The D/L Sextet, a project conceived and co-led by pianist Ruthie Dineen of the Bay Area and bassist Andrew Lion, formerly of California and now a Bend resident, promises to be something quite unique. They play a style of jazz that is original, forward-thinking and not the standard fare. It’s a genre they describe as “large-format jazz/indie-art/post-bop” which is not something we hear all the time in Bend. I spoke with Ruthie, Andrew and also with their drummer, Adam Carlson, a Bend native and graduate of Bend High, who has gone on to have an impressive career as a percussionist.
the Source: How did the D/L Sextet come together?
Andrew Lion: It started actually with the group Ruthie and I formed 14 years ago in Oakland, California, which is a creative music collective called Negative Press Project. We’ve got four releases in our catalogue, with the fifth one coming out this year. The first came out 10 years ago in 2015. So, off the heels of the pandemic we were all kind of displaced, which brought me to Bend, which is a positive thing. Ruthie still has roots in the Bay Area, but our ensemble suddenly found ourselves in L.A., D.C., Helsinki and Brooklyn. So, we had a desire to have an outlet for some new compositions and Ruthie and I put together the D/L Sextet.
tS: Has this group played in Oregon before?
AL: We had a run last year throughout Oregon and that’s when Adam [Carlson] was brought in, and so he’s the returning member this year. We have the good fortune of bringing a friend of ours up from Oakland, Eli [Maliwan] on saxophone, and Pablo Rivarola, a trumpeter from Portland, down for this show. So, it’s really an opportunity to introduce some new voices into what Ruthie and I write and compose for.
tS: What is your approach to the type of jazz you create?
Ruthie Dineen: The two defining features are that it’s always improvised and pulling on the roots of jazz, and then it’s always fairly through-composed at the same time. We pull on a lot of different influences: some rock, a lot of jazz, and definitely some classical, too. So, I think it kind of defies genre.
tS: I love that this concert is going to be at Dudley’s. How did you decide on this venue?
AL: I have had the good fortune of supporting a local singer/songwriter, Joel Chadd, on some performances and he did one there. I was really charmed by the environment. We were upstairs, and that’s where we [D/L Sextet] are going to be. It’s a very intimate space. It has these nice, curved ceilings which kind of reminded me of the low ceiling of the Village Vanguard in New York. So, it planted a seed in my mind that I’d like to bring something back through here at some point. And I have to mention that Tom and Amy, the proprietors there, have been so supportive of this, as well.
tS: It’s awesome to see women in jazz and women composers. What has your experience been regarding women in the jazz world?
RD: My experience is that there have been very few. And, I think growing up I was the only one, or there would be one other, and all of my female friends would all be the vocalist. There just aren’t very many and I’m used to it at this point. In my work [as executive director of the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts], to see more young women come up in it is great, and we want to give them all the support that we can give. And also for diversity as well, that’s also important.
tS: Can you talk a bit about how Adam has fit into your group?
AL: When I first moved to Bend I was on the hunt for talented musicians. His name had come up and he had been referred to me by several folks. Adam and I have had some other opportunities to work together through private events and from that point, I was like, wow, I want to find any opportunity I can to work with him, because he’s super agile and very smooth in the tradition, but he has a modern sensibility, too.
tS: What do you hope people will experience at the show?
RD: I would hope people would walk away inspired and wanting to do something on their own that’s creative and gives life to them right now, especially at these times when there’s a lot going on in the world.
tS: Since graduating from Bend High can you share a bit about your musical journey?
Adam Carlson: I went to the University of Oregon for a jazz studies major. There I got to experience a whole new tier of musical experiences with lots of gigs, performances of many types of music, different calibers of musicians, like the guest artists that were brought in at the U of O.
tS: After college you moved to New York City, right?
AC: Yes, I moved to New York, which was quite a different thing. It was really cool to go from a small pool to an infinite ocean, especially in terms of the amount of talented and well-versed musicians. You know, just thousands of incredible musicians you’ve never heard of. Being exposed to them and being able to play with some of them was incredible.
tS:Now you are living in Portland and working as a freelance drummer, which is how you came to be a part of the D/L Sextet. What excites you about this concert at Dudley’s?
AC: I think it’s really important to set up a space that is a listening space, no matter what kind of music it is. Some styles of music are great for background music or to have at festivals on big stages, but there are other styles of music (like Ruthie and Andrew’s project) that really deserve that kind of space set aside for listening to get the most out of it. I think having a space for that in any community is very important.
This article appears in Source Weekly May 29, 2025.
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