Ben Jones

[PARTY MUSIC] The unassuming and pint-sized Blue Diamond, located on a sleepy stretch of Sandy Boulevard, has of late become an essential Portland venue and the spiritual successor to the beloved Candlelight Room. The club hosts live music of the blues and soul variety six nights a week, but Thursdays are extra loud, tight and vibrant thanks to Ben Jones and his crew. Jones is a thrilling and surprising bassist with a long resume and a longer set list—it's not unusual for Jones and company to touch on five or six decades worth of funk, rock and soul standards—but a lot of the fun happens when he's not even onstage. A recent Thursday found Jones introducing a wild young bluesman from Chicago, who he'd just met outside, and a powerful singer and Blue Diamond regular named Blue. There is, perhaps, no better way to party like it's...1976? 1982? 1999?