Ryan Meagher is a jazz guitarist and composer who launched his international reputation in New York City in 2003, after completing his bachelor of music degree at San Diego State University. He spent his first years in NYC discovering his compositional voice and honing his improvisational craft, leading bands at venues including the Blue Note, the Knitting Factory, and Cornelia Street Café. In 2011 he completed his master of music degree at the University of Nevada, Reno, and shortly after relocated to Portland, where he has become one of the city's defining jazz figures — as a bandleader, an educator, and the architect of one of the Pacific Northwest's most active jazz institutions.

He has released ten albums as a leader, drawing praise across the jazz press, and built PJCE Records into a label with 75 releases and counting. He is also a founding member of Cowboy Jazz, named one of Willamette Week's five best new bands of 2025.

Current Roles:

• Artistic Director, Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble

• Director, PJCE Records

• Co-founder, Montavilla Jazz Festival

• Festival Coordinator, Mt Hood Jazz Festival

• Jazz Director, Lower Columbia College

• Instructor, Portland State University, University of Portland, Mt Hood Community College

• Artist Associate, Willamette University