Presented by PDX Jazz.

Three well-known instrumentalists are building a new band called Steel House. The foundations of this house are deep and strong, the roof sturdy. Inside is one big, light-filled room occupied by the three leaders: Edward Simon on piano, Scott Colley on acoustic bass, and Brian Blade on drums. Each man is a world-class jazz player with his own robust composing, recording, and performing career. Since meeting in New York in the early 1990s, they have shared stages and studios, playing many different styles of music together. They decided to form (build) Steel House to create a dedicated place for their own musical explorations. The music of Steel House embraces both silence, and emerging from that stillness, conversation. The communication among Simon, Colley, and Blade stays nimble, focused on moment-to-moment interaction. Musical structure is minimal, poetic, and full of purpose. Walls of genre, category, and style are torn down. Light and space abound. We can hear them down the street now, Simon, Colley, and Blade building their Steel House. The music is infectious. It is everything you wanted — spirited and serious, caring and carefree.