PJCE featuring Mary Flower

Blues virtuoso Mary Flower meets PJCE’s 12-piece ensemble for a night of musical fusion where fingerstyle roots blossom into jazz band brilliance. Arrangements of Flower's beloved tunes have been crafted by Portland composers Adriana Wagner, Bryan Smith, Kathleen Hollingsworth, John Savage, Ryan Meagher, and Andrew Oliver.

This project kicks off the 12th Annual Montavilla Jazz Festival. It began as a celebration of Portland’s rich musical heritage, bringing Mary Flower’s masterful roots compositions into conversation with Portland’s innovative jazz arrangers. Mary’s work seamlessly blends traditional blues forms with the harmonic sophistication that jazz audiences appreciate, and the music thrives with orchestration and accompaniment by PJCE. The arrangers preserve the essence of Flower’s writing and expand the sonic palette to showcase the 12-piece ensemble. Audiences will experience the intimate storytelling of the blues tradition and reveal a new dimension through jazz orchestration.

Award-winning Portland guitarist Mary Flower blends Piedmont, Delta blues, ragtime, and jazz with masterful fingerstyle technique. A two-time International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship finalist and renowned educator, Mary joins Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble (PJCE), a nonprofit dedicated to creating and performing original jazz by local musicians since 2008. Together, they build bridges across Portland’s diverse communities through collaborative programming celebrating roots music and place-based creativity.

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