Idit Shner Quartet

Name: Idit Shner Quartet
Start: 2025-09-27T19:30:00-07:00
End: 2025-09-27T22:00:00-07:00
Location: 124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, United States, Oregon 97401

Schedule

Sat Sep 27 2025 at 07:30 pm to 10:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, United States, Oregon 97401 | Eugene, OR

Tribute to Jackie: Idit, Matt, Garrett and Ken will be paying tribute to alto saxophonist Jackie McLean.

Idit Shner alto saxophone
Matt Sazina piano
Garrett Baxter bass
Ken Mastrogiovanni drums

7:30 PM - 10:00 PM | $25

An active performer of both jazz and classical music, Idit Shner has played in various distinguished venues in the United States and abroad, such as The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Lincoln Center in New York.
Her latest project, Mhondoro, blends Zimbabwean folk music and American jazz. Mhondoro released their second album, Ngatibatanei / Let Us Unite! in 2024. Their debut album, Heatwave, was released in 2022. Additional jazz releases include Live at The Jazz Station, 9 Short Stories (which garnered a 4-start review in Downbeat magazine) and Tuesday’s Blues. Jazz festival performances include the Diet Coke Woman in Jazz Festival (NY), Bellayre Festival (NY), and New-Trier Jazz Festival (IL).

Idit appears on Music from SEAMUS Vol. 16, a compilation CD of music for instruments and electronic sounds by members of the Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States.

As a classical saxophonist Idit has commissioned and recorded new music and performed solo recitals in the US and Israel. MINERVA is her latest classical release. Her third CD, Le Merle Noir, featuring music by Messiaen, Bozza, Partos, and Glass, was released on Origin Classics in August 2013. Her previous classical recording, FISSURES: 20th Century Music for saxophone and Harp with renowned harpist Yumiko Schlaffer, received great acclaim and was played on NPR’s All Things Considered. Idit has collaborated with Fireworks, Beta Collide and Third Angle (new music ensembles), and performed with the Oregon Symphony and the Eugene Symphony. Other appearances include the Northwest Percussion Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, the Oregon Bach Festival, and many North American Saxophone Alliance Conventions. During March 2006 she played in Israel as a featured soloist with a symphonic orchestra, and performed contemporary music at the national convention of the Society for Electro Acoustic Music in the US. Her last solo recital in Israel was broadcasted live on Voice of Music, a national public radio station.

Idit holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, a Masters degree in Music Education from University of Central Oklahoma, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of North Texas. Idit now teaches at the University of Oregon, as professor of saxophone and jazz studies. She was awarded three prestigious teaching awards: The 2015 Thomas F. Herman Award for Excellence in Pedagogy in areas of saxophone technique and chamber music coaching; the 2016 University of Oregon Faculty Excellence Award; and a Philip H. Knight Endowed Chair in 2019.

Matthew Sazima is an in-demand pianist, percussionist, vocalist, and educator in the Portland area. As a composer, Matthew has had several of his pieces recognized by the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers as well as by Downbeat magazine. Additionally, he is currently the academy director at Hoffman Academy, where he trains teachers on proper teaching techniques and strategies, as well as serving as one of the academy’s piano instructors.

“Garrett is one of the best prepared and most serious young bassists I know. I’m always happy to have him play the bass parts in my band so I get to hear how everything is working from the outside. I’m never disappointed when Garrett is playing in my role.” – Chuck Israels

Garrett Baxter is one of the many young and exciting musicians in Portland’s jazz scene. Garrett earned his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies: Bass Performance in 2020. In June of 2020, he was chosen for the Outstanding Undergraduate Jazz Performer award. In addition to performing as a bandleader, he has also performed in bands led by Idit Shner, Roger Woods, Joe Manis, Tony Glausi, Dan Gaynor, Paul Krueger, Steve Owen, Toby Koenigsburg, Torrey Newhart, Josh Hettwer, and Mike Denny. He also had the opportunity of performing in the Javon Jackson Quartet at the Jazz Station. Through his time at the University of Oregon, Garrett has shared the stage and taken lessons with some of his musical inspirations, including Linda May Han Oh, Ben Wendel, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Terrell Stafford, Josh Nelson, Jay Thomas, and more. At UO, he was a member of the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, UO’s premier large jazz ensemble, as well the JazzArts Oregon Combo, UO’s top small ensemble. He was also a member of the UO Symphony Orchestra.

In 2017, Garrett began studying privately in Portland with Chuck Israels, great bassist best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966. While at UO, he studied both classical and jazz bass with Tyler Abbott, jazz with Idit Shner, and composition with Steve Owen and Paul Krueger.

Oregon-based drummer, Ken Mastrogiovanni, brings a unique sensibility and modern voice to the drums and music, making him a rising musician of his generation in his scene. The very early years of his music environment was shaped by his older brother’s j-pop, ska, and electronic bands, as well as listening to the latest jazz and avant-garde music his father played at home. This would subconsciously influence his musical interests and vocabulary going forward. Starting drum set at the age of eleven, his musical adventure was fueled by many important mentors, eventually leading him to recent performance opportunities as a sideman with such artists as Jaleel Shaw, George Colligan, Dick Oatts, Jim Rotondi, Roxy Coss, Clay Jenkins, Bruce Williams, Geoffrey Keezer, John Raymond, Remy Le Boeuf, Yoav Eshed, and the Redshift Trio. He completed his M.M. in Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon, and is now the drum set instructor at his alma mater in addition to maintaining his own private lesson studio. Producing under the title, “kenthemaestro”, he creates beats that transcend genre, often collaborating with MCs and other creative musicians.

Click the link below to buy tickets now
https://thejazzstation.org/get-tickets/upcoming-shows/#!event/register/2025/9/27/idit-shner?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=event&utm_campaign=8.4
Online ticket purchases close one hour before showtime. If the show is NOT sold out, and tickets remain, they can be purchased directly at the box office door. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.