shows & musicians

We are thrilled to be welcoming some of Washington & Oregon's top jazz musicians to the Mayfield Lake Summer Tunes! We are grateful that they are sharing their talents and enthusiasm and hope that all attending will be as impressed as we are with these fabulous performers!

Please check out their websites below to learn more about them, hear song samples, watch videos, and buy their CDs to get a taste of what you'll be hearing live.

 Swing Band Festival: Friday, July 24

The Jessica Blinn Quartet features members of Olympia's Cool Jazz Society, which is a collective of like-minded local musicians who gather in pursuit of beautiful melodies, laid-back grooves, fine wines and good food. Started by Lee Chun, Daven Tillinghast, and Jessica Blinn in autumn of 2006, CJS concentrates on works by Miles Davis, Oliver Nelson, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock, and also offers classy versions of standards, even a few originals. The lineup may change from gig to gig, but they always have the same relaxed approach and enthusiasm for this beautiful material. Visit the weblink at left to see the newest recordings with Daven and Jessica in January; the old recordings are from their debut performance at Tugboat Annie's Spring of '07. Lately Jessica and Daven have been playing at the beautiful Cliff House Restaurant in Tacoma with Cameron Arneson on upright bass and Syd Potter on flugelhorn. They are happy to announce a recording is in the works, due for release this summer.

Larry Searles grew up on the shores of Lake Sammamish in Washington State, graduating from Issaquah High School in 1970. Larry worked his way through school playing trumpet in a five piece swing band called the "Associated Sounds" which stayed together for 23 years. The "Associated Sounds" has become the Easy Street Band and has grown into a 9-peice swing band with an outstanding female vocalist.

Doug Poluch, baritone sax, played clarinet, tenor and baritone sax through his school years and 2 years of community college. He played in an 8-piece combo, directed a junior high pep band and made several road tours with the community collage jazz band. He's been with Easy Street for 20 years. "There's nothing better than playing music with people you love and respect and I hope to continue playing with Easy Street for many years to come!"

Jennifer Gobel started playing music when she was five years old in a piano preschool class, and started the trombone at the age of ten. She has a bachelor's degree in Music Education and a masters in education and taught elementary band for seven years.

Epaminondas "Nonda" Trimis, percussionist, has appeared on over 50 different CDs with different local and national artists including The Jazz Police, Michael Powers, Gary Stroutsos, Phil Sheeran, and Tony Gable. His live performances include backing Eddie Daniels, Ben Vareen, Greta Metassa, Jovino Santos, Blackstone, Kathy Lee Gifford, Carl Saunders, Teatro Zinzani, Marc Seals and performances at the Santa Barbara Jazz Festival, Earshot Jazz Festival and the Moore Theater.

Jeff Gilles received his first (Silvertone) guitar for his 11th birthday and has been playing ever since. He grew up playing in rock and roll and blues bands. Although he bought his first John Coltrane album in 1968, he didn’t start playing jazz until he left college.

Rick Shillinger, bass player, was one of the original band members of the Associated Sounds. Rick also plays trumpet and flugel horn. He is active in his church playing his instruments with the worship team and is often called upon to play for special music.

Ingrid DuMosch is a vocalist and vocal arranger with over 15 years' experience as a studio singer and live performer. She lived in Nashville for 10 years, where she had many opportunities as a studio backup vocalist and demo singer to work with top notch artists and songwriters in country music, pop music, contemporary Christian music and southern gospel. She also performed with one of Nashville's most popular variety bands, the Radio Daze Big Band for 10 years.

Loretta Brown was born with a deep desire to play the piano, make sound, and bring song and joy to the world! She learned to walk by crawling up the leg of a piano and playing the keys. Her first composition was written at age 4, which she entitled "The Storm". Loretta lived in Saudi Arabia for over 8 years and during that time was the Resident Accompanist for the U.S. Ambassador's Residence. She also was hired to give piano lessons to the Saudi princesses and taught music at the International School in Riyadh to Elementary Children, directing her own choir of 180 voices by audition only. For the last few years Loretta has been studying the effects of music and sound on health, and is a Certified Music Practitioner who plays at the bedside of the ailing and dying.

