The
Pizza Jam FAQs
What is the Pizza Jam?
The Pizza Jam is a group of musicians that get together twice a month to play
contradance and other tunes.
Why is it called “The Pizza Jam”?
We call it the "Pizza Jam" for historical reasons. The jam sessions have been
going on for about 12 years and were started around 1999–2000 by Rob
Hoffman. A pizza parlor called “It’s a Beautiful Pizza” on Belmont Street hosted a
Balkan jam on Tuesday nights and had just moved to larger quarters. At the
time, there was no jam session for contradance music and Rob saw a possible
opportunity for one. He spoke with the owner, who agreed to host the jam
sessions on the first and third Mondays; this was the beginning of the Monday
Night Pizza Jam. In those days, in addition to playing music from the Portland
Collections, musicians had a chance to play music by local composers, who
would attend the sessions and bring copies of their music for everyone to try. We
also played other music in addition to just contradance. Hambo, Schottis, Tango,
English Country, cowboy songs and other styles were all on the menu. Once in
awhile we even played songs people could sing.
In 2010, the owner sold the pizza parlor and we lost that venue. The name
“Pizza Jam” persists.
Who can attend?
The Pizza Jam welcomes players of all instruments and at all skill levels.
Where and when does the Pizza Jam meet?
The pizza jam meets twice a month, on the first and third Mondays. For months
that have five Mondays, we don't meet on the fifth Monday. Currently, on the first
Monday, we alternate between the homes of Sally Joughin, 2715 SE 34th Ave,
and Abbie Weisenbloom, 3652 SE Alder St. On the third Monday, we meet at
Sckavone's, a restaurant/bar at 4100 SE Division St. The jam starts at 7:30 PM if
it is at Abbie’s house, and at 8 PM if it is at Sally’s house or at Sckavone’s. A
piano is available at both Sally’s and Abbie’s, but not at Sckavone’s.
What tunes are played?
We use printed music and don't expect people to play by ear, though it’s
fine if you do play by ear. We typically play tunes from the Portland
Collections, Volumes 1 and 2, and sometimes from the three waltz books. If you don't have those books yet, we're all willing to share our music.
Additionally, you are encouraged to bring copies of any other tunes,
contradance or not, that you would like played at the jam session; please
bring 10-12 copies so that there are enough for all.
What is the format of the jam session?
Usually we go around the room and each person takes a turn at choosing
a tune to play. That person gets to set the tempo, decide how many times
we play it, and start us off by playing an intro or counting us in so that we
all start together. We don’t usually play very fast. When you choose a
tune, you can announce at the beginning how many times you want to play
it, or, you can decide on the fly and call “Hup!” or stick out your foot during
the second playing of the B part of the tune when you want to end it. We
recommend playing each tune at least four times to give people a chance
to catch on.
How does one find out about an upcoming jam session?
Syd sends out a reminder to the people on the mailing list, usually the
Friday before the upcoming session, with the time and place and any
additional information. Recipients are asked to do a Reply All to say
whether or not they intend to come.
Why are we asked to do a “Reply All” to the email reminders?
Again, there is a historical reason. When the jams were at the pizza parlor,
this scenario would sometimes occur: Musician A would arrive at the pizza
parlor and, finding no other musicians there, would leave. Musician B
would arrive a bit later, also find no one there, and leave. Then, Musician
C... well, you get the idea. It happened several times that there was no
Pizza Jam when there could have been, if only Musicians A, B, C, etc. had
known to wait for others to show up. Having everyone do a “Reply All” to
indicate whether or not they plan to come, has solved this problem.
How does a person get on the mailing list?
Send or give your name, email address, and the instruments you play, to
Syd Newell, 
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