Contracts are signed, plane tickets bought, instruments in hand…some of the world’s greatest Jazz artists are headed for Portland! And that’s in addition to some of the world’s greatest Jazz artists who already live here.
The 2004 Portland Jazz Festivalbegins on Thursday, February 20 with a Jazz Conversation with Ahmad Jamal conducted by Darrell Grant (Jamal’s performance is the following day). The music begins Thursday night with pianist/vocalist Eliane Elias and doesn’t end until the Pat Metheny plays the last note on Sunday, March 2.
Ahmad Jamal / Photo by Jacques Beneich
In between is a vast array of styles, personalities, ensemble and solo performances, enough to take your breath away, no matter which end of Jazz you’re own preferences are coming from. One wonderful aspect of the festival is your ability to discover an artist you’ve never heard before. Yes, we have our favorites and our favorite tunes by our favorite artists, but Jazz is about growth and discovery. When you peruse the 2014 lineup, look for someone you’ve never heard.
The festival is built around the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records, but you don’t have to know anything about it, or even know that’s the theme for you to get enough musical pleasure to last you until spring.
Oregon Music News is happy to be an online media sponsor once again, and for the fourth year, we’ll be podcasting the Jazz Conversations. For a look at our comprehensive, mammoth, stupendous and gargantuan coverage PJF from 2010 to this minute, click on the Festival tab at the top of this page.
You can find the entire schedule here. What OMN is up to this time is to give you our best bets. No doubt you’ll have a disagreement here and there, but….you know, it’s Jazz
Mortgage the house to see:
McCandless, Moore, Walker, Towner
2014 Portland Jazz Masters: Oregon feat. Glen Moore, Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless and Mark Walker, Monday, February 24,7:30pm, Evans Auditorium at Lewis and Clark College,$30
Simply one of the greatest ensembles in the history of Jazz. Towner and Moore met at the University of Oregon and decided to try to make music as beautiful as Bill Evans. They have been doing so and much more for 43 years. As you’ll hear Moore talk about in the interview below, the band is famous nearly everywhere but in the state they are named after. They are revered in Europe, for instance. This fact is a blot on our state. So for that reason, we at OMN are hoping that you will come out and have one of the most valuable musical experiences of your life if you have not seen them. If you have seen them, then you know. Let’s try to fill Lewis and Clark’s auditorium and show them how much we love them, the beauty they have made. We owe it to them.
Janice Scroggins (solo piano), Saturday, March 1, 3pm at Classic Pianos, members $15, non-members $18, day of show $20
Out of all the world-famous artists at this year’s festival, why do we list her so close to the top? Because she deserves it. She is a pillar of Portland’s music community and is the most unsung (unless you’re a musician). Let’s hope she plays one of her sublime Scott Joplin interpretations. This includes what could be a memorable Jazz Conversation with Thara Memory.
Buster Williams “Something More” w/ opening performance by Cécile McLorin Salvant, Saturday, February 22, 7pm, Newmark Theatre, $28, $38, $48, $58
Breathtaking double-bill here. Williams has been one of the world’s greatest bassists for decades. The band: Julian Priester / trombone, Benny Maupin / multiple reeds, George Colligan / piano, Cindy Blackman Santana / drums. Sounds like some Mwandishi is going to be served. Salvant burst upon the international Jazz scene in 2013 with the voice of an angel and seemingly the wisdom of the ages. OMN’s Alaya Wyndham will have a story on her this week. Last week we talked with Williams on the phone from his place in New York City:
Spring Quartet: Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding & Leo Genovese, Sunday, February 23, 7:30pm, Newmark Theatre, $28, $38, $48, $58
If you saw this and went, “Whoa!” you had the proper reaction. Whoa, indeed. Look at those names. And playing together. Yes, we’re imagining the music the four of them could make. One of them would make us happy. Has there been a drummer in the past twenty-five years who has given so many great performances in so many different styles? Or a saxophonist who engenders the respect? Or a new artist who has burst upon the scene with the power and grace? Or a pianist who knows the other three so well? This is a new project. This is exciting and what Jazz is all about.
Sell your car to see:
Ahmad Jamal, Friday, February 21, 7pm, Newmark Theatre, $28, $38, $48, $58
Look, he’s 83. Just saying. Every year the festival brings in an elder like Jamal to play for us and every year, it’s in the back of your mind. I saw Big Joe Turner with Jay McShann in New York years ago and was acutely aware that this might be the last time I saw them. I was right about Joe. Thankfully, all of the elders the festival has given us are still with us. What’s remarkable is that they’re all playing wonderfully, be it Randy Weston, Pharoah Sanders or whomever. How is Mr. Jamal doing? He has a new album out. He’s still 200% Ahmad Jamal. Need proof? Here he is in 2012 playing “Poinciana.”
Click here to view the embedded video.
