Brazilian Skies performs at the Jazz Station in Eugene
We Go to Rio: Brazilian Skies Celebrates the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim
- James Olsen flutes
- Paul Krueger trumpet, flugelhorn
- Nathan Poehlke guitar
- Torrey Newhart piano
- Sean Peterson bass
- Adam Carlson drums
Flutist Jim Olsen has been a professional composer/arranger and performer for over 35 years, leading his own nonet, co-leading the Newhart-Olsen Quartet and playing in the collective trio Context. Olsen is also the music director emeritus for the Swing Shift Jazz Orchestra, the Eugene-based big band that he directed for 15 years. He currently teaches music composition and instrumental music at the Academy of Arts and Academics in Springfield.
Trumpeter Paul Krueger is the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he directs the Oregon Jazz Ensemble and teaches jazz trumpet lessons, Advanced Jazz Arranging, Jazz Pedagogy, Jazz History, and coaches the program’s premier small group, JazzArts Oregon. Paul is an award-winning jazz composer and arranger.
Guitarist Nathan Poehlke completed his MM at the University of Oregon in 2020, studying guitar under Mike Denny and composition under Steve Owen and Paul Krueger. He has performed with Kendrick Scott, Vern Sielert, Greg Gobel and Steve Homan. His compositions have been featured by the Oregon Jazz Ensemble and Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, with choral works featured at William Jessup University and Bushnell University. Nathan currently teaches at Bushnell University, where he acts as the ensemble director for their “University Choir and Orchestra” and Jazz Band and teaches the music theory and ear training sequence along with other composition and production courses.
Pianist Torrey Newhart is one of the busiest keyboard players in the Northwest, performing well over 100 shows annually. He works with his own trio, the blues group Inner Limits, the Idit Shner Quartet, and Mhondoro, to name only a few. Torrey is also an adjunct instructor of jazz piano at the University of Oregon.
Sean Peterson is a bassist and composer based in Eugene. He performs in numerous genres, including jazz, funk, salsa, and classical music. He regularly performs with Halie Loren, Laura Kemp, Torrey Newhart, Carl Woideck, and the Oregon Bach Collegium. Sean teaches university classes on the histories of Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Hip Hop, and is the founder of the University of Oregon Hip Hop Ensemble.
Drummer Adam Carlson is a native of Bend, Oregon, and began playing drums at the age of 13. He graduated from the University of Oregon and received the Most Outstanding Performer Award in the Jazz Studies area. While at the UO Carlson worked with a multitude of groups in Eugene, including Inner Limits, Carl Woideck, Steve Owen, Michael Radliff. Now based in Portland, Adam regularly performs with (among others) Ben Rice, C.J. Mickens, and Patrick Lamb, as well as leading his own groups.
