Shows - Christo's

The SoulJazz Collective ft. Nick Milo & LaRhonda Steele

Sun, Jul 26

Welcoming back to Christo's, the SoulJazz Collective! Featuring the amazing vocal stylings of LaRhonda Steele, and featuring keyboardist Nick Milo, guitarist Richard Smith, bassist Kevin Deitz and drummer John Bishop. They'll be doing classics and originals from the Great American Soul Songbook.

Nick Milo's career has brought him into the role of long-time music director for legendary musicians from Joe Cocker and Maria Muldaur to Tower of Power. As a composer Nick has worked in film and television and has composed for many top artists on the global R&B and soul scene, including Greg Adams and East Bay Soul.

LaRhonda Steele is a Blues and gospel singer and songwriter, is recognized as one the region's best rhythm and blues vocalists. She has been dubbed "The First Lady of Portland Blues”—a title of leadership that she lives up to as she shares songs that carry forth directly from her soul and spiritual life-force. She currently fronts the LaRhonda Steele band, is music director of the non profit Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir, and is music director of Portland Center for Spiritual Living. LaRhonda regularly lights up the stage at the Waterfront Blues Festival, Alberta Rose Theatre, and clubs around town. LaRhonda’s voice can be enjoyed on recordings of national and international artists including Gino Vannelli, Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, Mary Flower, and Norman Sylvester, to name a few.

Kevin Deitz is an educator, a composer/arranger, and multi-instrumentalist who has performed with the Portland Opera Company, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Mose Allison, Frankie Avalon, Dave Brubeck, Terrence Blanchard, Andrea Bocelli, Paquito D’Rivera, The Eagles, Kurt Elling, Benny Golson, Ill Divo, The Moody Blues, Kenny Rankin and Brian Wilson amongst many others. He is an artist/endorser for Conklin Basses and Sidewinder strings and his album of original compositions, Skylines, is on the Origin Arts label.

As a drummer, educator, record label owner, graphic designer, and festival presenter, John Bishop has been one of the primary voices in Northwest Jazz for 40 years. He has performed in concerts and clubs with Lee Konitz, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Bobby Hutcherson, Ernestine Anderson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sonny Fortune, Herb Ellis, Gary Peacock, Buddy DeFranco, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, and countless others. He’s appeared on more than 100 albums, including sessions with Hal Galper, Larry Coryell, Ernie Watts, Mark Murphy, Joe Locke, Bud Shank, George Cables, Ralph Towner, Teo Macero, and Jerry Bergonzi. He was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame in 2008 and was named a “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2019.

Richard Smith is a Los Angeles based recording artist and music professor at USC. His last 3 singles (2021 and 2022) have landed him in the most-played category on Sirius XM. His recordings feature Jeff Lorber, Kenny G, Vinnie Coaliuta, Alex Acuna and members of Tower of Power. He is a member of Greg Adams and East Bay Soul and helped pen the title cut of their last CD ‘The Real’

