Rashied Ali, the vigorously creative drummer who served as foil on Coltrane’s “Interstellar Space,” which “The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD” calls Coltrane’s “final masterpiece” constituting “a search for the time beyond time, an uncountable pulse which would represent a pure musical experience not chopped into bars and choruses.” A reputation as a free-jazz firebrand was attached to Ali with that memorable performance, but though he’s continued to work with Coltrane’s compositions and ideas, he’s also established his own identity as musician and bandleader — and it’s by no means all about wild intensity. Read The Oregonian’s Marty Hughley’s preview here. Advance tickets can be bought here.

The Secret Machines return to Portland Thursday night. Oct 19th, for a concert at the Crystal Ballroom.

Portland band The High Violets will be releasing a re-mix CD and some 12�?s at the beginning of 2007 with songs from their recent album “To Where You Are” re-mixed by Carmen Rizzo (LA), Ajax (Australia), Secret Cinema (Netherlands), Antahkarana Music (Mexico City) and DJ Conocybe (Berlin) among others. “To Where You Are�? was released earlier this year in N. America. The band’s follow-up to the highly acclaimed “44 Down” took three years, but it was “well worth the wait!” so say all of the press reports from CMJ, Magnet, Time Out New York, Under the Radar, Amplifier, Big Takeover, etc.. The band were also recently filmed for a PBS documentary that will air sometime this Winter. Stay tuned here for more info. The High Violets new album is now available in all good record stores, download sites and through the Reverb Webstore.

The Decemberists are arguably Portland’s most popular band. Feted nationally and internationally as one of America’s best new bands, by all accounts their star is about to shine further with the release of their new CD The Crane Wife. They celebrate the CD’s release next Tuesday Oct 17th and Wed Oct 18th at the Crystal Ballroom.

After 10 weeks on the TV show, Rockstar: Supernova, local chanteuse Storm Large returned to Portland’s Wonder Ballroom to play to her fans. The Oregonian has a review of the show here.