Portland’s Best Wine Bar brings you Portland’s finest piano trios courtesy of drum master and weekly host Brent Follis. Join us for this 6 week winter series.

For four weeks this past October, Vino Veritas transformed from a wine bar and bottle shop into a cozy jazz club. Each week during the inaugural Thursday Night Music Series the place was packed. “We knew it would be a hit, but we didn’t expect people to catch on that fast,” said part-owner, Trevor Gorham. This time around the series has been extended to six weeks and includes first-call pianist and arranger Clay Giberson, and locally renowned vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hollingsworth. The series entitled “Some of my best friends are…pianists'' is hosted by the Brent Follis Trio and each week highlights the drummer’s close musical friendships with local piano legends including the Grammy-nominated Randy Porter, 40-year veteran of Diana Ross’ band, George Mitchell, local smooth jazz icon and prolific recording artist Tom Grant, and NYC transplant and leading pianist/composer on the Portland jazz scene, Kerry Politzer. 

Follis is a hidden gem of a performer most appreciated by the musicians he works with  regularly. Randy Porter calls him “one of [his] favorite drummers with the most sophisticated phrasing and unbeatable swing-feel, he’s fantastic!”. 

Tom Grant appreciates Follis’ “total commitment to the vibe of the moment,” adding that he is “masterful in any groove –– jazz to Latin, and beyond”.

After Flashback to October 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic, a little wine bar with outdoor seating in the Montavilla neighborhood in Portland OR did something unthinkable––with emergency funds from the CARES Act, Vino Veritas launched a live outdoor music series led by Portland based drummer and musical empresario, Brent Follis. From October 2020 to March 2021, under Follis’ curation, Vino Veritas was the only live music venue operating in Portland. Almost exactly two years later Vino is expanding its music programming with a weekly series on Thursday nights featuring piano trios led by the local drummer who got it all started. In the second installment of the weekly Thursday series, music lovers can enjoy the intimate setting and the warm hospitality of Vino’s erudite staff.

Vino Veritas has been named Portland’s Best Wine Bar by Willamette Week for several years running. Down-to-earth sommeliers, Trevor Gorham and Manuel Mederle, welcome everyone, regardless of their wine-tasting knowledge. The bar serves light fare to accompany a wide selection of local and global vintages available in glass pours or bottles off the shelf. 

EVENTS: Brent Follis Trio: Some of my best friends are…pianists
Thursdays, January 19th through February, 23rd, all shows start at 7:30 PM

January 19 - Kerry Politzer
January 26 - Tom Grant
February 2 - George Mitchell
February 9 - Randy Porter
February 16 - Clay Giberson
February 23 - Kathleen Hollingsworth

Master drummer, producer and songwriter, Brent Follis, is a first-call performer and session drummer. Versatile across all styles, Follis’ dedication to his craft has earned him admiration from the best musicians in the Pacific Northwest. His supportive yet understated style makes him the perfect accompanist whose mission is to elevate the music rather than to steal the spotlight for himself. 

With six previous albums under her belt, Oregon pianist Kerry Politzer is an esteemed musician with a deep and varied book of original works. The jazz scene moves quickly, however, and her new album In a Heartbeat serves as a striking reintroduction to an artist who should be far better known. Only a few years have elapsed since the release of her last project, 2019’s Diagonal, but that was a ravishing tribute to the oft-overlooked Brazilian composer Durval Ferreira. In a Heartbeat is her first album of originals in eight years, and it puts the focus back on her deeply engaging work as a composer and arranger.