Hosted by: Paul Knauls (Geneva's, Portland Cotton Club)
MC: Calvin Walker (Albina Music Trust)
Live music by:
• The Beyons
• Norman Sylvester
• Yugen Music Project featuring Tarrence Whotten (guitar), Greg Kelly (flute), Gene Ermel (drums), Eldon T. Jones (sax), and guest vocalists Tanisha Granville & Toni Hill
• Plus: DJ Jumbo Soul Remix & more
Tickets:
• $20 – General Admission
• $25 – Reserved Seating
• $45 – VIP Reserved Seating + Dinner
VIP Dinner Menu Includes:
Choice of Bourbon St. Chicken, Garlic-Stuffed Brisket, or SG Green Beans
Served with 7-Cheese Creole Mac
6:00 PM Pre-Concert Reception:
Special salute to Michael “Chappie” Grice, with acknowledgments to The Leisure Golf Club, The Skanner News, Grace Collins Foundation, and Elevate Unity Inc.
This is a truly historic celebration of the artists and music of the that sparked a movement -igniting Portland’s scene and putting our city on the national map.
The Cotton Club, operated by Paul Knauls, Sr., was a cornerstone of this movement — a venue that brought credibility to Portland and hosted top Black national and regional acts during the 1960s and ’70s. It was a time when Black artists often faced barriers in mainstream hotels and performance venues across the country. The Cotton Club, located in North Portland, became a palace for national, regional, and local Black talent to shine.
Icons like James Brown and Stevie Wonder performed there. Under Mr. Knauls’ vision, the Cotton Club became a landmark stop for touring acts — and a cultural beacon for our community.
We’re proud to honor this legacy with a night that blends live music and storytelling — including a roundtable discussion featuring survivors of that era, including Mr. Knauls himself.
Yugen Music Project
With 40-plus years of jazz radio broadcasting, and journalism, he formed a music project in 2014. Yugen Music Project present elements of Soul, R&B, Funk, and popular and contemporary jazz. Band members create grooves, melodic hooks, and strong rhythms. Yugen's bass keyboard with drums, percussion and complimentary that propel the music made by guitar, sax, vocals, and flute. A number of prominent artists and performers have performed with the project for audiences in local venues, and out of doors festivals and events.
Vocals: Toni Hill, Taneisha Manning-Granville
Sax: Eldon T. Jones
Guitar: Terrance Wooten
Drums: Gene Ermel
Percussion: Carmello Torres
Flute: Greg Kelly
Keys/Bass: Yugen Rashad
The Beyons
For over fifty years, The Legendary Beyons have delighted Portlanders with their music. And now, for the first time, their work has been documented in this high-fidelity LP accompanied by a detailed oral history of the group. The album’s booklet features a range of archival photography, serving as a period piece for the uninitiated.
On the cover of this previously unreleased 1977 album, there’s an image that tells you nearly everything you need to know: four Black men, resplendent in custom-tailored suits, are working it with synchronized steps before the rushing falls of Portland’s Fourcourt Fountain. In their joyous faces is written a brotherhood that began when this core of singers—Jeddy Beasley, Thurtis Channel, James Tims, and Ira Hammon—endeavored to harmonize as The Legendary Beyons. The group’s presence in this image reveals the richness of their soulful, Motown-inspired vocal sound.
The story began when these young men began singing in the locker room after basketball games at Jefferson High School. As their reputation grew, The Beyons––with the help of a backing band featuring arranger Dan Brewster and The Soul Masters–aspired for greatness in Albina’s club scene.
Norman Sylvester
www.normansylvester.com
Norman was born on his Grandmother’s farm in N. Louisiana in 1945. His experience with music was in the Baptist Church and hearing his Dad’s Gospel quartet on the radio. His family moved to Portland, Oregon during his 7th grade in 1957 and it was like landing on the moon to him. Living on the Bayou in the segregated South had a safe bubble for the black farming community but he now was navigating big city life and attending his first integrated school here in Portland. After the Vanport flood, our African American population who had migrated from the South mostly lived in the Albina area. The churches and communities were very close knit and rich with food & music of their Black culture. Sylvester says, “You knew every family member in your neighborhood back in the day and it seemed like everyone could play instruments and sing really well too”. His high school friend Isaac Scott, who later became Seattle King of Blues first taught Sylvester guitar in Church, then they’d arrive early to Jefferson High School to play as students came in the entrance. He continued playing Blues, Funk & Soul in the 60’s & 70’s while also working in Trucking and raising his family of 6 children. He formed his current band, the Norman Sylvester band, in 1983 - and has been a Blues staple throughout the NW ever since. Sylvester sees a similar parallel of himself and the Blues pioneers; “I played in our area’s most prestigious venues and partied afterwards with greats like BB King but was still putting on those grease stained coveralls early the next morning to work my teamster job at the Trucking Company”.
Sylvester was inducted into the “Oregon Music Hall of Fame”
Sylvester was awarded Cascade Blues Association “Life Time Achievement Award”
Sylvester has performed with the Oregon Symphony twice
Sylvester is featured in the N. parking tunnel at Portland International Airport in a “Welcome to PDX Mural”
The Norman Sylvester band was awarded Cascade Blues Association “Hall of Fame Best R&B band” for 2023.