2009 Portland Jazz Festival

[Ron Thorne]

Since there's not a new forum for 2009 Jazz Festivals yet, I thought I'd post this here.

It's especially great news since many of us thought that the PDX Festival was likely over for good.

2009 Festival Line Up Tickets on Sale to Members Nov. 6, Public Nov. 10 Alaska Airlines & Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival presented by The Oregonian A&E will present Somethin’ Else: Blue Note Records @ 70, celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the legendary jazz recording label as the ongoing theme of the 2009 Portland Jazz Festival. February 13-22, PDX Jazz and its sponsors will host current Blue Note headliners, and Blue Note heritage artists who have passed through Blue Note at some point in their celebrated careers, in a number of the city’s most popular venues. Along with 10 headlining performances, the festival will include jazz conversations with Blue Note officials and artists, panel discussions with jazz writers, journalists and thinkers, archival film screenings, free showcase performances around town with regional jazz artists, midnight jam sessions and approximately 50 jazz education and outreach events. The 6th annual, 10-day event will begin with a rare performance by Grammy and Oscar Award-winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard, performing his latest release, A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), written as a film score for Spike Lee’s When The Levees Broke, with his jazz quintet and full orchestra. Joining Blanchard on the festival lineup are other Blue Note artists such as sax man Joe Lovano, four-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves, vocalists Cassandra Wilson and Patricia Barber, and Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The festival will also feature Blue Note heritage artists McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson, Lou Donaldson, and Pat Martino. 2009 Festival Schedule: A Tale of God’s Will (Requiem for Katrina) Terence Blanchard Quintet with full orchestra plus Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet: Friday, February 13, 7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Joe Lovano’s Us5 plus Jacky Terrasson: Saturday, February 14, 2:00 pm, Portland Art Museum Ballroom John Scofield: Saturday, February 14, 9:30 pm, Portland Art Museum Ballroom Lionel Loueke plus Judi Silvano: Sunday, February 15, 6:30 pm, Hilton Pavilion Ballroom Cassandra Wilson plus Jason Moran & The Bandwagon: Friday, February 20, 7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Bobby Hutcherson plus Lou Donaldson: Saturday, February 21, 2:00 pm, Crystal Ballroom Patricia Barber plus Aaron Parks: Saturday, February 21, 7:30 pm, Newmark Theater Pat Martino plus Jane Bunnett & The Spirits of Havana: Sunday, February 22, 2:00 pm, Crystal Ballroom Full Schedule and Artist bios at www.pdxjazz.com. Tickets Tickets on Sales November 10! Special festival ticket packages available only at the PDX Jazz Box Office. PDX Jazz Box Office By Phone: 503.228.JAZZ (5299) / 888.828.5299. Open 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. Online: Ticketmaster.com Ticketmast phone: 503-224-4400/ 866-448-7849 Outlet: Find an Outlet Portland Jazz Orchestra Ellington's Nutcracker Suite December 5 PJO presents Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite Friday, December 5, 7:30 PM • PCPA Newmark Theater Call or visit Ticketmaster: 503-224-4400 This most exciting and original holiday concert in the city—Duke Ellington's rarely-heard arrangement of Tchaikovsky's beloved Nutcracker Suite is a not-to-be-missed, fun-filled big band adaptation of the orchestral classic, enjoyable for the whole family! We'll also welcome special guest Norman Leyden to the ensemble, who blends his expert swing-era clarinet-playing with PJO for this charming and sophisticated 1960 classic. Tickets start at just $16—and groups of 10 or more receive an additional discount when ordering through PDX Jazz (503-228-JAZZ)—so bring your family, clients and friends for a splendid evening of classic big band fun. Visit our website for complete concert information. Bill's Beat Thinking on McCoy... Between technology and the economy, there are fewer and fewer new jazz recordings being released. The old adage that jazz isn't ‘released,' but it somehow ‘escapes,' seems even more apt over the past few months. One of the exceptions is a new recoding by McCoy Tyner called Guitars, featuring collaborations with Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Derek Trucks, and Bela Fleck. Cheating slightly on the premise with Bela on banjo, the three tracks with Fleck are particularly memorable with even a smoothly twisted rendition of My Favorite Things. Guitars is a 2--disc collection--one CD and one DVD--that at first seems like a strange concoction, but which quickly makes sense. Many years ago, I organized an extended jam session centered around McCoy with Frank Morgan, John Blake, and the late guitarist Emily Remler. McCoy had expressed some reservation about including Emily because he sometimes had trouble with guitarists and his intense chordal and percussive style. In the end, however, McCoy and Emily really clicked, and later that evening they vowed to record together. Emily died less than a month later. Beside some great improvising and some careful choices, Guitars also features the incomparable rhythm section of Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter. For many years after Trane, McCoy was criticized for not always working with the very best musicians who could push him into new territory. Often it simply didn't matter because Tyner's virtuosity trumps any lesser musical partners, but when he's pushed, as he is with DeJohnette and Carter, McCoy soars! Read the rest of Bill's Beat...

