The BRIDGETOWN SEXTET performs authentic, energetic roots jazz from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with a sound evoking Creole New Orleans, the stomp of prohibition era Chicago, fast-paced Harlem stride piano, and the tight swing of depression era Manhattan. Portland natives Andrew Oliver and Scott Kennedy assembled this group out of a long standing desire to create fresh but genuine music inspired by the forms of early jazz as heard on the records of Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, and Duke Ellington among many others. The group has worked to capture the natural feel of these early jazz innovations- the drive, energy, and spontaneity that characterize them- while fostering a unique and inventive sound that would move beyond mere traditionalism and preservation in the interest of crafting new music.