The Bob Taylor Quartet
Live, in concert!
Newport Performing Arts Center
David Ogden Stiers Theatre
An evening of world-class jazz with Newport’s very own Bob Taylor and frequent collaborator Bill Hartsell. Featuring Oregon Coast Jazz Party regulars and Portland jazz legends Dave Captein and Todd Strait.
The Bob Taylor Quartet is an all-star lineup of Pacific Northwest musicians: Bill Hartsell (trumpet and flugelhorn), Dave Captein (upright bass), Todd Strait (drums), and Bob Taylor (trumpet and flugelhorn). These seasoned artists bring their signature style and deep musicality to the beautiful central Oregon coast, delivering an unforgettable evening. Don’t miss this chance to experience world-class live jazz in an intimate setting!
To help ensure an enjoyable experience for all, we kindly encourage guests to consider attending fragrance-free in support of those with allergies and sensitivities.
Bob Taylor – Jazz Trumpeter and Educator: After living in Utah for over 30 years, Bob Taylor and his wife Susie retired to Newport in 2021 to be on the Oregon Coast. Since that time, Bob has performed locally at the Performing Arts Center, the UltralifeCafé, the Wilds in South Beach, and other venues. He performs with two jazz groups in the area, Pacific Standard Time and Newportland.
Bob Taylor has a Bachelor’s from Brigham Young University and a Master’s from California State University Los Angeles, both in Music Education. He taught a variety of Jazz Studies classes at Pasadena City College, Cal State University Los Angeles, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and Westminster College. He has been a featured jazz clinician at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival at UC Berkeley, the Park City Jazz Festival in Utah, and at a number of colleges and high schools in Michigan, Washington, Utah, California and Colorado. While in Utah he was a member of the BYU Faculty Jazz Quintet for several years.
Bob formed the popular jazz quartet BRIJJ in Salt Lake City, recording several CDs and performing for nearly six years at the Bayou Club in Salt Lake. He composed and arranged a number of tunes on the CD recordings.
Bob authored groundbreaking jazz education books such as Sightreading Jazz, Sightreading Chord Progressions, and The Art of Improvisation. He later formed Visual Jazz Publications to promote his books and educational materials throughout the U.S.
Bob has performed and recorded with quite a few noted jazz instrumentalists, including Mike Stern and Mike Miller (guitar), VinnieColaiuta (drummer with Sting), Brandon Fields (tenor sax), and Portland residents Ramsey Embick (piano) and John Stowell (guitar).
In his spare time, Bob has developed a free, industry-leading website “The Family History Guide” – https://www.thefhguide.com– that helps people find and connect with their ancestors. It has had online visitors from over 150 countries around the world.
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Bill Hartsell has played and studied jazz guitar since picking up the instrument in 3rd grade. Since moving to Oregon in 1999, he has played regularly with local jazz combos and been involved with the Oregon Coast Jazz Party. In 2023 he released an album of all original compositions entitled “Hope Springs Eternal,” which features Dave Captein and Todd Strait. Bill has served as the musical director and principal composer/arranger for Perpetua and is currently the musical director and principal composer for the Central Coast Jazz Alliance as well as playing with the Lincoln Pops Big Band and with Bob Taylor in the Pacific Standard Time jazz ensemble.
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Dave Captein is an accomplished performer on both string bass and bass guitar, having worked as a professional musician for over 50 years in the Pacific Northwest. A Portland native, he studied with Alice Leyden (Portland Opera Orchestra), Herman Jobelmann (Principal, Oregon Symphony), Ring Warner, James Harnett (Principal, Seattle Symphony) and Chuck Deardorf (Seattle Jazz Bassist). He has attended master classes of greats like Ray Brown, Edgar Meyer, John Clayton, Christian McBride and Dave Holland. A music graduate of Western Washington University and the University of Washington, where he was awarded a composition scholarship, Dave has performed in a broad range of situations, from symphonic performances and Broadway tours, to studio and club work, as well as many jazz concerts and festivals around the country and in Europe. He has played on numerous local artists’ CD’s, as well as nationally distributed releases, in many styles. Dave was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall Of Fame in 2015.
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Todd Strait’s 50 year career in music has taken him around the world with artists Marian McPartland, Woody Herman, Kevin Mahogany, Karrin Allyson, Eldar and more. 4 of over 100 of the recordings Todd is part of have been nominated for Grammys. The most recent recording “You Know Who You Are” with Randy Porter and Patrick Golličnik is available on Bandcamp. Todd is based in Portland, OR, and now enjoys having little to do with airports!