Article Contributed by Dennis McNally
Published on 2026-06-18
There is something pure and special about a musical duet. There is the opportunity for conversation, for an intimate exchange. There is room for improvisation and variation at the same time that the two musicians explore the given structure.
Mary Flower is a brilliant fingerpicking guitarist in the roots blues, ragtime, and early jazz tradition. She is a prodigious talent whose seasoned skills earned her the Far West Folk Alliance “Best of the West” award in 2025. She is a longtime teacher who recently celebrated 12 years of “Blues in the Gorge,” her own guitar intensive. She has made 13 recordings that document her profound command and love for blues guitar. It is entirely appropriate that Jorma Kaukonen called her “a national treasure in your own backyard.”
A few years back, she was on an airplane returning from tour, and a young reedman named Leon Cotter recognized her. They ended up chatting about music—what else?—and connected. Later, they were both featured at the Montavilla Jazz Festival in Portland in 2025 and then met again at a backyard fundraiser, where Leon suggested playing together.
“Before I knew it, Mary had something booked at a little local venue.”
Playing together formed an instant and magical bond between them, and their first show was just three months later.
Saxophone and clarinet player Leon Cotter is an internationally touring reed player with the much-loved California Honeydrops. When he is not out on the road, Leon maintains a strong presence in the Portland music scene, performing regularly as a bandleader and as a sideman with a variety of jazz and jazz-adjacent groups.
Over the years, he has shared the stage with luminaries including Bonnie Raitt, Del McCoury, and Charlie Hunter, and has played everywhere from Australia’s Byron Bay Bluesfest to Red Rocks to New Orleans’ legendary Tipitina’s.
You will hear their extraordinary musical bond from the first note. Blues, jazz, old-time New Orleans music—it has all of that and more. There is a pinch of elegant magic, too.
Chants of Rain—very Portland, no?—is their first CD and comes from Little Village, a nonprofit record company devoted to bringing diverse music to the public in pursuit of a more harmonious world.
Press: D. McNally, dennismcnally@mac.com
Little Village: www.littlevillagefoundation.org