"One of the top five jazz events" - JJA In this Issue: Festival Annoucement Portland Jazz Orchestra Bill's Beat Schedule Membership pdxjazz.com

Copyright © 2009 PDX Jazz / Portland Jazz Festival. All Rights Reserved.

[Cem]

Unfortunately, they seem to have gone back to their old style of in the pocket programming, in comparison to the more exciting line-up earlier this year. No creative element. Maybe there's more to follow.

[Ron Thorne]

I hear what you're saying, Cem, but for me it's decidedly better news than no Portland Jazz Festival ever again. Plus, those aren't exactly shabby in-the-pocket players, either. I'm also reminded that they now have a new major corporate sponsor (Alaska Airlines) so are likely playing it a bit cautiously in the beginning.

I would dig hearing Ellington's interpretation of Nutcracker Suite.

[Mike Schwartz]

Unfortunately, they seem to have gone back to their old style of in the pocket programming, in comparison to the more exciting line-up earlier this year. No creative element. Maybe there's more to follow.

Am I missing something here? What's *wrong* with this line-up?
Aside from 'Sweet Lou" Donaldson, who is gonna' play like he plays, this is not cookie cutter "in the pocket programming" under any circumstances.


2009 Festival Schedule:


A Tale of God’s Will (Requiem for Katrina) Terence Blanchard Quintet with full orchestra plus Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet: Friday, February 13, 7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Joe Lovano’s Us5 plus Jacky Terrasson: Saturday, February 14, 2:00 pm, Portland Art Museum Ballroom

John Scofield: Saturday, February 14, 9:30 pm, Portland Art Museum Ballroom
Lionel Loueke plus Judi Silvano: Sunday, February 15, 6:30 pm, Hilton Pavilion Ballroom

Cassandra Wilson plus Jason Moran & The Bandwagon: Friday, February 20, 7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Bobby Hutcherson plus Lou Donaldson: Saturday, February 21, 2:00 pm, Crystal Ballroom

Patricia Barber plus Aaron Parks: Saturday, February 21, 7:30 pm, Newmark Theater

Pat Martino plus Jane Bunnett & The Spirits of Havana: Sunday, February 22, 2:00 pm, Crystal Ballroom

[Cem]

Am I missing something here? What's *wrong* with this line-up?
Aside from 'Sweet Lou" Donaldson, who is gonna' play like he plays, this is not cookie cutter "in the pocket programming" under any circumstances.

Compared to this year's eclectic line-up, it looks very dry to me. Just a matter of taste, I guess. I went down for the 2008 festival and got to hear Cecil, Ornette, Myra Melford, Tim Berne, SF All Stars and a couple of other things over the span of a weekend. It was most impressive. I would've gone for Cecil alone. This year's line-up does not excite me enough to drive down, 8 hours each way.

