The Christopher Brown Quartet

Affirming the Standard

Hear jazz like never before. Through live storytelling and timeless jazz standards, this performance will leave you with a brand-new set of “ears” and a deeper love of music.

John Nastos alto saxophone
Greg Goebel piano
Garrett Baxter bass
Christopher Brown drums

Drummer, bandleader, and educator Christopher Brown brings 30 years of experience to the stage. He has recorded or performed with a who’s who of music, including Beyoncé, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, Roy Hargrove, Kamasi Washington, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, and Paquito D’Rivera. His debut album, Sole City, earned 3.5 stars from DownBeat in February 2026, and his recent highlights include a 2025 TEDx Portland performance, a featured big band appearance with the Eugene Symphony, and a lecture performance for the University of Oregon’s Humanities Department.

A dedicated educator with two music degrees from Rutgers University, Brown teaches jazz drums at Portland State University, leads the jazz division of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and co-hosts the monthly “Behind the Scene” workshop with Montavilla Jazz at Portland’s famed 1905 jazz club. He has taught at jazz workshops from Portland to the Czech Republic for two decades, and he is also a 20-year military veteran of the Marines and Army National Guard.