The closing mainstage show at Jazz Port Townsend will feature the dynamic musical voices of Benny Green and Matt Wilson.  Following the show, don’t miss Jazz in the Clubs,  a moveable feast of great music in various Port Townsend venues.

Saturday Evening Jazz Port Townsend
July 26, 2014
7:30 p.m. – McCurdy Pavilion – Fort Worden State Park
Tickets: $45, $32 and $23
Purchase tickets

Benny Green Trio
Benny Green, piano; David Wong, bass; Rodney Green, drums

Pianist Benny Green possesses the history of jazz at his fingertips. Combine mastery of keyboard technique with decades of real world experience playing with no one less than the most celebrated artists of the last half century, and it’s no wonder Green has been hailed as perhaps the most exciting hard-swinging, hard-bop pianist to ever emerge from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.

Recognized as having incredible talent at a young age, Benny began his touring life with Betty Carter for four years and realized a life long dream of becoming a Jazz Messenger. In 1993 Oscar Peterson chose Benny as the first recipient of the City of Toronto’s Glen Gould International Protégé Prize in Music culminating in Oscar & Benny (1998) recorded for Telarc. Appearing on well over one hundred recordings, with artists such as: Betty Carter, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Watson, Milt Jackson, Diana Krall, and he is particularly featured in Ray Brown’s trio series of CD’s for Telarc: Bass Face, Don’t get Sassy, and Some of my best friends.

His latest recording is the self-produced “Magic Beans,” featuring original compositions for jazz trio.

Matt Wilson’s Arts and Crafts Ensemble
Terell Stafford, trumpet; Taylor Eigsti, piano; Martin Wind, bass; Matt Wilson, drums

Matt Wilson leads the Matt Wilson Quartet, Arts and Crafts, Christmas Tree-O and the Carl Sandburg Project. Matt is integral part of bands led by Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Bob Stewart, Denny Zeitlin, Ron Miles, Marty Ehrlich, Ted Nash, Jane Ira Bloom and Dena DeRose among others. He has performed with many legends of music including Herbie Hancock, Dewey Redman, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvis Costello, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Marshall Allen, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and Hank Jones.

Wilson has appeared on 250 CDs as a sideman and has released 9 as a leader for Palmetto Records as well as co-leading 5 additional releases.