Jack Radsliff Trio
Ott & Hunter welcomes back The Jack Radsliff Trio to our intimate cabaret room as they perform modern, melodic jazz rooted in standards and original compositions. Led by Jack Radsliff’s lyrical guitar along with a Garrett Baxter on bass and Michael Raynor on drums--this Portland area ensemble moves effortlessly between swinging grooves and hushed, contemplative moments, showcasing the group’s keen sense of dynamics and conversational interplay. Their sound is at once familiar and inventive—rooted in tradition but alive with contemporary phrasing and unexpected turns.
Jack Radsliff is guitarist/composer living in Portland, Oregon. As a bandleader, Jack’s group is a fixture at clubs and festivals throughout the region including The 1905, Seattle Jazz Fellowship, PDX Jazz Fest, Mt Hood Jazz Fest, Little Big Fest, and Anacortes Arts. His records, Migration Patterns (2017), Barefoot (2024), and Living/Live (2025), have all been well received; the first two making it onto critics “best of” lists and the latter being called “one of the best albums to come out of Portland’s jazz scene so far this year” (Willamette Week).
As a collaborator, Jack is a first-call for many. He maintains a steady performance schedule working in bands led by local heavyweights Ron Steen, Alan Jones, Christopher Brown, Michael Raynor, Cyrus Nabipoor, Galen Clark and Kerry Politzer in addition to work with Greg Ward, Jonathan Pinson, Chuck Israels, George Colligan, Leon Cotter, Nicole McCabe, Dan Balmer, the Brown Branch Big Band and many more. Jack’s playing can be heard on more than a dozen records to date including releases from Tony Glausi, Martina DaSilva, Cyrus Nabipoor and Xavier Lecouturier.
https://jackradsliff.com/
Garrett Baxter is one of the many young and exciting musicians in Portland’s jazz scene. Garrett earned his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies: Bass Performance in 2020. In June of 2020, he was chosen for the Outstanding Undergraduate Jazz Performer award. In addition to performing as a bandleader, he has also performed in bands led by Idit Shner, Roger Woods, Joe Manis, Tony Glausi, Dan Gaynor, Paul Krueger, Steve Owen, Toby Koenigsburg, Torrey Newhart, Josh Hettwer, and Mike Denny. He also had the opportunity of performing in the Javon Jackson Quartet at the Jazz Station. Through his time at the University of Oregon, Garrett has shared the stage and taken lessons with some of his musical inspirations, including Linda May Han Oh, Ben Wendel, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Terrell Stafford, Josh Nelson, Jay Thomas, and more. At UO, he was a member of the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, UO’s premier large jazz ensemble, as well the JazzArts Oregon Combo, UO’s top small ensemble. He was also a member of the UO Symphony Orchestra.
https://ajampdx.com/instructors/garrett-baxter/
Drummer Michael Raynor splits his time between Portland and Chicago, where he spent more than two decades playing with NEA Jazz Master, Von Freeman. Raynor also toured with vocalist Kurt Elling and can be heard on two of his Grammy nominated recordings, including "Live in Chicago," featuring Jon Hendricks. He has worked with Freddie Hubbard, Eric Alexander, Johnny Griffin, Steve Coleman, Ira Sullivan, Jon Faddis, Bobby Broom, Fareed Haque, Tia Fuller, Nancy King, and Bob Dorough among others. In addition to playing festivals throughout Europe, North America, and Australia, Raynor has co-led tours in both Asia and Africa as a United States Jazz Ambassador.
http://michaelraynor.net/index.html