[Ron Thorne]

JAZZ TOWN AWAITS A LEGEND In February the spotlight in Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall will be set on McCoy Tyner, one of the world's most storied and celebrated jazz artists IN THIS ISSUE MyCoy Tyner Kurt Elling Ellington's Nutcracker Partnerships Bill's Beat INFORMATION Website Festival Schedule Tickets Travel Blog THANK YOU SPONSORS Sponsor Spotlight 74% of Goal Our thanks go out to Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air for their title sponsorship of the 2009 Festival, and to The Oregonian A&E for their continued presenting sponsorship. Their support has brought us to 74 percent of our 2009 sponsorship goal. We still have headliner event sponsorships available, as well as the all-important sponsorship of the PDX Jazz Pavilion in Pioneer Courthouse Square, which houses performances by middle and high school students from across the state. Our title and presenting sponsors join with the following event sponsors for 2009: The City of Portland, Travel Portland, Portland Trail Blazers, Rogue Ales, Jazz Times, Quest Foundation, US Bank, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Music Millennium, Oregon Music Hall of Fame, KMHD FM Jazz 89.1, NW Natural, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Irvin and Stephanie Fowler Fund at the Oregon Community Foundation, Sherman Clay Pianos, Music Performance Trust Fund of American Federation of Musicians Local 99, Bea Eidsness Jazz Education Fund, West Café, Mother's Bistro and Bar, and the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Managing Director Janeen Olsen recently fielded questions from Seattle Sound Magazine on the Festival's financial outlook. Visit our Web site for the story... MEMBERSHIP Become a PDXJazz Member FESTIVAL SHOWS Terrence Blanchard plus Gonzalo Rubalcaba Joe Lovano plus Jacky Terrasson Dianne Reeves John Scofield McCoy Tyner plus Don Byron Lionel Loueke plus Judy Silvano Cassandra Wilson plus Jason Moran Bobby Hutcherson plus Lou Donaldson Patricia Barber plus Aaron Parks Pat Martino plus Jane Bunnett Kurt Elling PDXJAZZ @ RIVERPLACE PDX Jazz at the Three Degrees Lounge at the RiverPlace Hotel has no cover and no minimum! Hear intimate music presented with great wines, microbrews, and exquisite food. The complete schedule includes: 12/5 John Gross/Dave Frishberg/Charlie Doggett 12/6 H Duo 12/12 Tony Pacini 12/13 Charlie Stanford 12/19 Barbara Lusch 12/20 John Stowell The RiverPlace Hotel is located at 1510 SW Harbor Way along Portland's scenic waterfront. The Three Degrees Lounge is an intimate listening room with full food and drink menus. For complete music schedule and more information, contact PDX Jazz at pdxjazz.com or 503-228-JAZZ (5299). McCoy Tyner turns 70 this month, December 11 to be exact, but he has much, much more to celebrate than this milestone. His career in jazz music has sustained a half century. As a child Tyner was encouraged by his mother to play the piano and practiced the instrument at his neighbor's house. When his family finally bought one, he began hosting jam sessions and absorbing the influence of other future jazz phenoms in his community. When McCoy was 17 he had a chance meeting with John Coltrane while playing at the Red Rooster, a local club in Philadelphia. The two began a career-changing relationship when Tyner joined Coltrane's group for the classic album "My Favorite Things," in 1960. From 1960 through 1965, Tyner's name was propelled to international renown, as he developed a new vocabulary that transcended the piano styles of the time, providing a unique harmonic underpinning and rhythmic charge essential to the group's sound. He performed on Coltrane's classic recordings such as "Live at the Village Vanguard," "Impressions" and Coltrane's signature suite, "A Love Supreme." In 1965, after over five years with Coltrane's quartet, Tyner left the group to explore his destiny as a composer and bandleader. More about McCoy... Kurt Elling added as Festival Finale Alaska Airlines & Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival presents: Dedicated to You Kurt Elling Sings Coltrane/Hartman Featuring Ernie Watts & Laurence Hopgood Trio Sunday, February 22, 8:00 PM, at the Crystal Ballroom Kurt Elling, a Portland favorite and former Blue Note artist, and this unique collaboration will cap the 2009 Portland Jazz Festival's Somethin' Else: Blue Note Records @70, celebrating the 70th Anniversary of Blue Note Records, February 13-22. In his latest project, Elling has created an adventurous tribute to the 1963 classic recording of Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane, long regarded as a true 'jazz essential.' The rich baritone voice of Hartman, the only vocalist to ever record with sax legend John Coltrane, formed a unique collaboration of romantic ballads only eighteen months before Trane's masterpiece, A Love Supreme. Featuring such treasured standards as Billy Strayhorn's Lush Life and Sammy Cahn's Dedicated to You, Elling has updated the Hartman/Coltrane partnership with sax great Ernie Watts, who has worked with such various artists as Frank Zappa and Charlie Haden's Quartet West, along with the Ethel String Quartet and a jazz trio led by pianist and frequent collaborator Laurence Hopgood. While A Love Supreme struggles to describe the radiance of divinity and transcendence, Hartman/Coltrane is more intimate and accessible dealing with the human trials and triumphs in love. More