Darrell Grant’s “The Territory” feat. Joe Locke, Friday, February 21, 9:30pm, Winningstad Theatre, $29, $39
Darrell Grant is an intellectual, but he is not a nerd. Betty Carter did not hire no nerds. The Territory” debuted last summer with Chamber Music Northwest, the sweeping nine movement piece blends improvisation and composition and draws inspiration on Oregon’s historical heritage as well as its landscapes. Grant will be joined by award-winning vibraphonist Joe Locke and an all Portland band which includes: bassist, Eric Gruber; drummer, Tyson Stubelek; saxophonist, John Nastos; bass clarinetist, Kurt Peterson; trumpeter, Tom Barber; singer, Marilyn Keller and cellist, Hamilton Cheifetz. Here’s a look inside:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band, Thursday, February 20, 9:30pm, Winningstad Theatre, $32 / $42
Drummer Blade is no stranger to PDX. He’s reuniting his original Fellowship Band with John Cowherd, Myron Walden, Melvin Butler, and Chris Thomas. In this festival they could be called a sleeper, because they’ve gone on to other projects and they haven’t recorded a Blue Note album in twelve years and none at all since 2008. These gatherings are refreshing and joyous. Like when they played in Chicago almost a year ago:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Dave Frishberg & Bob Dorough: “Who’s On First” Sunday, February 23, 3pm, Winningstad Theatre, $29, $39
Don’t think that Frishberg and Dorough feel like they’re free to say anything they please because they’re 81 and 90. Uh-uh. They’ve always been that way. Probably the cleverest concert in the festival. “Who’s On First” refers to their album of the same name. It’s not a baseball routine (although Frishberg’s house is full of baseball memorabilia), it’s a song about a fight to the finish between them as to who goes ON first in the show. A few weeks ago I talked with Dave at his home in NE Portland:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble (PJCE) Records Showcase, Friday, February 28, 8pm, Mission Theater, $15
Dan Duval
Featuring: Kin Trio, Richard / Duval Quartet, and Barra Brown Quintet. Since the demise of the Diatic label, the place to find the best young Portland Jazz players has been PJCE. Want to know what the current generation is making? This is the place. An excellent booking by the festival, fulfilling the promise we’ve come to expect from Don Lucoff and company…bringing the finest Portland talent to our attention. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of some of these bands. After you’ve heard them, you’ll be glad you did. Go on, roll the dice. Listen to the title tune from Richard/Duval’s album Indian Summer:
Bobby Watson & Horizon and James Carter Organ Trio, Saturday, March 1, 7:30pm, Newmark Theatre, $28, $38, $48, $58
Another fabulous double header. In 1994 Watson formed Horizon. This concert is a celebration of their thirtieth year. He talks about them in the interview below. In the band are drummer Victor Lewis, trumpeter Terell Stafford, Portland native bassist Essiet Essiet, and pianist Edward Simon. He tours all the time and when he’s not on tour he’s the Director of Jazz Studies at University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music. That’s where he was when we talked on the phone.
There is so much more…much much much more
Seriously, we haven’t even mentioned Pat Metheney, Helen Sung, the Yellowjackets, Eliane Elias, Toshiko Akioshi and more. Plus a full slate of festival-related free concerts all over town. Find the full schedule complete with details here.
The Jazz Conversations. There’s a full slate of them. Once again OMN is podcasting all of them. Here’s the schedule. The past three years of PJF Jazz Conversations can be found here.
Portraits of the Portland Jazz Festival by Diane Russell. In the ArtBar, The solo exhibit features Diane Russell’s portraits of jazz musicians who have appeared at the Portland Jazz Festival in recent years, including Esperanza Spalding, Lou Donaldson, Bobby Hutcherson, McCoy Tyner, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Glen Moore, Nancy King, Thara Memory, Mel Brown, Rebecca Kilgore, and many more. Up throughout the festival.
Tickets
Portland Jazz Festival Box Office, Hours of Operation: 11:00AM – 5:00PM, Monday – Friday, Order by Phone: 503-228-5299, Walk Up: 133 SW 2nd Ave, Ste 420, Portland, OR 97204, email: Keith Imper – kimper@pdxjazz.com. Tickets are available online with complete details on our ticketing page.
PDX Jazz Members and the Citizens of Jazzlandia have the advantage of reserving the best seats first during the exclusive pre-sale period from October 11-20. To become a member, please visit our website at www.pdxjazz.com. On sale to the public starting Monday, October 21 at 9:00AM PST online at www.pdxjazz.com and the festival office beginning 11:00AM PST Monday, October 21.
Ticketing Pricing: Tickets range from $15 – $58 (fees may apply). Ticket Packages are available for a discounted price exclusively through the Portland Jazz Festival Box Office. Call the PDX Jazz office for more details.
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