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Thursday, February 27, 2020
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
FROM THE COVER
an inside look at northeast oregon’s
arts and entertainment scene
ROB SCHEPS & FRIENDS PRESENT
The music of Pharoah Sanders
■ ■ The jazz musician will be joined by Matt Cooper, Andres Moreno and Laurent Nickel in March 7 concert
By Lisa Britton
For EO Media Group
BAKER CITY — Oregon native
Rob Scheps returns to his home
state next month for an evening of
jazz.
Scheps — a performer, com-
poser and educator — was born in
Eugene.
“I’m a proud native Oregonian,”
he said.
However, he credits growing up
in New York as helping launch him
into the jazz scene.
“I had access to the best concerts
and the best teachers,” he said.
“People to listen to and people to
study with.”
Scheps will perform live March
7 at Churchill Dancehall, 3451
Broadway Ave., Baker City. En-
trance is through the 16th Street
parking lot.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the
show starts at 6:30 p.m. Advance
tickets are $8 and available at
Sweet Wife Baking, MC Taco Bus
www.churchillbaker.com/events.
Tickets at the door will be $10.
Food and beverages will be
available for purchase during the
concert from MC Taco Bus, Copper
Belt Winery and Barley Brown’s.
The concert will feature music
by American jazz saxophonist
Pharoah Sanders.
Scheps will be joined by Matt
Cooper, Andres Moreno and Lau-
rent Nickel.
Scheps’ music making goes
back to childhood when he started
playing the recorder at age 7. He
switched to the tenor sax and
joined a concert band in fifth grade.
“I started listening to jazz when I
was 11,” he said.
‘It’s important to bring
good music and
good culture to small
towns. It might be the
only concert like that
they’ve ever heard.’
— Rob Scheps
After his school Scheps studied
at the New England Conservatory.
Jazz, he said, takes practice.
“You need to be near an urban
center to do it on a regular basis,”
he said.
Jazz became his full-time job.
“I play around the world,” he
said, with regular stops in Port-
land, Denver, Seattle, Kansas City,
New York City and Honolulu.
Scheps recently spent a one-
month residency in Hawaii to give
concerts, lessons and camps.
He likes to recruit local musi-
cians to play alongside him.
“It’s really about working with
the best musicians in any area I’m
in,” he said.
This is his second concert at
Churchill Dancehall.
“That first show in Baker I was
really happy about,” he said.
That concert featured music by
John Coltrane.
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
Submitted photo
Jazz musician Rob Scheps was born in Oregon but grew up in New York surrounded by jazz. He will
play at Churchill Dancehall in Baker City on March 7 with local musicians.
“I can focus on one person and
dig deep,” he said.
This time he’s sharing the
sounds of Pharoah Sanders, a mu-
sician from Little Rock, Arkansas,
who played with John Coltrane.
Scheps said the concert will feature
some swing, mystical and spiritual
numbers.
He describes it as “secular jazz
praise music.”
Scheps has two new CDs, and
his performance schedule is booked
through the end of September.
He likes bringing jazz to small
towns.
“Baker City is not a step down —
in fact, I believe it’s more impor-
tant,” he said. “It’s important to
bring good music and good culture
to small towns. It might be the only
concert like that they’ve ever heard.
Portland or Seattle will have jazz
without me.”
To learn more, visit his website,
www.robschepsmusic.com.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
High 53 Low 35
High 47 Low 28
High 42 Low 26
Partly sunny
Showers possible
Rain