Wall To Wall Soul
Wall To Wall Soul pays tribute to Portland's historic Black musician community, rooted in the Albina District during the mid-20th century. The exhibit provides access to archival media from the Albina Community Archive—much of which has been restored, recolored, and in some cases reconstructed from source materials. Photography featured in the show was selected from roughly one hundred and fifty private collections in the care of Albina Music Trust.
Visitors to the Wall To Wall Soul exhibit located at the Horizon Enterprise Building (433 NW 4th Ave.) for 1803 Fund’s “Black, Black History Month” can learn more about the musicians featured in framed portraits below. Information regarding the permanent Wall To Wall Soul exhibit located at Clyde’s Prime Rib is at the bottom of this page.
The Esquires
The Esquires were a 1980s jazz-infused R&B unit led by Jan Celt. Anchored in Albina, the group’s rhythm section featured Janice Scroggins, Lester McFarland, and Carlton Jackson. The Esquires performed locally and self-released multiple LPs on Jan Celt’s Flying Heart imprint.
Featured here from clockwise beginning in the upper left corner of the photo is: Janice Scroggins, Rich Halley, Warren Rand, Carlton Jackson, Dave Mills, Lester McFarland, and Jan Celt.
Janice Scroggins is featured on Albina Music Trust’s Youthsound release. Lester McFarland is featured on Albina Music Trust’s release by The Gangsters. And Carlton Jackson can be heard each Sunday from 8-10pm on KMHD 89.1FM, when posthumous broadcasts of his program “The Message” air terrestrially and online.
Mel Brown
Mel Brown is known to many as “Portland’s Godfather Of Jazz”. He came of age in the early 1960s in Albina and was mentored by the elder jazz musician community on Williams Avenue—known to many as “Jumptown”, although this retroactively constructed place name was not used in its time. Mel Brown’s early work includes drumming for Billy Larkin & The Delegates, a Cotton Club staple that would go on to achieve national success via the World Pacific label.
In the 1970s, Mel Brown became a fixture within Motown Records’ recording complex. He has recorded with Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, and Martha & The Vandellas. He has performed and toured with The Temptations, Diana Ross, Tommy Chong, and a who’s who of our nation’s jazz heavyweights. He was even offered a spot in the original lineup of KISS!
In Portland, Mel Brown has served the musician community and youth throughout. In the late 1970s, he opened a drum shop in what is currently Next Adventure on SE Grand Ave. For decades, he hosted Mel Brown Jazz Camp for youth at Western Oregon University. And to boot, he has maintained an accounting and tax business servicing community members all along.
Additional biographical information on Mel Brown can be found here. Mel Brown Day in the City Of Portland is recognized each year on June 22nd.
Obo Addy
Obo Addy was a Ghanian master drummer who relocated from Accra to Portland in the late 1970s. He was embraced by the musician community in Albina and successive collaborations yielded a variety of regional ensembles fusing contemporary jazz with the music of Africa. These groups toured internationally and were recognized many times over in the national press.
Obo Addy brought the arts and culture of Ghana to generations of Oregonians through his teaching at Lewis & Clark College as well as a variety of primary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions throughout the nation. He founded the Homowo Festival of African Arts. And together with his wife Susan Addy, he established the non-profit Obo Addy Legacy Project.
Obo Addy is featured on the Albina Music Trust release Youthsound. Additional biographical information on Obo Addy can be found here.
The Legendary Beyons
The Legendary Beyons formed in 1965 on the basketball court at Jefferson High School. They first began harmonizing in the school’s locker room after practice and soon began singing in the hallways for students and teachers.
Throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s, the group expanded into Albina’s clubs and beyond. Their lineup featured The Soul Masters (and later Pleasure). Together for 60 years, The Legendary Beyons are among the most enduring vocal groups in the United States.
Pictured from left to right is James Tims, Jeddy Beasley, Denarvel Brazzle, and Thurtis Channel.
A 1977 recording of The Legendary Beyons can be heard on their Albina Music Trust release. A 2019 recording of The Legendary Beyons can be heard here.
Pleasure
Pleasure was Albina’s chief musical export throughout the 1970s. Forging a unique blend of jazz-funk fusion, the group was “discovered” by Grover Washington Jr. on a trip to Portland and were quickly signed by The Crusaders’ Wayne Henderson to a major label recording contract. Pleasure released seven nationally distributed albums on Fantasy and RCA Records in roughly eight years. During this time, Pleasure was the only group from Albina to release multiple national records at this level.
