Since when did Portland become so infatuated with Burt Bacharach? I mean this in the best way possible; who doesn’t need a little “What the World Needs Now Is Love” every once in a while? Burt’s career received a Mike Myers-assisted kick start at the turn of the century, and now some of our favorite local stalwarts—from Alan Singley to Parenthetical Girls—are dropping his name as an influence to their conceptually composed, highly orchestrated sound.

In the latest installment of the Penny Jam, Derrek Wayne (who coincidentally looks like fellow composer-turned-Disney-crooner Randy Newman’s doppelganger circa Sail Away), tickles the ivories amidst vintage upright models ant the Immortal Piano Company. And how ’bout that sax solo! It’s the perfect setting for Wayne’s jazzy lounge-pop, and the producers wisely let the music set the scene, favoring simple shots and close-ups of Wayne at his piano over the cut-and-paste collage of Mattress on the Lafayette footbridge.

Derrek Wayne at The Immortal Piano Company from The Penny Jam on Vimeo.

Links:
Derrek WayneSpace
The Penny Jam

Photo: screencap from the video courtesy of Derrek Wayne and the Penny Jam