Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble: From Maxville to Vanport
PJCE Records

On thematic grounds, From Maxville to Vanport pays tribute to the resilience and indomitable spirit of early African Americans who inhabited two historic Oregon communities, the logging town Maxville (built in 1923, shut down in 1933) and Vanport (built in 1942 for shipyard workers, destroyed by the Columbia River flooding in 1948). In addressing the difficult experiences these people faced, the album confronts head-on issues such as prejudice and migration. The content isn't, however, weighed down by despair; instead, it's buoyed by the community members' hope that a better life might one day come.

Created by composer Ezra Weiss and lyricist S. Renee Mitchell, the song cycle is performed by the twelve-piece Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble with vocalist Marilyn Keller and includes two Weiss-scored shorts by filmmaker Kalimah Abioto as digital downloads. Artistic director for the project was PJCE's Executive Director, Douglas Detrick, who also contributes trumpet and flugelhorn as an ensemble member (and whose The Bright and Rushing World, the 2014 release by his AnyWhen Ensemble, remains a longtime textura favourite). One thing that makes From Maxville to Vanport resonate all the more powerfully is that discussions with people with historical connections to the communities (specifically descendants of Maxville loggers and Vanport flood survivors) occurred during the project's year-long development, a move that reflects the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble's desire to connect with Oregon's people and enhance the relevance of its creative undertakings.

The principals bring ample experience to the project: a pianist and composer, Weiss has recorded seven albums as a bandleader and currently teaches at Portland State University; Mitchell is an award-winning writer and educator with more than twenty-five years of journalism experience under her belt. On this recording the Portland Jazz Composers' Ensemble is represented by: Lee Elderton, John Savage, Rob Davis, and Mieke Bruggeman on woodwinds; horn players Detrick, Farnell Newton, John Moak, and Denzel Mendoza; and guitarist Ryan Meagher, pianist Jasnam Daya Singh, bassist Bill Athens, and drummer Ken Ollis.

Musically, the album material is heavily jazz-influenced, yet R&B and blues also figure into the presentation. The ensemble executes Weiss's charts with conviction, while Keller brings a confident and soulful presence to her role; what recommends her singing most, however, is that she's never overbearing and doesn't over-emote; nowhere, thankfully, are there self-indulgent embellishments, Keller content to give voice to Mitchell's words and keep the focus on the lyrical content. Adding to the recording's appeal, the in-studio performances feel natural and live, with all musicians playing in real-time as opposed to separately recording parts that were then stitched together during the production process.

After a ceremonial introduction, the blues-influenced “Oregon Sounds Like Freedom” settles into a relaxed, somewhat modal-styled groove that grows sultry with the inclusion of Keller's vocal and a muscular tenor solo by Rob Davis. Even in this opening track, the care with which Weiss has blended vocal song and jazz writing is apparent, as is the group's engagement with the material. Here and elsewhere (Detrick's flugelhorn turn in “What Do Your Trees Tell You” and John Moak's trombone solo in “Woman's Work,” for example), instrument solos are woven thoughtfully into a given piece's fabric, such that an effective balance is achieved between individual spotlights and ensemble playing.

Alternating between robust and restrained passages, “What Do Your Trees Tell You” is elevated by Keller's affecting rendering of the title melody, while an arrangement attentive to the colours clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute can bring to a setting bolsters the material's orchestral effect. Similar to the opening song, the second perpetuates the spirit of hopefulness (Oregon at one point referred to as an “oasis”), in its case even more dramatically perhaps when the trees reference calls to mind Billie Holiday's “Strange Fruit” with its harrowing images of lynchings. The recording's funkier, R&B-flavoured side comes to the fore during “Woman's Work,” which sees Keller recounting details about the sleep-deprived lives of the hardworking women in the communities, whereas “Stacked Deck Hand” sees the singer and company digging hard into a down-home blues.

November 2018