Kerry Politzer is a Portland-based jazz pianist, composer, and educator. She is on the music faculty of Portland State University,
and she has also taught at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University, the University of Portland, and the University of Manitoba.
Kerry received a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied improvisation and composition with the late jazz guru Charlie Banacos, and a Master of Music from Rowan University.
Prior to her upcoming album Ruminations (PJCE Records), Kerry released seven jazz CDs as a leader, including Blue in Blue,
which featured saxophonist Donny McCaslin and was termed a “first-rate jazz outing” by AllAboutJazz.com.
She has also been a featured sideman on albums of George Colligan, Laura Dreyer, and the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble (PJCE).
The pianist has headlined the Montavilla Jazz Festival and performed at other festivals and venues including the 25th Annual Gene Harris Jazz Festival,
the Black Dolphin, Jazz Forum, the Oregon Coast Jazz Party, Jazz in the Valley, Smalls, the Sound Room, and many others.
Saxophonist/clarinetist Harvey Wainapel has performed with Kenny Barron, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Billy Hart, Joe Lovano, Ray Charles,
HR Radio Big Band Frankfurt, Aarhus Jazz Orchestra in Denmark, and the Metropole Orchestra in Holland.
He's also established himself as a singular presence on the Brazilian scene, spending at least a few months of every year there since 2000.
He made his recording debut with 1994's "At Home/On the Road" (JazzMission Records),
exploring compositions by the likes of Woody Shaw, Sam Rivers, and Wayne Shorter.
Wainapel followed up two years later with "Ambrosia: The Music of Kenny Barron" (A Records), featuring a suite of Barron's tunes arranged by Jeff Beal for the Metropole Orchestra,
and a set of Barron's Brazilian-inspired music for a sextet with Marcos Silva on keyboards.
Kenny Barron himself was on piano on Wainapel's 1998 straight-ahead quintet session "The Hang" (Spirit Nectar/JazzMission).
Wainapel's first full recording of Brazilian music was 2004's "New Choros of Brazil" (Acoustic Music Records/Proteus Entertainment),
with legendary Brazilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati.
His two most recent recordings, "Amigos Brasileiros" and "Amigos Brasileiros Vol. 2", are part of Wainapel's ongoing process documenting his passion for contemporary Brazilian music.
Recorded with a superlative cast of Brazilian instrumentalists he's befriended during his many travels around the country.
He also appears on San-Sao Trio's "NOVOS CAMINHOS" 2019, with Amilton Godoy and Lea Freire.
In California he performs with Claudia Villela, Jovino Santos Neto, Carlos Oliveira, Sandy Cressman's "Homenagem Brasileira," and the Berkeley Choro Ensemble.
He has appeared at Chez Hanny with Clarinet Thing, Lorca Hart, the
Harvey Wainapel/Phil Grenadier Group, Harvey Wainapel, and San - São Trio with Amilton Godoy and Lea Freire.
Bassist Aaron Germain
began his musical career in Massachusetts, but has lived in the San Francisco since the year 2000.
He has always struck a balance between being a consummate sideman and a composer/bandleader.
Playing both upright and electric basses, he is adept at diverse genres of music, which reflects in his eclectic compositions.
He has performed with musicians such as Yusef Lateef, Stanley Jordan, Randy Brecker, Paul McCandless, Nguyen Le, Andy Narell,
Michael Wolff, Eric Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Barry Finnerty, Mary Wilson, Paula West, Melba Moore, and Tom Coster among many others.
Touring has allowed him to play venues such the Blue Note (NY), Birdland (NY) Scullers (Boston), The House of Blues (Boston),
The Blues Alley (Washington DC), Zanzibar Blue (Philadelphia), Yoshis (SF), Yoshis (Oakland), The Jazz School (Berkeley),
Humphrey's by the Bay (San Diego), The Fillmore (SF), Dakotas (Minneapolis), The Iron Horse (Northampton), Herbst Theatre (SF),
Kuumbwa (Santa Cruz), The Baked Potato (LA), Le Club Jazz (Kyoto), Cafe Yorozuya (Kobe), Z Imagine (Tokyo), Donfan (Tokyo),
MEG (Tokyo), Bar T.T. Funk (Tokyo), The San Francisco Jazz Festival, The North Beach Jazz Festival, The Fillmore Jazz Festival,
The San Jose Jazz Festival, and the Drumming in the New Millenium Festival in front of the Great Pyramids of Egypt (December of 1999),
Jazz Club Ferrara (Italy), Chorus (Switzerland), Franz K. (Germany), The Bromo Jazz Festival (Indonesia), Ambleside Days (UK),
Band on the Wall (UK), among many others.
Aaron has 3 albums of original music, “Before You Go”, “Chance” (on Origin records) and “Bell Projections”.
He appeared previously at Chez Hanny with Dave Haskell, Babatunde Lea, Anne Sajdera,
and the Aaron Germain / Dan Zemelman Quartet.
Drummer Deszon X. Claiborne is one of the busiest
musicians in the Bay Area. His very diverse credits include Don Cherry,
Ornette Coleman, Bo Diddley, Phyllis Hyman, Jay McShann, Michael White,
Andy Narell, Alex Acuna, Ray Obiedo, Alphabet Soup, Charles Brown, Dave
Ellis, Rodney Franklin, and Peter Apfelbaum.
He studied with Ralph Humphrey, James Levi, Billy Cobham, Richard
Peterson, Barry Jekowsky, and Kenneth Nash, and has taught at the
Stanford Jazzz Workshop and Berkeley's Jazzschool.
He appeared previously at Chez Hanny with Larry Schneider, Glen
Pearson, Charles McNeal, Johnnie Valentino/Kenneth
Burgomaster/Elissa Lala, Anne Sajdera, and Frank Martin.