Joe Manis Keynote Speakers with Keith Brown, George Colligan and Charlie Doggett at The Jazz Station - Eugene, OR
- Joe Manis tenor saxophone
- Keith Brown piano
- George Colligan organ
- Charlie Doggett drums
Originally from Dexter, Oregon, SteepleChase recording artist Joe Manis was the recipient of a 2013 Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship. Recent Joe Manis Trio appearances include Fat Cat NYC, the Shedd Institute’s jazz series, Jimmy Mak's, Tula's, the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, and the Montavilla Jazz Festival.
Manis has toured Europe as a duo and trio with David Friesen, where they recorded Structures, a live album. He also appears on Risky Notion (four stars & Best Albums of 2015, DownBeat Magazine) on Origin Records with George Colligan's Theoretical Planets. Manis has played with Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, including a performance at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and appears on their album Rise Up! on Real World Records. He has also performed with the George Colligan Quartet, the Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra, and the Ken Schaphorst Big Band.
A current faculty member at Portland State University and the University of Oregon, Manis has been published in JazzEd magazine and has presented jazz masterclasses across the country. He received a Master of Music in Jazz Studies-Performance with Academic Honor from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon. Additional studies were at the Eastman School of Music.
Keith L. Brown is a pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Memphis and raised in Knoxville, TN, Keith began playing piano and bass at an early age. Raised in a musical family, both Keith's parents played music and many of his aunts and uncles are exceptionally musically talented as well. His father Donald Brown is a world-renowned jazz pianist/composer having performed with many greats and his mother Dorothy is also a pianist and plays various woodwind instruments. Keith first learned to play songs of R&B artists like Stevie Wonder by ear and then started classical piano lessons at 8yrs old. His father helped nurture Keith’s musical ambitions by teaching him how to play his original compositions and jazz standards. Keith and his brothers, Kenneth (drums) and Donald Jr., were deep into hip-hop and rap music growing up. Keith began to study jazz seriously after he graduated high school. It was at this time that he really began to be influenced by other great Memphis pianists such as Phineas Newborn Jr., James Williams, and Mulgrew Miller. By age 18, Keith was playing piano and bass around Knoxville in a variety of jazz, r&b, funk, and country bands. Later Keith would go on to earn his bachelor of music degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2009 and completed his masters of music degree in May 2011. Currently, Keith resides in NY where he continues to be in demand making a name for himself as a pianist and composer both nationally and internationally.
George Colligan is a New York based pianist, organist,drummer, trumpeter, teacher, and bandleader, who is one of the most original and compelling jazz artists of his generation. An award-winning composer (Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation grant recipient, RACC Grant Winner) and player (winner, Jazzconnect.com Jazz Competition, DownBeat Critics Poll Winner), Colligan is highly in demand as a sideman, having worked with players like Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Cassandra Wilson, Ravi Coltrane, and many others, both on the bandstand and in recording sessions (appearing on over 150 CDs). He has released 31 recordings full of his intelligent writing and impressive technique. His latest CD on the Ubuntu Label is called”Live in Arklow” and features Darren Beckett and Dave Redmond. Colligan’s musical style incorporates everything from showtunes to funk, from free improvisation to 20th century classical music. His performances include dazzling technique as well as mature restraint. Colligan was on the faculty of the Juilliard School for two years and is currently an Assistant Professor at Portland State University. He is currently a member of Jack DeJohnette’s New Quintet.
Charlie Doggett began violin lessons at the age of eight and later switched to the drum set. As a teenager he played in Rock and Pop cover bands earning his first paid gig at the age of 15 and later received formal instruction, through scholarship, at the University of Oregon, School of Music and Dance. He has been a contributing member of the Portland music scene for over two decades performing regionally as well as throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. He is a longstanding member of “Upper Left Trio”, David Friesen's “Circle 3 Trio”, Tim Willcox's “Superjazzers” and others. Doggett has had the privilege of performing and or recording with artists including Dave Frishberg, John Gross, Pancho Sanchez, Obo Addy, Nancy King, Esperanza Spalding, Damian Erskine, Ethan Iverson, Joe Manis, George Colligan, Randy Porter, Titos Sompa, and many others. He maintains an active teaching schedule as adjunct faculty instructor at Lewis & Clark College, and Clackamas Community College. “Doggett, a drummer of imagination and curiosity, propels each tune with cunningness and unrelenting swing.” -John Barron/All About Jazz.com
