Thursday Swing

Founded in 2020, the Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band is a Portland, OR based swing band led by drummer and swing dancer Eddie Montejo. Formed by dancers and for dancers, the Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band plays solid, four-to-the bar swing with a commitment to making danceable music for lindy hop and swing.

THE HOT LOVIN’ JAZZ BABIES is a high-powered swing ensemble based in Portland, Oregon featuring Doug Sammons and Dee Settlemier, front persons for the long-time Portland swing band the Midnight Serenaders. The group was put together at the beginning of 2015 specifically for the Secret Society’s(Portland's former premier dance club) Thursday Swing night series, and has since become a favorite of Portland’s swing dance community. The Hot Lovin' Jazz Babies strive to resurrect the spirit of late 1930’s small band ensembles such as Fats Waller & his Rhythm, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra and Billy Holiday and her Orchestra. The group has a monthly residency at the Alberta Street Public House in Portland, OR, and perform at other Portland area dance clubs. They have also been featured at past Portland Lindy Exchanges. The 7-piece band features Dee Settlemier on drums/vocals, Doug Sammons on guitar/vocals, Pete Lampe on bass, John Moak on trombone, David Evans on sax/clarinet, Garner Pruitt on trumpet, and Ralph Huntley/Andrew Oliver on piano.

The Bridgetown Sextet has been providing Portland and the Pacific Northwest with authentic and energetic 1920s and 30s jazz, stomp, blues, and swing for over 15 years, with a trademark sound evoking Creole New Orleans, the stomp of prohibition era Chicago, raucous and wild 1920s Memphis and Kansas City, fast-paced Harlem stride piano, and the tight swing of depression era Manhattan.

Performing music by icons of early jazz such as Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Clarence Williams, and Bix Beiderbecke, as well as lesser known musical stylists, territory bands, and innovators such as Bennie Moten, Alex Hill, and Jabbo Smith, the Sextet has cemented its reputation as a favorite among both listening audiences and dancers. The band has performed at the Portland Jazz Festival, Portland Lindy Exchange, Camp Jitterbug in Seattle, the Seaside Jazz Festival, and all the major Portland area clubs past and present including Jimmy Mak’s, the Blue Monk, Secret Society and Duff’s Garage.

Stomp Off Party swings the standards with vibrance & depth, bringing together voices from all corners of the Willamette Valley jazz community (and beyond!). Polyphonic and multigenerational, Stomp Off Party is collaboration at its best, digging into the American Songbook from all directions, delivering riffs and rhythms tuned expressly for dancing. Always lively, always swinging!

Ginger & the Tonics are an eclectic vocal jazz/swing quartet. Featuring veteran swing musicians from many bands including Shanghai Woolies, Newport Nightingales, The Juleps, The Courtney Freed Five, The Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra, and many others. We go where the muse takes us, from straight renderings of classic swing dance tunes to punk jazz to ambient to original jazz compositions.

The Courtney Freed Five plays the hot danceable swing jazz music of the 20's-50's, featuring powerhouse vocals from Courtney Freed, Bernardo Gomez on bass, Hamody Hindi on guitar, Josh Gilbert on sax/flute, and Twayn Williams on guitar.

A project begun by violinist/vocalist Tyson Bittrich and guitarist Jesse Richter, LFHC has been playing in the Portland area since 2019. The band’s sound and instrumentation lean heavily on the Jazz Manouche or “Gypsy Swing” songbook offered by the original Hot Club ensemble featuring Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. We take further inspiration from the current Jazz Manouche scenes on both sides of the Atlantic. LFHC also dabbles in the music of 1940’s American swing to bop transitional era, searching for fresh 4-piece arrangements of Billy Strayhorn/Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk compositions especially. Richter and Bittrich are most often joined by Hamody Hindi and Pat Harry, on second guitar & bass, respectively.

Influenced heavily by the Andrews Sisters, the Boswell Sisters, and even the Mills Brothers, the girls couldn't sit by and let these sweet melodies become lost to the ages.
The Nightingales sing tunes in 3-part harmony, mainly from the 1930s and 1940s, including Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Jeepers Creepers, Heebie Jeebies, and more!

Puddletown Stompers is Portland’s own Vintage Jazz band! Hot jazz from the ‘fabulous fives’ era and beyond, led by trumpeter Cyrus Nabipoor. Featuring Leon Cotter (clarinet), Chris Shuttleworth (trombone), Tom Sandahl (banjo) & Andrew Oliver (piano).

Smut City Jellyroll Society is a talented, high-energy, and very entertaining group playing old blues and jazz from the 1920's and 30's, as well as original songs written in the style of that era. Featuring powerful vocals by Chelsea Barnes, fingerpicked guitar by Doug Shafer in the style of Blind Blake and others, hot horn solos and tap dancing by Shoehorn Conley, and a strong grooving rhythm section including Charles Pike (drums and vocals) and Bernardo Gomez (bass).

Reggie’s devotion to his craft, and to sharing his deep knowledge of Louisiana’s history, musicians, and musical genres, stems from a time-honored New Orleans tradition of arts education. Nurtured by his teachers—musical giants like Edward “Kidd” Jordan, Johnny Fernandez, Danny Barker, and Alvin Batiste—the latter of whom learned at the knee of legendary musician Sidney Bechet, referred to by Duke Ellington as “the very epitome of jazz,” Reggie has now picked up the mantle to pass that knowledge on to future generations of musicians.

The Cascade Zephyr Swing Band, based in Portland, Oregon, is a vibrant ensemble bringing the energetic spirit of swing music to life. The band features an impressive lineup of talented musicians: Christopher Woitach on guitar and pedal steel, John Moak on vocals, trumpet, and alto saxophone, David Evans on tenor saxophone, Marianna Thielen on vocals and drums, Tom Sandahl on guitar, and Ken Anoe on bass. With their diverse instrumentation and dynamic performances, the Cascade Zephyr Swing Band captivates audiences and keeps the legacy of swing music thriving. Their repertoire includes swing, Western swing, and boogie woogie, shuffles. 

Old Tunes. Young Hearts. Sweet Jams.

The BundyBand “Sweet Preserves” Jazz Band plays traditional New Orleans jazz and swing. This music is characterized by relentless rhythms, nostalgic harmonies, and wild group improvisation. Some of the songs are 100 years old, but they still feel electric somehow. The band features musicians who have played together for nearly 4 decades in the Portland area as part of numerous other groups, including 12th Avenue Hot Club, Kung Pao Chickens, the (larger) BundyBand, and many more.

The Minidoka Swing Band remembers the Japanese Americans who were interned behind barbed wire during WWII with big band sounds from the 1930’s, 1940’s and beyond. The band’s name comes from the Minidoka Internment Camp near Twin Falls, Idaho, one of ten major camps where Japanese Americans from Portland and Washington State were imprisoned by the U.S. government without due process. To give a sense of normalcy to the lives of the teenagers and young adults, the camps often held Saturday night dances to make the best of a horrific situation.

The band consists of 17 musicians and 2 vocalists. Three of our band’s original members were actually interned during WWII and several of our band members had parents, grandparents, and other family members interned.