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Portland Observer, November 24, 1982 Page 11
Jazz De Opus attracts the best
The Ebony Princesses O f The
Portland Rose Festival,
Tb » book has information from the f»»t
black Prince*« of 1967 to the last black
p n n c ee.o f 1982
by Dick Bogle
Here is a jazz trivia question for those of you who like that sort o f thing.
During Dexter Gordon’s 10-year self-imposed exile in Europe, what was
the name o f the only club in the United States where Dexter consented to
play? The answer surprisingly is Portland’s own Jazz De Opus. During his
ten-year hiatus from performing in this country, Dexter would periodically
come home to visit his family in Los Angeles and because o f his friendship
with Jazz De Opus owner Sam Pishue he came here to little ole Portland.
Jazz De Opus, located in the heart o f Old Town, has an impressive track
record of bringing top notch jazz performers to town.
Even just a few who have played there in the past ten years read like a
who’s who o f jazz. John Klemmer, Cal Tjader, Earl “ Fatha” Hines, Gabor
Szabo, M ilt Jackson, Sonny Stitt and A rt Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
all have graced the smallish Northwest club. I f there is a rap against the es
tablishment, it’s that it is loo small for the quality o f entertainment it pre
sents.
Another unique note o f interest about De Opus is that it was built by
Pishue in 1972 and he still owns it. How many other jazz clubs can make a
similar statement?
First o f all, Pishue is a stone jazz fan. He heard his first jazz concert back
in 1954 when jazz impressario Norman Granz brought one o f his Jazz at the
Philharmonic groups to Portland.
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Call 281-7139 fo r m ore info rm ation.
Blacks Arts Unlim ited
Presenta
An Essence
In Time
A Vintage
Fashion Show
Sun. N ov. 28 - ' 3 *
C o c k ta ils 7 p .m .
S h o w 8 p .m .
M arc end Bobby Gardner sample the bast In fine wines.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
Wine to suit your taste
"H o w 'il business?** is one o f the first questions asked by customers when
they enter Garner’s Fine Wines located at 1115 N.E. Broadway in Portland.
Possibly it ’ s because o f the economy and so many businesses are deciding
that it ’s better to go out of business than barely get b y .. .or maybe it ’s the
first question people ask because they don’t see the stock climbing the walls
and crushing the ceiling.
” It’s our way of saying that we care about what type o f service we want
to be to the general public.*’ In other words, “ Just because you walk into a
wine shop and find that it is stocked with different wines, that does not as
sure you that the quality is there and that the wine you are about to pur
chase hasn’t been sitting there ‘ past its time.’
’ ’ Most of the warehouses are from 30 minutes to one hour away, so if you
were to call us at 287-4120, seeking a wine for your dinner for that evening
and we didn’ t have it in stock, providing you called one hour before your
dinner we could get it for you; preferably two to three hours should elapse if
it ’s red wine you seek, because you want it to breathe about 30 to 45 min
utes, depending on the quality and longevity o f the wine. You’d be serving
the wine o f your choice, well assured that it was properly stored in a con
stant temperature, as well as the fact that our shop inspected and guaran
teed that the bottle was authentic**»
««
Another reason why Garner’s Fine Wines does not stock a huge inventory
at the present time is bccaue it is an Educational Retail Wine outlet, “ The
first of its kin d ." Garner’s Fine Wines provides each Friday evening a tast
ing that allows customers to enter as a novice in the field of wines and work
their way up to that o f a connoisseur.
Experience is the key. Marc Garner is the owner, with nine years’ exper
tise, and Betty Garner is a six-year avid follower. Each owner has his partic
ular field o f interest in the business. Although they're husband and wife,
and make a good business team, Marc’ s specialty is well-rounded—but he
is a bit biased. That’ s when Bctty enters the picture. “ Not every customer
has a palate so refined as Marc’s so that’s when I have to bring Marc back
down to earth. He could rant and rave at a tasting all night long, and expect
his audience to experience the same 'glow* he did when he first tasted that
same wine," explains Betty.
While Marc handles the Friday evening tasting in lecture form, Betty's
other duties consist o f Comptroller, as well as display ideas. The shop is
covered with maps from France that took six months to arrive in Portland
and another six weeks to arrive at Garner’ s Fine Wine shop because they
moved from an 18th A Broadway location in September. "They were well
worth waiting fo r," Marc proudly remarks. When he lectures, he uses ma
terials such as maps to show the regions where the wines originate.
The shop has wines from all over the world. They can tell you which Ore
gon wines are truly good value, or what land is conducive to what grape,
such as the "P inot growing well for Oregonians.”
Stop in soon at Garner’ s Fine Wines, 1115 N.E. Broadway. Portland,
OR. Tell them the Portland Observer sent you and receive 10% o ff your
holiday wines, or 20% o ff a case.
RENT THIS NEW
WASHER AND DRYER
BY PHONE
Geneva ’s
422B N . W illia m s
Crystal Cleer Productions
KOOL & THE GANG
also appearing Special Guest
Howard Johnson with hit single “SO FINE’
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Pishue remembers the rush o f excitement when he heard Ella Fitzgerald,
Gene Krupa, ct al. Pretty soon he began writing letters to Granz asking per
mission to come backstage and meet the musicians. This was pretty heady
stuff for a 14-year-old and was topped o ff when he and Dizzy Gillespie be
came regular chess-playing buddies. The next stage in the evolution of Sam
Pishue the jazz freak was the saxophone. But like a lot o f other jazz lovers,
tie soon discovered there is a distinct difference between love and talent. So
down went the sax and eventually up went a business license.
Sam says when he was a kid instead o f his bedroom wall being decorated
with pictures o f cowboy movie stars and military heroes, he had photos of
musicians fillin g virtually every nook and cranny. He says, "N o w 1 have
people working for me that I used to idolize.”
For the most part, Pishue has limited his jazz promotions to De Opus.
There have been a few exceptions. In either 1965 or ’66 he brought Miles
Davis and the late pianist Vince Guaraldi to the old Oriental theater on
Grand Avenue. Another time he brought John Handy to town for a gig at
Portland State University. He has also booked some musicians at the Civic
Auditorium . But his philosophy on promoting is simple. “ I ’ m not in the
promoting business. I t ’s too risky—if it’s going to work then okay.”
But he is in the food and beverage business and is quite proud o f his new
addition at Jazz De Opus, a dining room called Opus Too.
It features a menu o f broiled steaks and seafood but definitely not broiled
in the usual manner. He uses rare Mesquite wood from the Southwestern
United States and Mexico. He says he uses the Mesquite wood to broil in a
completely natural way. The menu also includes homemade pasta and a se
lection of Mediterranean specialties.
I he next big name to appear at Jazz De Opus is guitarist Charlie Byrd on
December 12th.
...
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