Mary-Sue Tobin
Mary-Sue Tobin
Mary-Sue Tobin is a full-time professional performer and instructor on saxophones, woodwinds and piano with vast experience as both a side person and bandleader. Her work ethic and talents ensure that she stays busy and in high demand. You can find Mary-Sue performing regularly with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble (saxophone and woodwinds); Rebirth of The Cool (lead alto); The Quadraphonnes (soprano and alto saxophone); The Paul Brainard Horns (all saxophones); MSTrio, MSQ (Quartet and Quintet), and Rhythm Dogs.
mary-sue tobin is a portland-based saxophone master
Mary-Sue has performed with The Oregon Symphony Pops (Pointer Sisters, Johnny Mathis) and numerous Jazz Festivals (Portland Jazz Festival, Waterfront Blues festival, Mount Hood Jazz Festival, Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, Vancouver Wine and Cheese Jazz Festival, Banff International Jazz Festival) and has shared the stage with international jazz and R&B stars such as Dave Douglas, The Temptations, James Moody and Esperanza Spalding. She appears in the movie "Hear No Evil" with the group Dub Squad and has toured internationally with the groups Flatland and Dub Squad, opening up for legends like Herbie Hancock, Steel Pulse and Third World. She has recorded and performed with numerous regional and international artists of all genres.
Mary-Sue brings her passion for music and almost 20 years of teaching experience to her students. She works with students of all levels, from beginners to working professional musicians, offering knowledge, inspiration and encouragement to help them achieve their goals. Currently, she is saxophone, clarinet, jazz theory and piano instructor at Beacock Music in Vancouver, WA. She also teaches private lessons from her home in SE Portland.
She was formerly the Adjunct Saxophone Instructor at George Fox University and Substitute Instructor for Darrell Grant in the Jazz Studies Department at Portland State University. Mary-Sue received her Masters of Music in Saxophone Performance (Classical) in 2005 and a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Studies) from Portland State University in 2003, where she served as the graduate teaching assistant for the jazz studies department.
In addition to performance and education Mary-Sue serves as member of the PDX Jazz Festival Programming Committee. She lives in SE Portland, where she plays and teaches music all the time.
Shows Summary
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For their fifth album, the Oregon-based Rhythm Dogs took advantage of the pandemic downtime to create their finest effort, aptly titled “Rewired.”
The band fuses the elements of jazz, AfroBeat, ska, reggae, dub, blues, and their trademark funk on this effort with stunning results.
Read the entire review here: https://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2022/01/cd-review-rhythm-dogs-rewired/
Now available!
Quadraphonnes + Andrew Durkin
Five-Pointed Star
Digital Album
Listen to track samples and purchase here: https://pjce.bandcamp.com/album/five-pointed-star
(Coming soon on Amazon, Apple Music, and other online outlets).
“This music is riveting. The saxophone quartet of sopranist Mary-Sue Tobin, altoist Chelsea Luker, tenorist Michelle Medler, and baritonist Mieke Bruggeman keep a tight orbit around the melodies of Andrew Durkin’s compositions, while simultaneously unleashing harmonic waves, one after the other, as far as they’ll carry them. It is one of those recordings that keeps the ear locked in the present moment, focused on the newest expression. In the jazz tradition of re-arranging pop songs and taking them to new horizons, the quartet teases the melody to Faith No More’s arena-friendly anthem “From Out of Nowhere,” to the point where it’s tantalizingly familiar, hovering at the edge of perception.”
-Dave Sumner, The Best Jazz on Bandcamp: January 2021
Check out our interview with Tom D’Antoni of Oregon Music News here:
https://www.oregonmusicnews.com/durkin-tobin-coffeeshop-conversations276
The Quadraphonnes 2014 CD Release:
"Just the two of us"
