Mel Brown B3 Organ Quartet
Mel Brown: Drums
Louis Pain: Hammond Organ
Renato Caranto: Saxophone
Dan Balmer: Guitar
Mel Brown Mel Brown, a native Oregonian, artistic director, highly accredited Northwest drummmer, bandleader and educator, has been a fixture on the Portland jazz scene for over 40 years and has been labeled “The Gentleman of Jazz” and “The Musician’s Musician”.
Brown was the staff drummer for the Motown Music Corporation, working with the Temptations and the Supremes, and for ten years the drummer for an impressive list of celebrities including Diana Ross, Suzanne Somers, Hal Linden, Connie Francis, Pat Boone, and many more.
Establishing himself as one of American’s foremost drummers, in 1989 the Mel Brown Sextet won the prestigious International Hennesy Jazz Search, beating out more than 700 bands from all over the world. The Mel Brown Sextet has also received numerous Northwest Music Awards.
Brown has remained a passionate educator and has constantly worked with students, conducted jazz workshops and served as an adjudicator to the United States and abroad. Portland proclaimed June 22, 1998 Mel Brown Day in recognition of his accomplishments and his enormous contributions to today’s rich Oregon Jazz Scene. Louis Pain Louis' primary musical influence is the classic organ trio sound pioneered by Hammond organists such as Jimmy Smith, Groove Holmes, and Jimmy McGriff. Their sound crossed the lines between blues, R&B, and Jazz, as has his career.
Before moving to Portland in 1986, Louis played/and or recorded with many bay area standouts, including Bruce Conte (Tower of Power), Jules Broussard (Ray Charles, Van Morrison, and Santana) Bobby Forte (B.B. King), Tricky Lofton (Count Basie), and Cornelius Bumpus (Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan).
Louis has recorded and co-produced four CDs with the Paul DeLay Band, and has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, including major blues festivals in Monterey, New York, L.A., Norway, and Belgium.
Louis has also played with and recorded for R&B and Blues singers Curtis Salgato and Linda Hornbuckle, and played with Jazz artists Mel Brown, Dan Faehnle, Dan Balmer, and Bernard Purdie.
Louis can be seen with the Mel Brown Quintet on Thursday nights, at Jimmy Mak's and with the Paul deLay Band.
Renato Canata A saxophone player who performs on the Tenor, Alto, and Soprano saxophone, Renato Canata guides his instruments through a variety of playing styles, including Jazz, Blues, Funk, R & B, and even a little Country. He has gained much experience in over 20 years as a professional musician as he traveled from his home in the Philippines to entertain in several countries before coming to the U. S. in 1981. From 1981 to 1992, Renato joined various Top 40 groups playing in the lounges of major hotel chains. January, 1992, is notable for his transition out of Top 40 and into a local Blues/R&B group. Since that time, Renato has firmly established himself in the local Portland music scene. He has performed at all the major festivals in the area including the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, Waterfront Blues Festival, and Jazz on the Water in Newport, OR. He has recorded as a soloist on many local recording projects and is frequently recommended by studio personnel to their clients in need of sax solo work.
1994 proved to be a big year for Renato as he recorded his debut record, Blues For Alma, and was also the recipient of the Cascade Blues Association's "Muddy Award" for best saxophone player. Renato garnered the "Muddy Award" again in 1995, 1997, and 1998 while playing for various groups like the Norman Sylvester band, DK Stewart, and Ellen Whyte. He managed to find enough time in 1999 to record Generations, his self-produced "smooth jazz" CD.
More recently, Renato can be found at places like Jazz de Opus, Brasserie Montmarte, or Jimmy Mak's burning down the house with Jazz talents like Mel Brown, Gary Hobbs, Chris Parker, Bobby Torres, or with his own Quintet. Additionally, Renato's calendar has become increasingly filled with performance dates and invitations to lecture and perform jazz improvisation at various Northwest colleges and events.
Renato Caranto can be seen regularly with Mel Brown at Jimmy Mak's on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Dan Balmer
Dan Palmer, a native of Portland Oregon, was voted “Portland’s Best Guitarist” by the Portland Music Association in 1993. Balmer has collaborated and toured with an impressive number of talented musicians and is best known for his 10 year collaboration with keyboardist Tom Grant. He composed some of Grant’s most popular songs and his compositions have appeared in movies, on television and as choreograph music. Jazziz Magazine proclaimed Balmer’s first solo recording “Becoming Became” to be “one of the best recordings of 1989” and his ground breaking record “If We Never Meet Again” which appeared in 1998, has received universal praise and critical reviews. The Oregonian states that this latest release is “hot...reaching new peaks...real jazz that achieves the clarity and emotional directness of the best pop music...a terrific record.” The Houston Chronicle states, “If We Never Meet Again” is what contemporary jazz should be” Describing his own music Balmer states “My goal is to write music in a way that reaches people on a tangible, emotional level and yet leaves room for improvisiation that makes each performance a unique expression for the audience to hear.”
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