About Elling... Ticket Information Member Pre - Sale December 3 at 10am Pubic On Sale December 5 at 10am PDX Jazz Box Office: By Phone: 503.228.JAZZ (5299) / 888.828.5299 Online: Ticketmaster.com Ticketmaster phone: 503-224-4400/ 866-448-7849 Packages Did you already purchase an A-Train or second weekend package? No problem, this show can be added to your packages. Please call us. Portland Jazz Orchestra Ellington's Nutcracker Suite December 5 PJO presents Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite Friday, December 5, 7:30 PM · PCPA Newmark Theater Tickets are selling fast. This most exciting and original holiday concert- Duke Ellington's rarely-heard arrangement of Tchaikovsky's beloved Nutcracker Suite is a not-to-be-missed, fun-filled big band adaptation of the orchestral classic, enjoyable for the whole family! We'll also welcome special guest Norman Leyden to the ensemble, who blends his expert swing-era clarinet-playing with PJO for this charming and sophisticated 1960 classic. Tickets start at just $16-and groups of 10 or more receive an additional discount when ordering through PDX Jazz (503-228-JAZZ)-so bring your family, clients and friends for a splendid evening of classic big band fun. Visit our website for complete concert information. Portland Jazz Festival Partnerships Jazz in the Community >From the beginning, the Portland Jazz Festival has maintained strong partnerships with members of the jazz and arts community in Portland. Our partners represent Portland's support for jazz, and our collective vision for confronting today's economic realities. In 2009 we welcome the return of longtime partners Wilf's Restaurant, Tony' Starlights, the West Café, Benson Hotel, DragonFish @ Paramount Hotel, Heathman Hotel, Salty's on the Columbia, and the Someday Lounge. PDX Jazz also has many new partnerships that are supporting the festival, jazz, and Portland's arts community. We welcome The Cave @ Green Onion, Double Tee Concerts, Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, North West Children's Theater and School, Self Enhancement, Inc., and . Here are a few additions that our new partners are bringing to the 2009 Festival: Jam sessions at the Cave Jazz Society of Oregon Benefit with Chris Brown w/Mel Brown Quartet Double Tee presents the Dirty Dozen Brass Ban(pictured below), Afro Cuban All-Stars (pictured above), and the Master Musicians of Jajouka *(Tickets available via PDXJazz Box Office). SEI is hosting Gospel Brunch with SEI Sounds of Soul NW Children's Theater is producing a jazz version of Alice In Wonderland with original compositions by Ezra Weiss. See the complete schedule at pdxjazz.com Sing Out! I don't think that I've ever been associated with a jazz festival presenting so many vocalists as we have in February with Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Patricia Barber, Judi Silvano, and now Kurt Elling. It's curious because admittedly we haven't booked many vocalists the past few years. There's no real reason for this. Some of you have previously pointed this out to me, but there's no underlying issue here. Some of my best friends are vocalists! It's also curious that we ended up with such a plethora of singers during a year when we focus on Blue Note Records. Founded in 1939 by passionate visionaries Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, Blue Note holds a seminal position within the evolution of American (instrumental/improvised) music. Long before Motown, soul, and rap, it was Blue Note that crystallized the sounds of Black America. From the early recordings of Sidney Bechet and Meade Lux Lewis to Miles Davis' landmark The Birth of the Cool, Blue Note has set the standard for jazz tradition. While photographer Wolff had an eye for jazz with hundreds of groundbreaking album covers, it was Lion's keen ear that developed and recorded the great masters including Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Clifford Brown, Horace Silver and countless others. As an early champion of postwar jazz, Lion was first to record the most influential modern jazz ensemble, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, which forged the trademark Blue Note sound along with stalwarts Lou Donaldson, Bobby Hutcherson, and McCoy Tyner. The only vocalist to record on Blue Note during this period was Blossom Dearie-no Ella, no Sarah, no Joe! Read the Rest of Bill's Beat Save 15% Book your stay at a Big Deal hotel and save 15% on tickets How it works: Book your Big Deal hotel by Jan. 19, 2009. Big Deal rates include free parking (an average savings of $21 per night downtown) and continental breakfast, plus discounts on shopping, dining, the arts and more. Your Big Deal confirmation e-mail will include an exclusive discount code, good for a 15% discount on Jazz Festival tickets. To purchase your discounted tickets, call the Portland Jazz Festival Box Office at 503.228.5299. Discounted tickets must be purchased by Jan. 19, 2009. Jazz Festival ticket discount applies to the following shows: Terrence Blanchard, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, McCoy Tyner, Lionel Loueke, Cassandra Wilson, Bobby Hutcherson, Patricia Barber and Pat Martino. Tickets are only available through the Portland Jazz Festival box office. Box office hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Pacific. Tickets are subject to availability. Limit of 6 tickets per show. Not valid with any other offer Offer Expires: 1/19/2009

