#128: Songs From A North Portland Armoire

Last summer, an elder in my neighborhood passed away, leaving behind a lifetime’s worth of soul, jazz, gospel and r&b records. Her son was settling her affairs and made it clear that the records, like everything else, had to go. As we looked through the stacks together, he began to talk about the old days in North Portland. It turned out he was one of the original trumpet players from Shock!

The only thing was that he had never heard the LP he played on. I immediately went back to my house and scanned the liner notes of all my Shock records and found his credit. When I presented him the record, he lit up like you wouldn’t believe. His wife said, “You played in a band? You know, he just never tells me anything!!” It was a moment. And we both came away with music we’d come to cherish.

It’s now three months later and I’ve finally had the chance to go through all the records from the collection. There are some incredible local pieces in here…very enlightening. The process of sorting through it has granted me a rare look into the listening habits of someone who came of age in the Boise-Eliot neighborhood in North Portland. I’ve since assembled an episode to showcase this music. Tune in here for a glimpse into this soon to be forgotten era in our city’s music. RIP Joyce Johnson.