Paula Byrne's voice is like chilled champagne on a hot summer day. She moves easily between songs that are lush and beautiful to highly rhythmic, wild rides. Her sense of humor, revival of obscure songs and new twists on old standards keeps the audience engaged and enraptured.

Paula is eclectic in her choice of musicians with whom to perform, including many of Portland's best: Randy Porter, Gordon Lee, George Mitchell, Craig Bidondo, Joe Millward, Ron Steen, Dennis Caiazza, Rich Turnoy, Glenn Holstrom, Andrea Niemiec, Kevin Dietz, Christopher Woitach and Darin Clendenin, Matt Tabor, Craig Snazelle, Dave Captein, Vince Frates, Dan Gaynor, John Gilmore, Mike Horsfall, Greg Goebel, Dan Presley, Carlton Jackson, Gordon Lee, Todd Marston.

Born to a jazz drummer (father) and figure skater (mother), she has been a lover of music and movement since birth. Paula teaches dance locally and internationally, and has been a moving force in the dance scene in Portland since 1996. She is the creator of the Wild Grace™ and DanceQuest™ movement meditations, and is Founder of SomaSpace ~ Studio of Movement Arts in NE PDX.

Paula was an Oracle software developer in the corporate high-tech field for 20 years. She left that career in 2005 to devote herself full-time to her soul-work in assisting people to remember and reconnect to the body as a source of wisdom, pleasure and joy in the present moment.

Jazz pianist Randy Porter has a refined understanding of improvisation and the spontaneous communication between musicians. As a Steinway Artist, Randy Porter draws from a rich palette of sonorities found within his imagination and the depths of the piano. Lynn Darroch of The Oregonian states, “Porter has built a reputation as a musician’s musician, a knowledgeable, inventive, and sophisticated player with a remarkable sense of time and gorgeous keyboard facility…”

Nominated for the 60th Grammy Awards, Randy's recent release Porter Plays Porter with Nancy King is a mix of swing, harmony and lyrical adventure. In the spirit of Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson, tunes featuring Nancy King are interspersed with instrumental tracks featuring the Randy Porter Trio. This album is produced with an intimate listening environment in mind. John Wiitala on bass and Todd Strait on drums bring their wonderful swing skill set and intuition to Randy's arrangements of Cole Porter tunes Randy's original song, Inside Your Mind, adds to the poignancy and beauty of this project.

Randy Porter has performed with many jazz greats, including Freddy Hubbard, Art Farmer, and Benny Golson. He has also performed with the Charles McPherson Quartet throughout the US and in France, Italy, Greece, and China. The Charles McPherson Quartet has re-created the music from the classic recording Charlie Parker with Strings, performing with many orchestras nationwide. Porter has also toured with Diane Schuur and Bobby Caldwell, conducting the Jazz Orchestra for their “Sing in Swing” tour.

Dave Captein is an accomplished performer on both string bass and bass guitar, having worked as a professional musician for over 35 years in the Pacific Northwest. A Portland native, he studied with Alice Leyden (Portland Opera Orchestra), Herman Jobelmann (Principal, Oregon Symphony), Ring Warner, James Harnett (Principal, Seattle Symphony) and Chuck Deardorf (Seattle Jazz Bassist). A music graduate of Western Washington University and the University of Washington, where he was awarded a composition scholarship, Dave has performed in a broad range of situations, from symphonic performances to studio and club work, as well as many jazz concerts and festivals around the country and in Europe.

He has worked with many well known jazz artists. He freelances in the Portland area, and is a very active member of the music community there, frequently appearing in the city's many clubs and concert venues, as well as recording studios. He is a favorite choice for the region's many bandleaders and always in demand for his solid sound, time and feel, as well as his soloing abilities. He has played on numerous local artists' CD's, as well as nationally distributed releases by Tom Grant and Jessica Williams. He has also been a long time instructor, having taught at the University of Oregon for 10 years, he now teaches privately from his home in S.E. Portland and at Lewis and Clark College.

He has appeared with Mose Allison, Richie Cole, Tal Farlow, Art Lande, Red Holloway, Ernestine Anderson, Jack Sheldon, Nu Shooz, Marlena Shaw, Frankie Avalon, Jeff Clayton, Paul McCandless, Larry Coryell, Andy Narell, Jerry Hahn, Dave Frishberg, Randy Brecker, Steve Million, Ron Miles, Rick Braun, Kenny Drew Jr., Jessica Williams (appearing on 10 of her CD's), Joey De Francesco, Eric Alexander, Pete Christlieb, Gary Smulyan, Ron Eschete, Bud Shank, Ingrid Jensen, Jackie Naylor, Bobby Shew, Wynton Marsalis, Dick Hyman, Ken Peplowski, Steve Allen and Paul Smith, Bill Mays, Jeff Lorber, Benny Green and local luminaries such as Ron Steen, Mel Brown, Dan Balmer, Gary Hobbs and Rebecca Kilgore.