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[Ron Thorne]

I hope this post doesn't jinx things, because I'm working on the possibility of meeting our youngest son in Portland to celebrate his 38th birthday at the Portland Jazz Festival on the weekend of February 13th, and sharing a fine hotel, four concerts and some fine food and drink.

Here's hoping.

[Bill Barton]

It's good to see that PDX has risen from the ashes. Kudos! I was seriously bummed when I missed both Ornette and Cecil last time around... The bookings are - all in all - pretty good, though I can relate to Cem's reservations. It would be great to catch Jason Moran and Jane Bunnett in particular although it looks like I'll be unable to get down there for either one. Sigh...

[Ron Thorne]

Well, it appears that things are going to work out and I'll meet our youngest child in Portland and celebrate his 38th birthday in style at the Portland Jazz Festival next month. I've booked our hotel and will likely be buying event tickets later tonight. My wife is our official airline ticket agent.

We'll enjoy Joe Lovano, Terrance Blanchard, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jacky Terrasson, McCoy Tyner, Don Byron, Dianne Reeves & the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Everyone should bear in mind that the folks at PDX have had to compress 6 months of work into 3 months to pull this off, in view of their recent financial difficulties.

I'm very stoked!

Anyone else from Jazz Corner planning to attend? If so, please send me a PM and I'll give you my cellular phone#, and maybe we can meet for a beer, glass of wine or coffee.

[hornplayer]

wish I could. but Ron, I have a friend who has a Japanese Izakaya restaurant in Portland called Tanuki. She can really cook, and the reviews I have read are rave. If you get the chance, and like Japanese food, I think you'd dine well. (Her name is Janis Martin)

[Ron Thorne]

wish I could. but Ron, I have a friend who has a Japanese Izakaya restaurant in Portland called Tanuki. She can really cook, and the reviews I have read are rave. If you get the chance, and like Japanese food, I think you'd dine well. (Her name is Janis Martin)

Thanks for the tip, June.

Our son, Justin, who will be meeting me there, used to live in Japan, so we'd both be interested in checking this out if time and budget permits.