(PORTLAND, OR)—Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble (PJCE) honors the Oregon-born saxophonist Jim Pepper (Kaw/Creek) with a concert of new music on Saturday, May 18th at 8 pm at The Old Church that honors Pepper’s music—performing his compositions “Remembrance” and “Bamasso”—and his creative process—fusing jazz with contemporary and traditional Native American music styles. Gordon Lee, a Pepper bandmate for many years, and Clay Giberson will both contribute new compositions to the concert. Guest artist 2 8 Tha Native, a hip hop artist and traditional singer and dancer, expresses his “tribally-influenced” perspective through Farnell Newton and Stephanie Kitson’s arrangements of his songs for our 12-member jazz ensemble. Hip hop artist Kunu, a creative partner of 2 8 Tha Native, will be a special guest.