guitarist Jesse Richter, Lone Fir Hot Club has been playing in the Portland area since 2019. The band’s sound and instrumentation lean heavily on the original Hot Club of France featuring Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. We take further inspiration from the current Jazz Manouche scenes on both sides of the Atlantic. LFHC also dabbles in the music of 1940’s American swing-to-bop transitional era, especially the works of Strayhorn/Ellington and Thelonius Monk.
Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews is a multi-instrumentalist who has toured internationally in jazz, rock, and pop contexts, with groups such as Quinn Bachand's Brishen, General Mojo's, and ABBA: The Concert. Originally hailing from Whidbey Island, WA, Eric has relocated to Brooklyn to further his career in music. His quartet, the EVM All-Stars, has headlined Djangofest NW numerous times.
Jesse Richter - guitar
Hamody Hindi - guitar
Pat Harry - double bass
Tyson Bittrich - violin & vox
Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews - reeds & piano