Andrew Oliver
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- VINTAGE PIANO – HOT JAZZ, STRIDE, RAGTIME, SWING AND TANGO
- YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
- RECORDINGS FEATURING ANDREW OLIVER
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VINTAGE PIANO – HOT JAZZ, STRIDE, RAGTIME, SWING AND TANGO
Andrew Oliver is a pianist from Portland, Oregon. After growing up playing classical piano, he became fascinated with ragtime and early jazz. This led him to study music at Loyola University New Orleans, absorbing the musical culture of the Crescent City until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Returning home after the storm, he hooked up with New Orleans expatriate saxophonist Devin Phillips, who had moved to Portland after Katrina. With Phillips’ quartet he toured five countries in West Africa in 2007 as a cultural ambassador with Jazz at Lincoln Center. Part of the U.S. State Department’s Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program.
His playing is energetic and authentic, drawing on the styles of pianists such as Jelly Roll Morton, James P Johnson, and Earl Hines to deliver a stomping style which emphasizes the exciting groove and drive which brought jazz to the forefront of popular music in the 20th century and continues to excite and captivate audiences today.
2005-2013
He was an integral member of the Portland jazz scene, playing traditional and modern jazz. His group The Andrew Oliver Sextet released two albums of original music to critical acclaim. The Kora Band, integrating jazz and the traditional west African kora, won multiple awards and commissions.
He formed the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble. A nonprofit ensemble encouraging new music by local composers and a corresponding record label. With the Canadian-American collective Tunnel Six he toured Canada and the U.S. seven times. Similarly, he released “Sister Cities” with his chamber-jazz group Ocular Concern, receiving four stars from Downbeat Magazine.
Andrew co-founded and played piano, cornet, and drums in the Bridgetown Sextet playing 1920s and 30s jazz & stomp with a high energy attitude cementing the group’s popularity in the NW. Oliver also delved into the world of Argentine tango music, with a collaboration with bandoneonist Alex Krebs. This resulted in a long-standing gig at Tango Berretin, Portland’s only all-Argentine Tango dance studio.
2013-2020
Since moving to London in 2013, Andrew continued to pursue his love of early jazz within the impressive London traditional jazz scene. He teamed up with clarinetist David Horniblow and long-lasting duo residency gave birth to The Dime Notes which focused on new interpretations of 20s and 30s repertoire within the framework of the traditional style.
And also The Vitality Five, a raucous quintet playing 20s small group stomps and jazz with unparalleled energy and authenticity. Both bands have played extensively in London, the UK, and Europe. The Dime Notes embarked on an ambitious 3 week tour of Scotland in June 2017, whilst the Vitality Five featured at festivals in Holland, Germany, and Hungary.
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
RECORDINGS FEATURING ANDREW OLIVER
AUDIO FEATURING ANDREW OLIVER
ANDREW OLIVER PRESS QUOTES
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