Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble

Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble PJCE’s mission is to create and perform original jazz music that engages and supports our community’s diverse artists, cultures, and place.

The Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble is a 12-piece jazz chamber orchestra which commissions, performs, and records original works by its members and others in the Portland music community and beyond. PJCE envisions a vibrant jazz community where composers, performers, students, and audiences create, see and hear their cultural experiences artistically expressed and represented in original jazz compositions and performance.

05/22/2026

Tonight! PJCE and Vanport Mosaic present "From Maxville to Vanport" to kick off the 2026 Vanport Mosaic Festival! Please join us on Friday, May 22nd at 7:30 pm for this musical celebration of Oregon's Black history at the Lana Miles Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt High School.

Tickets for this multimedia blend of jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, and short films are $5-35 sliding scale. Grab yours online or at the door!

Please help us thank the Regional Arts & Culture Council for making this presentation possible!

📷: Kimmie Fadem Donlon

Closing out this season of PJCE Happy-Hour Jazz at Wilfs is our own Ryan Meagher! Join his trio this Thursday, May 21st ...
05/21/2026

Closing out this season of PJCE Happy-Hour Jazz at Wilfs is our own Ryan Meagher! Join his trio this Thursday, May 21st from 5-7pm for a mix of time honored classics, and of course, new, original jazz!
📷: Norm Eder

From Maxville to Vanport's statement lies not only with its storytelling, but with the power of a 12-member jazz band! S...
05/20/2026

From Maxville to Vanport's statement lies not only with its storytelling, but with the power of a 12-member jazz band!

Surrounding vocalist Marilyn Keller this Friday night will be:
Joe Manis – soprano sax, flute, clarinet
John C. Savage – alto sax, flute, clarinet
Tim Willcox – tenor sax
Mieke Bruggeman – baritone sax, bass clarinet
Fred Forney and Ashton Blair - trumpets
James Powers and Denzel Mendoza – trombones
Ryan Meagher – guitar
Jasnam Daya Singh – piano
Eric Gruber – bass
Ken Ollis – drums
Grab your ticket now so you don't miss a moment! Friday, May 22nd. 7:30 pm. Roosevelt High School.
📷 by Kimmie Fadem Donlon of the first performance of From Maxville to Vanport

05/20/2026

From Maxville to Vanport was created in collaboration with the legacy-bearers of both towns through a community-guided process. Grounded in the stark truth of Oregon's exclusion laws and the tragedy of the Vanport flood, From Maxville to Vanport is ultimately an uplifting portrait of two important moments in our state's development.

Hear the full suite composed by Ezra Weiss with lyrics by Dr. S. Renee Mitchell (both featured in this clip) on Friday, May 22nd, to start off the Vanport Mosaic Festival! Show starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5-35, sliding scale.
🎥: Sika Stanton of our community session at Oregon Historical Society and fieldtrip to the Maxville township site.

05/18/2026

Come with us on the journey From Maxville to Vanport. This Friday, May 22nd at 7:30 pm! Kick off the 2026 Vanport Mosaic Festival at Roosevelt High School's Lana Miles Performing Arts Center with PJCE and Marilyn T Keller!

🎥 by Sika Stanton featuring filmmaker Kalimah Abioto, composer Ezra Weiss, Vanport survivor Ed Washington, and Marilyn Keller with the PJCE.

05/18/2026

From Maxville To Vanport returns this Friday, May 22nd to open the Vanport Mosaic Festival!

Join us at 7:30 pm at Roosevelt High School's Lana Miles Performing Arts Center to celebrate Oregon's Black history. Tickets are $5-35, sliding scale. Grab yours today!

Brought to you by the creative team of composer Ezra Weiss, lyricist S. Renee Mitchell, historian Gwen Trice, and filmmaker Kalimah Abioto, we love sharing the stories of Oregon!

This clip is from a short film produced by Sika Stanton. From Maxville to Vanport was supported by the Creative Heights grant program of the Fred W. Fields fund of the Oregon Community Foundation and this performance is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. 🙏

PJCE and Vanport Mosaic present "From Maxville to Vanport" to kick off the 2026 Vanport Mosaic Festival! Please join us ...
05/15/2026

PJCE and Vanport Mosaic present "From Maxville to Vanport" to kick off the 2026 Vanport Mosaic Festival! Please join us on Friday, May 22nd at 7:30 pm for this musical celebration of Oregon's Black history at the Lana Miles Performing Arts Center at Roosevelt High School.

Tickets for this multimedia blend of jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, and short films are $5-35 sliding scale. Grab yours today! 👇

Please help us thank the Regional Arts & Culture Council for making this presentation possible!


📷: Kimmie Fadem Donlon

Rivkah Ross Quartet returns to Wilfs this week for the penultimate performance of this spring's PJCE Happy-Hour Jazz ser...
05/12/2026

Rivkah Ross Quartet returns to Wilfs this week for the penultimate performance of this spring's PJCE Happy-Hour Jazz series!

Joining Ross this week will be Brian Myers on saxophone, Patrick Carr on piano, and Kaytlin Hansen on bass.

Grab your $15 ticket now to reserve your table for Thursday, May 14th from 5-7pm. 🥁



📷: Norm Eder

05/07/2026

Bossa PDX is back at Wilfs Thursday evening, May 7th, with the sweet sounds of Brazil! Come unwind with us at Happy Hour Jazz from 5–7 pm!

Guess who's back at Wilfs this week! Catch the Idit Shner Quartet for our last happy hour of Jazz Appreciation Month! Th...
04/30/2026

Guess who's back at Wilfs this week!

Catch the Idit Shner Quartet for our last happy hour of Jazz Appreciation Month!
Thursday, April 30th
5-7pm at Wilfs

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New York, NY

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+19179712775

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