This month, be sure to join us in-person on Sunday, October 19th, 2025 at 4:50pm when we continue our new 2025-2026 Jazz Vespers series in our recently renovated St. James Lutheran Church building — our special guest musician for this live performance is John Nastos on woodwinds.
Musical accompaniment by Mike Horsfall on piano, Laurent Nickel on bass, and Tim Rap on drums. Valarie Brown is serving as cantor, and Pastor David Knapp is our liturgist.
Next month we invite you to attend again in our St. James sanctuary and we ask you to make a freewill donation (offering) to help support our musicians as we continue our new 2025-2026 season — with a performance by Israel Annoh on percussion, Kevin Dietz on bass, and Mike Horsfall on vibes — at 4:50pm on Sunday, November 16th, 2025. You can now find the complete 2025-2026 Jazz Vespers guest artist schedule further down on this webpage. Although we have resumed our St. James Jazz Vespers series in-person — please remember that you may also continue to enjoy our prior Jazz Vespers on video.
You may now choose to listen below to the most recent recording of our Jazz Vespers Service from Sunday, October 19th, 2025. Click the link below to listen to this latest recording …
You may also continue to find links to some of our previous Jazz Vespers recordings by navigating to “Communications > Music” on the main navigation menu at the top of the page. Or you can click here to be linked directly to the “Music” page.
This 45 minute jazz musical setting of the Evening Prayer liturgy is held on the third Sunday of each month. Professional jazz musicians and vocalists lead this reflective service with scriptural reading, psalms, hymns, and prayer. Preludes and postludes from the broad jazz repertoire precede and follow the service.
Jazz Vespers is held every 3rd Sunday at 4:50pm. Once again this year, we were very pleased to be a venue for the PDX Jazz Festival.
Jazz Vespers on Sunday, October 19th at 4:50pm, features guest John Nastos on woodwinds …
Before graduating from high school, John enrolled at Portland State University, where he studied with Alan Jones, Darrell Grant, and other Portland jazz luminaries. During that same year, he started performing with the Mel Brown Septet, the Gordon Lee Big Band, and other professional Portland groups. He then moved to New York and studied at the Manhattan School of Music.
Since returning to Portland, John has performed with the who’s who of the Portland scene, including the Mel Brown Septet, the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Opera, the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, 45th Parallel, Darrell Grant’s On the Territory, the Damian Erskine Project, and the Christopher Brown Quartet. He has recorded with the Chuck Israels Orchestra, Intervision, Drew Shoals, Obo Addy, Ezra Weiss, Damian Erskine, Chance Hayden, Ben Darwish’s Commotion, Tony Glausi, Jessie Marquez, and others.
Nastos’s composition, arranging, and compositional skills have been commissioned for performances and recordings by Damian Erskine, the Bobby Torres Ensemble, the Art Abrams Swing Machine, Portland State University, and Pink Martini (for performances with the San Francisco Symphony and other orchestras around the world).
Come hear John and the Mike Horsfall Trio on Sunday, October 19th. Pre-Vespers music starts at 4:50pm.
This marks the second Jazz Vespers of the 2025-26 season. You can find the complete Jazz Vespers guest roster further down on this webpage.
Other highlights – Pastor David Knapp will guide our liturgy by creatively weaving the lyrics of a selected jazz song into his message. The congregation will be singing an original, jazz-influenced liturgy composed by Marguerite Luc. Valarie Brown will be our cantor. The Mike Horsfall Trio includes Laurent Nickel on bass, and Tim Rap on drums. We look forward to seeing you.
–Mike Horsfall, Director of Jazz
Be sure to join us for what’s sure to be a vibrant evening of music! The Vespers will be held in our St. James sanctuary. Pre-Vespers music begins at 4:50pm. Freewill offering.
John is joined by our St. James house band: Mike Horsfall, piano; Laurent Nickel, bass; Tim Rap, drums; and Valarie Brown, cantor.