Featured here from clockwise beginning in the upper left corner of the photo is: Doug Lewis, Nate Phillips, Dennis Springer, Michael Hepburn, Donald Hepburn, Bruce Smith, Tony Collins, Bruce Carter, and Sherman Davis. Not pictured: Marlon McClain.
Members of Pleasure are featured on multiple Albina Music Trust releases including Slickaphonic, Lights Out, Youthsound, Milton Davis - Let Me In, and The Legendary Beyons (where the entire group is featured as the backing band).
Additional biographical information on Pleasure can be found here.
Calvin Walker
Calvin Walker is a music industry polymath. First as a drummer, bandleader, and producer, and then as a musician’s union representative, venue manager, and development director. At eleven years old, he began performing as a drummer at Paul Knauls’ Cotton Club. Performing in a variety of genre-fluid acts throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Walker’s work as a bandleader and vocalist gained him notoriety as a recording artist touring internationally throughout the 1970s-1990s.
In addition to his work as co-founder and treasurer of the Albina Music Trust, Calvin Walker has sat on the board of directors for the Jazz Society Of Oregon, XRAY FM, and World Arts Foundation. He’s also served as development director at KMHD and academic advisor at Mt. Hood Community College.
Calvin Walker is featured on Albina Music Trust’s inaugural release, The Gangsters.
Norman Sylvester
Norman Sylvester relocated to Albina in the early 1950s from the farmlands of Louisiana. Known to many as “The Boogie Cat,” Norman Sylvester began performing the blues in Portland as a teenager. His earliest musical work included performing at the Multnomah Hotel and establishing one of Albina’s earliest soul music groups, Rated X.
Norman Sylvester has shared bills with legends such as BB King, Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, and more. A devoted local music historian, Sylvester has been the recipient of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He currently leads the Norman Sylvester Band, a legendary regional blues unit that has been active for over 40 years.
Additional biographical information on Norman Sylvester can be found here.
Ken Berry
Ken Berry is a retired teacher, administrator, arts advocate, entrepreneur, mentor, deacon, choir director, disc jockey, and musician. Pictured here with his mother, Mary Jean Berry, Ken Berry was mentored on piano and in choir throughout Albina’s churches as a young man. In his early musical career, he performed at Paul Knauls’ Cotton Club; joined the Shades Of Brown on organ; hosted radio programs for KGW, YSOL, KBTS, KQIV, and KBOO; and directed the Youthsound children’s choir.
In addition to serving as Albina Music Trust’s board president, Ken Berry has dedicated 48 years of service teaching in Portland Public Schools. He has been an enduring presence in Albina’s evangelical community, co-founded the World Arts Foundation, and has earned countless awards for public service.
Ken Berry has served on the board of directors for Oregon Education Association, Portland Association of Teachers, Metropolitan Arts Commission, Portland Community Media, and Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators.
Ken Berry is featured on Albina Music Trust’s releases Youthsound and Shades Of Brown.
Marian Mayfield
Marian Mayfield was among the first female instrumentalists featured in Albina’s jazz clubs during the 1950s. Performing on the electric bass and as a vocalist, she worked in a variety of configurations leading her own group as well as performing in trios and big bands.
In addition to her musical career, Marian Mayfield taught in elementary schools and served on the Metropolitan Arts Commission. In 1994, she recorded her first and only solo album entitled, Close Your Eyes.
Additional biographical information on Marian Mayfield can be found here.
Paul Knauls, Sr.
Paul Knauls is known to many as "The Mayor of Albina." After an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, Knauls came to Oregon in the 1960s and launched the now legendary Cotton Club. Known for its “Wall to Wall Soul,” the Cotton Club and its successor, Geneva’s, served as important gathering spaces for Portland’s Black community.
Pictured here with his late wife Geneva Knauls, Paul Knauls’ legacy is difficult to sum up. An entrepreneur, raconteur, trailblazer, avid skier, and soul music aficionado… At 93 years old, Paul Knauls continues to inspire and strengthen bonds in communities throughout the Portland metropolitan area.
There are a variety of ways to learn more about Paul Knauls’ legacy, including a biographical zine by Albina Music Trust and Albina Vision Trust. However, the greatest deep dive can be found by simply Googling this man’s name or exploring the vast amount of photos he has contributed to The Albina Community Archive.
J.W. Friday
J.W. Friday is a disc jockey, emcee, musician, minister, and motivational speaker. He began his musical career in Albina as a teen recording with The Cavaliers Unlimited. This iconic soul music group was heavily sampled among the 1990s hip hop generation and has since been reissued by DJ Shadow and Mississippi Records alike.
