Music camp instructors return to play jazz concert

When saxophonist Nick Biello met trumpeter Charlie Porter for the first time at the annual Blaine Harbor Music Camp, it was the beginning of a musical partnership.

Hailing from opposite coasts, the two jazz players first met as co-instructors at the summer music camp where they return every year to teach kids. Seven years later, they are about to begin a tour promoting Porter’s newest album, which features Biello’s playing. One of these tour stops is appropriately the place where they first met – Blaine.

“Our paths don’t always cross as much as we’d like them to,” Biello said. “Blaine gives us the opportunity to come together and work on projects.”

At the Blaine Performing Arts Center on Sunday, November 3, Biello and Porter will be performing from 4 to 6 p.m. with their music group, the EastWest Winds Quintet. The other quintet members include Julian MacDonough on drums, Tony Foster on piano and John Lee on bass. Tickets are $20 for adults and free for kids in grades K-12.

“They’re super talented, really world-class musicians,” Blaine Harbor Music Camp board member Marla Tuski said. “For them to travel out and do a performance in our little community is just a really big thing.”

Tuski knows the musicians from their participation in the summer music camp year after year. When her husband was involved with the Performing Arts Center, Tuski was introduced to Biello and Porter and was surprised by their musical expertise. 

“The guys are inspirational,” Tuski said. “They really get the kids pumped about music. It’s so interesting to me how they can be at the top of their game, but they’re able to connect with a first-year player and really enjoy the kids and teach them a lot.”

A New Yorker, Biello considers teaching kids to be the best part about being an instructor for Blaine Harbor Music Camp.

“It’s really wonderful because I get to see a lot of familiar faces year after year, not only growing as young adults but also as young musicians,” Biello said. “For kids who don’t have the opportunity to study with private teachers, the week of camp in July is a real beacon for them.”

A college music professor in Oregon, Porter also enjoys the summer teaching gig in Blaine.

“In this program, the kids really do come first,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing I wish I could have had at that age.”

When he was 13 years old, Porter attended a concert by trumpet player Wynton Marsalis. Inspired by Marsalis, he began playing the same instrument and even studied with his idol at Juilliard.

“I always remember that impact he had on me, especially because I work with younger players,” Porter said. “That one meeting with him changed the course of my life.”

Blaine mayor Bonnie Onyon and her husband have been hosting Porter in their home for the past three years during the music camp.

“He’s just been such a pleasure to have every year. We’ve gotten quite close. He calls us his Blaine parents,” she said. “He’s an amazing composer as well as a musician.”

In the days following their upcoming Blaine performance, Biello and Porter will be traveling to schools around Whatcom County to teach music lessons to high school and middle school students. The workshops will be an opportunity to recruit for next year’s Blaine Harbor Music Camp.

Porter’s new album comes out on Friday, November 15. For those unable to attend the Blaine concert, Biello and Porter will be performing in Seattle on Saturday, November 2.