The 4 Kings

Thu, Jul 30

The 4 Kings are marching into town on a hot Saturday night! The kings in question are the one and only Sean Holmes on vocals, the sultan of saxophone Renato Caranto, boss of the B3 Louis Pain on the Hammond organ and master of backbeat Edwin Coleman III on drums. Organist “King Louie” Pain and vocalist Sean Holmes both moved to Portland from the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986, but they didn’t cross paths in either music scene until one afternoon in 2010 at Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival. The two got in a casual conversation that day and discovered that they shared a home town. But it also turned out that Sean’s mother—vocalist/violinist Carol Stallings—had gone to high school with Louis’ singer/songwriter brother Duncan, and that Duncan and Carol had later played with some of the same legendary Bay Area musical artists, including drummer Joe Provost (Maze) and Carol's saxophonist brother Ron "Rev" Stallings! Following that conversation at the blues festival, Louis began inviting Sean to be a part of his popular “Portland Soul All-Stars” soul tribute shows at Jimmy Mak’s. Several years later, Sean returned the favor, including Louis in a Ray Charles tribute set at the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival. Since then, Louis & Sean have been working together semi-regularly. This dynamic duo has great fun making music together, and audiences can’t get enough of them—whether they’re playing funky dance music or mellow background sounds! When the dynamic saxophonist Renato Caranto is added to the mix, the group is dubbed, "The Three Kings." And when exciting drummer Edwin Coleman III joins the group, they're "The Four Kings!" Sean grew up in San Francisco and the Los Angeles area in a family of working musicians – Mom, Dad, uncle, grandfather, cousins. Sean had some of his first recording sessions with his mom, Carol Stallings, at Hollywood Sound Studio in LA and at the Jackson Family's home studio in Encino, CA. (Carol recorded and toured with numerous famous artists, including Joe Cocker and Englebert Humperdink.) Sean arrived in Portland Fall of 1986 on a basketball scholarship at Concordia College. He soon traded in his hoop shoes for a choir robe, studied voice, and began working with local musicians. Sean has worked with many top local and national artists, including Linda Hornbuckle, the Portland Jazz Orchestra, David Byrne & The Oregon Symphony, Bobby Torres, Esperanza Spalding, Obo Addy, Brian Blade, Mel Brown, Thara & Tahira Memory, Liv Warfield, Curtis Salgado, Taj Mahal, Soul Vaccination, 5 Guys Named Moe, Steve Miller, and Jarrod Lawson. An Oregon Music Hall of Fame inductee dubbed "Portland's boss of the B-3" by The Oregonian, Louis actually hails from San Francisco, CA. Beginning in the 1970’s, Louis played and recorded with a wide variety of top Bay Area musicians, including members of Tower of Power, the Ray Charles Orchestra, Santana, Steely Dan, the Doobie Bros., the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and B.B. King. Since moving north in '86, Louis has continued the trend, working with visiting legends including Martha Reeves, Solomon Burke, Phil Upchurch, and Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, as well as with a “who’s who” of local blues & jazz artists, including Mel Brown, Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, and the late great “Sweet Baby” James Benton, Paul deLay, and Linda Hornbuckle. He’s performed dozens of times at the Safeway Waterfront Blues festival and innumerable times at other NW venues, including approximately 1,500 performances at Portland’s Jimmy Mak’s. In the 1990’s, Louis played on and co-produced four Paul deLay Band CDs released on the Evidence Records label. In recent years, he’s produced and performed on a series of critically acclaimed CDs on his own Shoug Records label, including “Rock Me Baby” with vocalist LaRhonda Steele, “Live at Riverhouse Jazz” with a trio of vocalists, and the all-instrumental, all-original release “It’s About Time,” featuring the King Louie Organ Trio. All three CDs received 4-star reviews in Downbeat and were featured in the magazine’s annual “Best Albums of the Year” issues.

Willamette Saxophone Quintet

Thu, Aug 06

Delighted to have the Willamette Saxophone Quintet grace the Christo’s stage for the first time! They feature FOUR saxophonists, being Randy Kem, Greg Angeloni, Kat Kem & Andy Kronser, backed by Ulysses Kem on drums. They’ll be playing some jazz, latin and many beautiful standards, uniquely arranged for multiple saxophones.

David Friesen Circle 4 Quartet

Thu, Aug 13

David Friesen presents a new spin on his Circle 3 Trio, with the Circle 4 Quartet! David has performed and recorded with countless jazz legends, including Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, Chick Corea, and Philly Joe Jones, to name a few. And lest we forget the two other incredible players in this trio, powerhouse drummer Charlie Doggett and explosive saxophonist Joe Manis. The great John Nastos will be joining them on alto saxophone! Great musicians, terrific original compositions and unique arrangements! "It’s been said of David Friesen that he does for the art of bass playing what Pythagoras did for the triangles." Patrick Hinely/Jazz Times "Saxophonist JOE MANIS has made a name for himself, not only in the world of jazz, but through performances and collaborations that have reached into the realms of classical and world music…" KLCC "JOHN NASTOS John is Portland, Oregon-based saxophonist, composer, and educator. While living in New York City, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music with Dick Oatts, Bob Mintzer, and Steve Wilson, completing the 4-year degree program in just 3 years. He has toured internationally as part of Diane Schuur’s band and has had his orchestral arrangements played by orchestras all of the globe. In 2011, Nastos released Metronomics — an innovative metronome app for iOS geared towards professional musicians. He currently maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule in the Northwest." bestsaxophonewebsiteever.com "CHARLIE DOGGETT, drummer/percussionist, is one of the most enigmatic drummers in the Portland and the greater Northwest music scene. He is a creative and versatile musician who makes himself heard." Origin Records Artists

Machado Mijiga Trio

Sun, Aug 23

Multi-instrumentalist and Portland native Machado Mijiga wears many hats, both literally and metaphorically. Classically trained, jazz-weathered, and eclectically inclined, Mijiga left the proverbial creative “box” at a very early age, with access to many instruments and a diverse musical background brought about by an intercultural heritage. Mijiga is a musical polymath; composer, producer, bandleader, educator, gear fanatic, and audio engineer, to name a few. Authenticity and uniquity assume the locus of Mijiga’s artistic identity. Self-expression is the prime directive and the medium of choice changes like the weather.

He's got a great band with him featuring Dario LaPoma on piano and Patrick Golichnik on bass. Don't miss it!

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