A pioneering disc jockey in Albina, J.W. Friday rose to prominence in the 1980s via his radio programs, “Black Rock 88” and “The Essence Of Soul”. Passionate, witty, and forever committed to lifting the spirit, J.W. Friday has brought soul and gospel music to Portland in a way that few have done before or since. He can be heard currently on Saturday evenings from 7-8pm on XRAY FM.
Additional biographical information on J.W. Friday can be found here.
Shirley Nanette
Shirley Nanette came of age in the late 1960s—first as a featured vocalist in the jazz big band, Carl Smith & The Natural Gas Company, and later as a solo artist. Her self-released 1973 LP Never Coming Back is among the only records made by an Albina artist released in its time. It has since been reissued by multiple national reissue labels.
In the 1980s, Shirley Nanette began work as a featured vocalist in a variety of symphonies around the United States. In 1983, she won the first televised “Star Search” competition on NBC. She has been inducted into the Oregon Music Hall Of Fame and awarded for her vocal work many times over.
Additional biographical information on Shirley Nanette is here.
Thara Memory
Thara Memory was a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and activist in Albina for roughly five decades—beginning in the late 1960s. His accolades include a Grammy, an honorary doctorate from Berklee School Of Music, as well as induction into the Oregon Music Hall Of Fame.
As a music educator, Thara Memory began work in Albina’s high schools and community centers before establishing his own community-driven youth music education programs such as Youthsound in the 1980s; the Cultural Recreation Band in the 1990s; and the American Music Program in the 2000s-2010s. Memory’s pupils include Esperanza Spalding, Domo Branch, and Charlie Brown III.
Thara Memory is featured as bandleader and trumpeter on the following Albina Music Trust releases: The Gangsters, Youthsound, and Shades Of Brown.
Additional biographical information on Thara Memory is here. He is survived by multiple family members, including his daughter—the vocalist and songwriter, Tahirah Memory.
Groove Tube
Groove Tube was a mid-1970s disco-funk outfit featuring members of Pleasure, Slickaphonic, Sunday’s Child, and BL & The Soul Tans. They performed locally in Albina as well as toured throughout the United States and Canada. The group’s recorded output was never released in its time.
Featured here from clockwise beginning in the upper left corner of the photo is: Doug Lewis (aka Dr. Funkenstein), Andre Billingsley, Bonnie Lewis (aka Sugar Bear), Mary Lou Anderson, Randy Smith (aka Randy Starr), and Leslie White (aka Stimy Cain).
The group’s rhythm section is featured on Albina Music Trust’s Slickaphonic release, and currently performs in Bridge City Soul.
Ural Thomas
Ural Thomas aka “Portland’s Pillar Of Soul” came to Albina in the late 1940s. He is one of sixteen children and was raised singing gospel music with his family.
In the 1950s, his group The Monterays were the first Black doo-wop group in the Pacific Northwest to integrate with a white backing band.
In the 1960s, Ural Thomas scored the first National hit by a Black artist in the State Of Oregon with “Can You Dig It?” on Uni Records, a subsidiary of Buddha Records. In addition to performing at Paul Knauls’ Cotton Club, his accolades during this period include performing at the Apollo Theater with Otis Redding and The Bar-Kays as well as songwriting for James Brown.
By the 1970s, Ural Thomas returned to Portland and established the House Of Entertainment—a community space for musicians of all ages. He has continued to open his home for jam sessions over five decades, cultivating the musical abilities of neighbors, friends, strangers, and youth.
At nearly 85 years old, Ural Thomas continues to perform with his group Ural Thomas & The Pain. Ural Thomas Day in the City Of Portland will be recognized annually on December 21st.
Ruby & The Wonders
Ruby & The Wonders were a short-lived 1960s Albina soul group performing at Paul Knauls’ Cotton Club. Aside from a few photos and a recording on the Normar label, little is known about the band’s lineup and achievements. Perhaps you can help us?
In addition to our exhibit at the Horizon Enterprise Building, Wall To Wall Soul appears at Clyde’s Prime Rib, one of Portland's few remaining venues actively hosting performances by Albina's elder musician community. The show can be viewed on the restaurant side of the venue, and is concentrated in the venue’s North Room. This show remains at Clyde’s in perpetuity and we encourage you to make a reservation to visit and dine here.
More detail on the Clyde’s Prime Rib exhibit is available via Portland Design History.