NOTE: During the months of September and October — in the Pioneer Chapel — the Visual Artists’ Group at St. James presents the artwork of Friedrich Steenbock (Schuler) — who will be exhibiting his latest oil paintings. Friedrich offered a Mexican food night for his reception on September 21st at 6:00pm — immediately following our Jazz Vespers performance. So — there is no reception after the October Jazz Vespers performance.
Next month’s featured guest: Join us as we continue our 2025-2026 season of Jazz Vespers — with a performance by Israel Annoh on percussion, Kevin Dietz on bass, and Mike Horsfall on vibes — at 4:50pm on Sunday, November 16th, 2025. You can now find the complete 2025-2026 Jazz Vespers guest artist roster listed below.
The St. James Jazz Vespers series is alive and well! Since the completion of construction — we are holding our services back in our newly renovated St. James Lutheran Church building — at 5:00pm every 3rd Sunday of the month, with the prelude music starting at 4:50pm. The service consists of an original jazz-tinged liturgy, composed by Marguerite Luc, that involves the congregation and the cantor accompanied by a jazz trio. The pastor’s message is linked to a chosen jazz tune, which is performed after the sermon. The service is punctuated by thematic jazz standards featuring a special musical guest.
St. James Jazz Vespers 2025-2026 Season …
Join us on the third Sunday of each month for our Jazz Vespers series. You won’t want to miss it!
**** The 2025-2026 Jazz Vespers Schedule and Guests:
September 21st, 2025: Paul Mazzio, trumpet & flugelhorn
October 19th, 2025: John Nastos, woodwinds
November 16th, 2025: Israel Annoh, percussion; Kevin Dietz, bass; Mike Horsfall, vibes
December 21st, 2025: Marilyn Keller, vocalist
January 18th, 2026: John Stowell, guitar
February 15th, 2026: Renato Caranto, tenor sax
March 15th, 2026: Cheryl Alex, flute & alto flute
April 19th, 2026: Mary-Sue Tobin, woodwinds
May 17th, 2026: Jack Radsliff, guitar
June 21st, 2026: Haley Horsfall, voice & percussion
July 19th, 2026: Dmitri Matheny, flugelhorn
August 16th, 2026: John Moak, trombone
Pre-Vespers music begins at 4:50pm. Freewill offering.
Another feature in this year’s series is the artwork used for the postcards, posters, and bulletins. The artist, Joel Nickel, has created a new work of art — which is displayed at the top of this webpage — for the 2025-2026 Jazz Vespers season — conveying colorful concepts, jagged rhythms, and reflections on Christian life that make up the music and messages at a Jazz Vespers service. His colorful, frenetic style is the perfect representation of the many emotions depicted by the jazz musicians that have performed in the church over the last decade. To learn more about our artist, Joel Nickel, visit his website at joelnickelart.com.
Please join us as we celebrate this new season and feature these musicians!
NOTE: New “St. James Jazz Vespers – We’ll Be Together Again” CD Released!
The new CD, “St. James Jazz Vespers – We’ll Be Together Again”, has arrived! These musical highlights are a collection of tunes played during the pandemic shutdown from July 2020 to July 2021 by The Mike Horsfall Trio and guests of the St. James Jazz Vespers. You can purchase one for $20 at the St. James office. Enjoy!
NOTE: “Come Sunday – Jazz Standards from Jazz Vespers” CD is currently out of print.
The recording “Come Sunday” was jointly produced by St. James Lutheran and St. Luke’s Episcopal churches. The Mike Horsfall Trio, with Laurent Nickel on bass and Brent Follis on drums, is featured on the CD, along with some guest performers.
The St. James Jazz Vespers is held starting at 4:50pm every 3rd Sunday of the month. It is a welcoming, inclusive, meditative message, delivered in part by a beautiful, original liturgy, punctuated with select jazz standards throughout. The music is performed by the Mike Horsfall Trio, and features a special guest each month. All are welcome.
