The Jazz Nucleus ft. Randy Porter, Tim Gilson & Todd Strait

Three greats of the Oregon jazz scene join forces for The Jazz Nucleus! Grammy nominated pianist Randy Porter, bassist Tim Gilson and drummer Todd Strait!

Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Randy Porter has a refined understanding of improvisation and the spontaneous communication between musicians. As a Steinway Artist, Randy Porter draws from a rich palette of sonorities found within his imagination and the depths of the piano. Lynn Darroch of The Oregonian states, “Porter has built a reputation as a musician’s musician, a knowledgeable, inventive, and sophisticated player with a remarkable sense of time and gorgeous keyboard facility…”

Tim Gilson began studying music seriously at Mt Hood Community College and shortly thereafter began playing professionally in the Portland area. He traveled to Los Angeles to study John Clayton and in 1988 won 2nd place in the International Society of Bassists semi-annual competition in the Jazz Division.

Upon returning to Portland Tim began playing with many nationally acclaimed artists as they came to Portland including Mose Allison, Ritchie Cole, Bud Shank, Herb Ellis, Julian Priester, John Handy, Ernestine Anderson and many others. He toured Japan in 1993 with the Mel Brown Quintet with special guest artist Chuck Findley on trumpet. Tim also went back to school and earned a Bachelor of Music and a Masters degree from Portland State University in Double Bass performance with an emphasis in Composition. Tim returned to Portland in 2002 to direct the Mt Hood Community College String Ensemble and perform in a variety of settings including with the Oregon Symphony backing guest artists such as Dee Daniels, Byron Stripling and Herbie Hancock. He has also accompanied several guest artists including Wycliff Gordon, Antonio Hart, Matt Wilson and Ingrid Jensen when they came to the Northwest as guest artists. Tim continues to teach, perform, arrange and conduct as Director of the MHCC Orchestra and Adjunct faculty at PSU. Tim plays regularly with the Mel Brown Trio and the Mel Brown Septet.

Over Todd's 40 year career, he has spent 10 years in New York City playing with Marian McPartland, Tal Farlow, a brief tour with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, followed by a relocation to Kansas City working with Interstring, PBT Trio among many others. During this time in Kansas City, Todd met Eldar, Karrin Allyson, and Kevin Mahagony leading to national and international travel with each over a 20 year period. His history and experience have brought forth over a 100 recordings as a sideman, most notably receiving two Grammy Nominations with Karrin Allyson, one with Eldar, and one with Randy Porter and Nancy King. In 2017, Todd released his debut album as a leader, "There'll Be Some Changes Made", featuring Bill Mays, Bob Bowman, and Danny Embrey.

Now based in Kansas City, Todd's schedule is focused locally with occasional tours. He can be found playing nightly in the Kansas City area with multiple groups.