Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Presents: Gina Saputo Quartet

Wed, Apr 22

TICKETS $25 | ALL AGES WELCOME As part of the 2026 Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, we welcome Gina Saputo to our stage! With an alto voice of velvet, “sounding street wise like Carmen McRae yet also as strong as Sarah Vaughan” (Jazzweekly), and a career that spans continents, charts, and generations of jazz history, Gina Saputo stands among the most accomplished and influential jazz vocalists working today. A globally recognized vocalist, educator, composer/arranger, author, and clinician, Saputo released her seventh album, Daydream (2025), to critical acclaim. Her 2019 release Duetto reached #4 on the iTunes Jazz charts—an extraordinary achievement for an independent artist—while her 2004 release climbed to #3 on Japan’s prestigious Swing Journal charts, cementing her international reputation early in her career. Saputo is featured on Jeff Goldblum’s Decca Records release I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This, alongside Gregory Porter, Miley Cyrus, Fiona Apple, Inara George, and others. She has performed regularly with Goldblum’s band for over 13 years, appearing at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Blue Note Honolulu, Al Gore’s 24 Hours of Reality, extensive U.S. and European tours, and major international stages. Her on-screen performances include Amazon’s The Last Tycoon and Good Day LA. Throughout her career, Saputo has collaborated with jazz luminaries including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Kamasi Washington, Gerald Clayton, Plas Johnson, Jack Sheldon, Benny Green, Jeff Goldblum, and Nnenna Freelon. She was mentored by legendary Count Basie vocalist Carmen Bradford and nine-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton. In addition to her solo work, Saputo has provided background vocals for Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, and Bonnie Raitt. She has headlined major festivals including the Dubai Skywards Jazz Festival and Savannah Jazz Festival, and has been featured at the Arroyo Seco Festival. Her headlining tours span the United States, Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam. A dedicated educator, Saputo taught at Musicians Institute in Hollywood and served as Co-Director of Applied Music at Santa Monica College before relocating from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California and is an alumna of the prestigious Herbie Hancock Institute. The author of four books on vocal technique, Gina Saputo is widely sought after as a performer, arranger, clinician, adjudicator, and educator. She is respected not only for her mastery of the art form, but for her enduring influence on the next generation of jazz artists.