Organ Leroi & the Doners Ladd's Inn hosts array of fine musicians
There are a lot of music venues to be found in the Portland, Ore. metro area, especially at 1204 S.E. Clay. Here's another one to add to your exploratory list: Ladd's Inn. Located in southeast Portland, Ladd's Inn is a neighborhood gathering spot for a friendly game of pool, a chat over a pint or to listen to some great music. On Monday nights for the past year or so, Ladd's Inn has hosted an array of fine musicians.
The house band on Monday nights Organ Leroi and the Donors invites some of the area's finest musicians to the stage. They are a group of seasoned performers who bring their talents and build the band's sound around the styling of Evan Shlaes, and his Hammond B3 organ.
Organ Leroi and The Donors
(Photo by KR Laurent)
The Hammond B3 was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company until the mid-1970s. The B3 was introduced to the public as an inexpensive way for churches and theaters to recreate the wind-driven pipe organ sound. In the 1960s and 70s, the B3 was used in a variety of pop and jazz groups and entered the blues and rock genres. The one noticeable thing about the B3 is the size of the instrument at over 400 lbs. The B3 comes in two pieces, the Hammond organ and the Leslie speaker. The Leslie speaker, named after inventor Donald Leslie, is an amplifier/speaker system with a rotating treble horn. Together, the instrument and speaker create a very recognizable sound.
When the band members assembled at Ladd's, the magic began. The opening song, All of Me, set the tone for the evening. Band members include Fred Ingram, drums; Russ Miller, guitar; Francisco Marmolejo, saxophone; Michael Kearsey, bass guitar and Evan Shlaes, B3 organ. This ensemble of talent spans decades of performance history in the Portland-metro music scene.
With members originally hailing from places such as Southern California, Western Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and Portland, they together have found a musical home. It was very interesting to chat with the band members to hear about their stories and experiences in the local area music scene. There was a lot of similar overlap in those individual stories.
Names of local groups Nu Shooz and Crazy 8's surfaced more than once.
Besides performing with Organ Leroi and the Donors, most players have other gigs as well. Shlaes, Kearsey, Ingram and Marmolejo are members of the New Iberians (last month's P.E. cover band). Marmolejo performs with Aguammiel, a 10-piece Caribbean salsa band; and Ingram is with Deanna and the Downbeats.
Organ Leroi and the Donors plays an eclectic mix of music covering songs from the past to the present, sprinkled with some originals. On any given Monday night, you never know which highly talented local performers will grace the audience, as they sit in with the band. So add to your exploratory list, Ladd's Inn and Organ Leroi and the Donors.