Win Tickets ($40): Jenny Conlee (of The Decemberists) Album Release @ The Old Church Concert Hall | Accordionist, Pianist, Organist, Keyboardist

We are giving away a pair of tickets to Jenny Conlee (of The Decemberists) Album Release @ The Old Church Concert Hall on March 26. To win, comment below on this post why you’d like to attend. Winner will be drawn and emailed March 20.



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From our sponsors:
Jenny Conlee (of The Decemberists)
March 26, 2023
Doors 6:30PM, Show 7:30PM | $20 | All Ages
More info: theoldchurch.org

The Old Church Concert Hall
1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201

Jenny Conlee will be celebrating the release of her new solo album “Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano” at the Old Church on Sunday March 26th. The 1st set will be a full performance of the album, which will be a suite of solo accordion pieces and then a set of 5 piano pieces. The acoustics of the old church and the lovely grand piano should make it a perfect setting for this music.

The 2nd set will be performed by the Jenny Conlee Quartet with: Jill Coykendall on clarinet, Jesse Emerson on Bass, and Steve Drizos on drums. The quartet’s music covers many genres including French café music, Rag/me, and modern jazz.

Jenny Conlee, the multi-instrumentalist best known for her 23-year tenure as a member of indie icons The Decemberists, is stepping once more to center stage this year with the release of Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano. The humble yet deeply emotional album of instrumentals (out on March 24 via Jealous Butcher Records) finds Conlee pulling from her vast well of influences and knowledge to work in a more neo-classical mode.

One half of the LP is made up of a suite of accordion pieces written using the seven Greek modes, centuries’ old musical scales that are each named for a specific place in Greece. “The idea of composing using the Greek modes has been in the back of my mind for a long time,” Conlee says. “These modes may have a sad, unsettling, or dissonant sound to modern ears, and I wanted to experiment with them.” Writtent during a week-long artist’s retreat on the coast of Washington State, Conlee found inspiration within the natural environment she was surrounded by: the ocean, sand, dune grass, wind, and a hawk she spotted hunting along the beach. The finished compositions are like an oil portrait of a seaside scene — multi-colored, richly textured, and able to draw on sense memories buried deep within the mind and body.

Conlee pairs that suite with a series of piano pieces that she has been slowly writing over the past three years. These five instrumentals are built from a foundation of ostinatos, repeated musical phrases heard in the bassline of each track. Though these delicate and sometimes playful works came about organically, when Conlee had finished the writing she realized the debt she owed to Children’s Songs, a 1984 album by the late jazz artist Chick Corea. “I have always loved listening to and playing Children’s Songs,” she says. “I realized how much they influenced my writing and I need to acknowledge it and give credit where it is due.” Conlee also points to the work of another pianist, Bill Evans, for his inspiration on “Shore Pine,” a somber and moving piece written during the recording of Tides that closes the album with “a different feel and had more of a sense of resolve,” she says.

Combined, the two sides of Tides are new angles through which to view Conlee’s dynamic musical mind and unstoppable talent.

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14 Comments

  1. David on March 7, 2023 at 11:16 pm

    A musician of superb caliber! She is wonderful in any group she plays in!

  2. Jenn Lawrence on March 8, 2023 at 11:13 am

    Looks fun!

  3. Kimi on March 8, 2023 at 2:56 pm

    I love her! Brilliant musician!

  4. Joseph on March 9, 2023 at 1:17 am

    I dream of Greek dissonance as only Conlee can punch.

  5. Charity on March 9, 2023 at 10:05 am

    I love Jenny! Would love to be there to support her!!

  6. Leslie Dee on March 9, 2023 at 3:37 pm

    If there’s a heaven, it surely sounds like this. I’d love to see this show.

  7. Ed Travalia on March 10, 2023 at 7:58 am

    As a fellow accordionist – I gotta check this out.

  8. leonard on March 10, 2023 at 12:24 pm

    outstanding musician!

  9. Gayle Plantz on March 11, 2023 at 11:52 am

    Who in Portland doesn’t like the decemberists! I love seeing their singular musical exploration as well.

  10. Anna on March 14, 2023 at 1:22 pm

    My brother is visiting again after four years and we are huge fans of the Decemberists – and this would be our first time seeing Jenny Conlee like this and it would be such a great memory for us!! He is a huge music nerd and he is a person living with Downs syndrome who has had a rough go of it the last few years – it would really bring him so much joy to see live music while he is visiting.

  11. Cheyenne on March 14, 2023 at 1:51 pm

    Pick me! I’m such a fan. And at this venue? Yes, please.

  12. Kris M. on March 14, 2023 at 3:31 pm

    Beautiful sounds,yes, please

  13. Martin Anderson on March 16, 2023 at 7:10 pm

    I’d love to see Jenny at the old church!

  14. Steve Russell on March 17, 2023 at 5:24 pm

    This would make for a very fine evening.

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