Steve Reinke is a great sax player who has played with several Seattle bands over the years. He is a relatively new addition to Easy Street.

Performing as an 8-piece combo, the Johnny Lewis Band, based in Olympia, delivers the toe tappin' rhythms of yesteryear. From New York to Las Vegas, Johnny and his dance band have entertained audiences with Swing, Jazz, Blues, and Rock and Roll. Johnny Lewis spent 20 years on the road while based in New York, and had hit recordings with Capitol, Columbia, and Decca/Coral, including Night Train, Tequila, Blue Skies, Honeysuckle Rose, and more. He has appeared on the Tonight Show and other major shows with top celebrities. The Johnny Lewis Band has performed at four inaugural balls for Washington State governors.

Robert Moore has evolved a sound uniquely his own, mixing his Southern roots influences of soul and gospel into his own distinct interpretations of bebop and swinging jazz. Shadings of King Pleasure, Mark Murphy, Mose Allison, & Ella are heard alongside those of Otis Redding, Roger Miller & classic blues shouters.

Whether leading with his horn into familiar standards, scatting imaginative lines straight from the heart, blowing creative lines on the harmonica, or exposing listeners to interspersed originals, Moore cuts to the heart of a song, opening up sounds in new ways & winning fans with his frequent wry notes of humor.

A long-time resident of Birmingham, Alabama, Moore has been heard in Southern jazz clubs from New Orleans to North Carolina, and has recently moved his base to Portland, Oregon, where he performs regularly. In Japan, where American jazz is particularly revered, his tours have been received with wild appreciation and enthusiasm.

RaChiChi Pop Jazz Trio opened the Harmony Jazz & Wine Festival in 2008, and we're happy to have them back again for a special "Jazzy Dinner Show." Their new CD, RaChiChi Live, will be coming out later this year.

Roger Espinor comes from a family of musicians and drummers, with influences from Mozart, Gershwin and Miles Davis. He played as a studio musician with jazz artist Vickie Cole in Houston, Texas. As part of Portland’s Rose City Kings, Roger produced and engineered the bands three albums. He and Ron have played together for the last twelve years in the Portland area. Roger has played at all over the West Coast including Jazz Alley in Seattle and Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco as well as Portland’s Aladdin and Roseland venues in addition to Vancouver’s Wine and Jazz Festival. Roger studied sound engineering in college and has his own recording studio.

Debby Espinor comes to the Portland area from Seattle where she started playing piano at 8 years of age. Influenced by Gershwin, Debussy, Ramsey Lewis and Elton John, Debby has had an eclectic professional career. From playing Gospel music in local churches to playing cabaret in downtown Seattle, she has always found music to be a passion. Musical theatre experience included Hello Dolly, Annie, Chess and Guys and Dolls. More recently she played at Highway 99 Blues Club with a local Seattle band called The Love Doctors. Debby has taught music in various forms for over 20 years both instrumental and choral, and has written a full-length musical in addition to songwriting and arranging.

Ron Camacho began playing guitar at 12 and picked up his first bass at 14. Influenced by The Beatles and the whole British Invasion, Ron has played with a variety of artists including Chet McCracken (drummer for the Doobie Brothers, Jeff Porcaro (drummer for Toto) and Terry Furlong from The Grass Roots. Playing locally with Roger E and The Rose City Kings, Ron and Roger have won the acclaimed Muddy Award for the “Best New Blues Band” in 2004. Portland bands include The Boomerangs, The Visitors and Mammoth with Dave Eisley from California. Ron plays all styles of music on both the bass and acoustic and electric guitars, including a stint with country bands.

The second annual Harmony Jazz & Wine Festival expands to three days this year! Several of the audience favorites are returning from last year's festival -- Geoffrey Castle, Shelly Rudolph, and Michael Powers -- and we've added some new acts as well -- Karen Shivers, Quadraphonnes, Island Jazz Quintet, Kamal Abdul-Alim, and Jonathan Kingham.

With eight acts performing over the three days, the Harmony Jazz & Wine Festival has it's own page on this site -- click here to read more about the performers and order tickets.