Jim Mesi An icon 
of
the Northwest music scene is gone.
An icon of the Northwest music scene is gone, and it is hard for me to believe. For as long as I can remember Jim Mesi has been there. It’s much like with BB King...
The Portland blues community didn’t start with the guys in Brown Sugar, but they certainly made it seem that way. It wasn’t Jim’s first band either. I remember sitting down with him many years back for a BluesNotes feature article. He told me his stories about Moxie and the trip to Los Angeles with the thought of becoming stars and a recording contract. About traveling to Europe with his band to play for the troops often in actual combat zones. There was Brown Sugar, the Paul deLay Band, his hiatus from Portland living in Seattle, and his return forming the long-running Jim Mesi Band that continued up until the time of his passing.
April’s General Membership Meeting
Wednesday, April 3 ~ 7:00 pm
- The Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan Street, Portland
- Members always Free ~ Non-Members $5.00
(Members please show your current cards at the door) - Opening Acoustic Set ~ Ellen Whyte
- Second Electric Set ~ The Strange Tones
Well, our time is coming to an end at The Mission Theater as the April meeting will be our last at that venue. It has certainly been a lot of fun to be in an open room this size and it has been great to offer talented friends like Lloyd Jones, Terry Robb, Robbie Laws, Ben Rice, Lisa Mann, and Michael Osborn,...A huge thank you to McMenamins for allowing us the use of the room and to Terry Currier who worked to secure the opportunity for the CBA to hold our meetings at the Mission.
But we still have one more to go, so don’t get too far ahead just yet. And it is another stellar pairing of great acts that you do not want to miss.
First up will be Ellen Whyte will be joined by her longtime bandmate and renowned musician, whether solo or as a band member, keyboardist Jean-Pierre Garau. Whyte and Garau have worked in musical groups of various sizes...
Ellen Whyte is one of the premiere vocalists in the region, performing a wide mixture of styles ranging from blues, soul, jazz, rock, funk, and even bluegrass. Ellen simply does it all. Fronting bands for over thirty years, she is not only a gifted vocalist but can work a pretty mean acoustic guitar as well...
For the second set of the evening be prepared to jump up and dance as we offer one of the CBA’s most beloved bands who are always ready to get a party started, The Strange Tones. Also inductees into the CBA’s Muddy Hall of Fame, the band is made up of guitarists and vocalists Guitar Julie Strange and Phil “Suburban Slim” Wagner, bass player Andy Strange and drummer Andy Gauthier.
our sister site.