Cathedral Park Jazz Festival - St. Johns Boosters

43rd Annual Cathedral Park Free Jazz Festival

The longest-running free jazz festival west of the Mississippi!

Preliminary performance lineup –

FRIDAY, July 14, 2023

4:30p Mary Flower

6:00 Terry Robb Trio

7:30 The Gold Experience

9:00-10:00 Curtis Salgado Band

SATURDAY, July 15, 2023

1:00p The 1905 Orchestra

2:30 Dmitri Matheny Group “West Coast Cool”

4:00 Shoehorn’s Hatband

5:30 Chuchito Valdes Trio

7:00 3 Leg Torso

8:30-9:45 Ural Thomas and The Pain

SUNDAY, July 16, 2023

1:00 Portland Vanguard Big Band

2:30 Jesse Marquez

4:00 Brian Charette Organ Trio

5:30 Yak Attack

7:00-8:15 Jr Soul Masters of Funk Pleasure Tribute

Friday, July 14 is dedicated to the Blues, starting at 4:30 pm. Among the featured artists:

Singer, songwriter, guitarist Mary Flower, considered a world-class finger-style guitarist and lap slide player, who combines blues, folk, ragtime, swing and hot jazz;
Terry Robb Trio, with drummer Gary Hobbs, bassist Dave Captein, and virtuoso blues guitarist Terry Robb, who is also a composer, singer, and producer. Robb has released 15 albums and has toured with Buddy Guy, Steve Miller, Robin Trower, and John Fahey, and won the Muddy; Captein has performed with Larry Coryell, Mose Allison, Wynton Marsalis and Tom Grant, among others; Hobbs has played with the Stan Kenton Orchestera, Bud Shank, Anita O’Day, the Woody Herman Orchestra, to name a few.

Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16 will feature a mix of jazz, soul and Latin performers starting at 1pm on both days. Artists include:

Chuchito Valdés – Cuban-born pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader Valdes has performed for large audiences in South America, Europe, and the U.S. He is a master of Cuban music (mambo, danzon, timba/salsa, and guaguanco) with a passion for American jazz and classical music.
3 Leg Torso – Originally a trio, now a quintet with an original, eclectic sound that resists definition, 3 Leg Torso has released six CDs and composed music for films, TV and symphony orchestras. Calling themselves “modern chamber pop music”, the quintet says its music is influenced by tango, Eastern European folk music, other world music, chamber music, and rock and roll. Quintet members: Béla Balogh (violin, trumpet, piano, octave mandolin), Courtney Von Drehle (accordion, tenor sax, slide guitar), T.J. Arkko (percussion), and Bill Athens (double bass).
Ural Thomas and the Pain – Thomas topped the soul charts in the 1960s and was brought back to the live music scene by a group of young Portland musicians. A showcase for vintage soul and funk, this group always gets the audience dancing.