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As promised, with me in the Café at Artichoke Music is Jennifer Carrizo, Senior Talent Buyer for the Crystal Ballroom, the Mission Theater and the Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma, all part of McMenamin’s wonderfully funky empire.
It’s hard to believe we haven’t had many from the venue management side of de bizz eh nezz. But here we are.
What does a talent buyer do? Senior or not. I’ll tell you this, the reason you can go out and hear music is because the talent buyer has made a deal which brought that band to you.
Let’s meet Jennifer Carrizo.

I’m happy we’re back here in the café at Artichoke Music..
Next week, Jennifer Carrizo from McMenamin’s will be here to talk about what’s going on at the Mission Theater…the answer is a lot!
But this week a new conversation from a couple of months ago (and I apologize for the delay) with one of our best singers and songwriters, Anandi.
She has a lot to say about Jazz singing, especially the Latin variety. At the time we talked she had just released a new album called A Better Way.
We’ll hear a track from it at the end of our conversation
Please meet Anandi.

We’ll be back at the Artichoke Music Café next time but this episode had to be recorded today, before a fund raiser to help complete a documentary on the life and death of one of Oregon’s favorite musicians, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist member of Pink Martini and Lions of Batucada among others; Derek Reith who committed suicide in August of 2014.
Today Director Joanie Fox will talk to us about Derek, the film and the fund raiser which is being held at Pink Martini World Headquarters in downtown Portland on Thursday, April 4, 5-30 to 7pm.
Let’s welcome for the first time, Joanie Fox.

We’re not at the Café at Artichoke Music this time. We’re in Seaside Oregon at the Seaside Jazz and Blues Festival on March 16rh for a very special occasion .
We told composer/pianist Gordon Lee that we wanted to talk to him onstage about the set he was about to play and also his new album.
In reality we were going to present to him the first annual award in the name of the late beloved drummer and teacher Carlton Jackson for Excellence in Musical Education and Musicianship.
Gordon, a friend and long-time musical collaborator with Carlton did not know anything about it. We surprised him. It was quite a moment.

Well this is getting as regular as a rainy February in Oregon. Grammy time rolls around and Cheryl Pawelski gets handed one.
She won one for It’s Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers. She’s also won for The Garden Spot Programs, 1950.
She was the compilation producer on Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition), which won the Grammy for Best Historical Album.
And just a couple of weeks ago she won for the massive collection Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos for Best Historical Album.
She also won Best Coffeeshop Conversation episode for 2021.
Mostly Cheryl and I like to geek out, talking about music and records.
That’s why she’s back at Artichoke again today.

The last time Lisa Lipton sat here in the Artichoke Music Cafe was in August of 2020. I noted at the time what a busy person she was with multiple artistic and executive directorships, plus teaching and a full schedule of her clarinet playing.
She still does all that but recently she was brought on as Executive Director of 45th Parallel Universe in addition to retaining the same position with Opera Theater Oregon, as well as Co-founder/Co-owner of Mendelssohn’s, Portland's first classical music-themed bar.
We recorded our conversation a few weeks ago on her first full day as the capo di tutti capi at 45th Parallel and to say she was psyched is putting it mildly.
They have a concert on Tuesday March 5, Pulse and Pillars: an Evening with Andy Akiho and Gemini Percussion. But now let’s hear what Lisa Lipton has to say about her big day.