Blue Cranes

Hailing from the fertile scene of Portland, Oregon, the Blue Cranes create music that is as invigorating as it is disarming. Working a thin line between improvisation and catchiness, Blue Cranes arrive at a unique place. They have found a way to make exploration seem like the most enjoyable process around. "Consider the band a brainier kinfolk to the indie rock scene, and with influences from rock and other areas, but with a solid foundation in the vocabulary of jazz." - JOSEF WOODARD (Santa Barbara News-Press)

"Consider the band a brainier kinfolk to the indie rock scene, and with influences from rock and other areas, but with a solid foundation in the vocabulary of jazz." - JOSEF WOODARD (Santa Barbara News-Press)

The group, composed of Reed Wallsmith (alto saxophone), Joe Cunningham (tenor saxophone), Rebecca Sanborn (keyboards), Keith Brush (acoustic bass), and Ji Tanzer (drums), began working together as a quintet in 2007 (originally recording as a quartet in 2006). Since then, the band has begun to reap the rewards of collective articulation: a truly individual sound that depends on the contributions of each member.

Blue Cranes have performed at jazz, rock, punk and art festivals across the U.S. They have shared the stage with John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet, Tim
Berne's Snakeoil, Wayne Horvitz's Sweeter Than The Day, The Scott Amendola Trio, Portland Cello Project, Michael White, The Youngs, Thruster!, Cuong Vu, The Tiptons, and Mi Ami to name a few. The band has been featured on the nations top radio stations for creative music, including WNYC (New York), WWOZ (New Orleans), KEXP (Seattle), KMHD/KOPB/KBOO (Portland), and nationally syndicated radio including Livewire! and The Moth Radio Hour.

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"A truly unconventional approach to improvised music that puts other third-streamers to shame"
- MARLON BISHOP - (WNYC)

"A jazz group with an art-rock heart"
- DAVID ADLER (Philadelphia Weekly)

"Rich melodies and dynamic interplay"
- CHRIS BARTON (Los Angeles Times)

"Blue Cranes tackle tunes ... without a whiff of the crossover crassness or postmodern cleverness that typically infect jazz versions of indie-rock songs."
- PETER MARGASAK (Chicago Reader)

"Wily, lyrical, evocative and bright"
- JOSEF WOODARD (Santa Barbara Independent)

"Combines a downtown-jazz aesthetic with overtones of arty indie rock."
(Time Out New York)

"Blue Cranes have a sensibility that draws equally from old and new wells. You don't have to count the tricky beats to enjoy their joyous interplay."
- KEITH GOETZMAN (Utne Reader)

"Blue Cranes provide a new amplification of jazz, allowing listeners to hear a stream of water pass through a storm drain thick with sediment."
- JOSH FERNANDEZ (Sacramento News and Review)

"Blue Cranes' latest disc, Observatories, isn't just one of the best jazz releases out of Portland this year, it's one of the best releases out of Portland this year?or any year, for that matter. A deep, beautifully composed and then radically deconstructed effort, it rocks harder than most rock albums and says more than most singer-songwriters?without any words at all."
- CASEY JARMAN (Willamette Week)