Rhythm Section
Hank grew up in upstate New York and has been playing guitar most of his life. He studied music at Berklee College (Boston) and York University (Toronto) and has played in numerous rock, pop, and jazz groups. He’s been performing in the Portland area since moving here in the mid 1990’s.
Martin hails from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and he and his family have called the US home since 1984. Martin pursues both classical and jazz music, and has played with a variety of community bands and orchestras in the Pacific Northwest, including the Ames Jazz Band, The International Space Orchestra, Symphony Parnassus, The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, the Beaverton Symphony and The San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Band. Martin joined the NoPo Big Band in 2023.
CJ hails from Springfield, OR and attended the University of Portland and MIT where he majored in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and minored in music. He has trained under Jim Reinking, Mel Brown, Alan Tarpinian, and Bob Gullotti. and played in several ensembles including the University of Portland Jazz Ensemble, the Festival Jazz Ensemble at MIT, the Jazz Express Big Band, the Thirsting, and the NoPo Big Band. Apart from percussion, CJ also specializes in Early Music and has been the director of Gregorian chant scholas at St. Birgitta’s Catholic Church, St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, and St. Agatha’s Catholic Church. He is currently the Director of Advanced Vehicle Design at the University of Portland.
Micah is a classically trained pianist who began playing at the age of 7. He played in jazz bands in middle school, high school, and college, and has also played in jazz combos and accompanied jazz choirs. He took a long break from playing after college, but shook off the rust and joined No Po in 2020. Micah also plays piano with the 7th Street Jazz Band, and is learning to play organ.