Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
Alaska Airlines has agreed to a multiyear title sponsorship of the Portland Jazz Festival, providing the financial support necessary to revive the festival that had announced in early September that it was ceasing operations after five years. The support ensures that the 6th Annual Alaska Airlines Portland Jazz Festival will take place, as scheduled, February 13-22, 2009. The festival will be dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records.
Founded by Smith and artistic director Bill Royston in 2003, the Portland Jazz Festival has become one of the country’s top jazz showcases, attracting musicians and visitors from around the world. The 2008 Festival featured 150 separate events over 10 days, attracting an estimated 36,000 patrons.
“Portland is a great jazz town and there was no way we were going to let this festival go without exhausting every means,” said Portland City commissioner and support committee leader Nick Fish. “The commitment made by Alaska Airlines is a remarkable gift for jazz lovers. Their support, and that of several area businesses and individuals like Sho Dozono, allows us to continue to grow a festival that attracts some of the world’s top jazz talent and attracts thousands of visitors to Portland every year.”
More info: pdxjazz.com
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
“She said, ‘A lot of people are going to try and stop you,’” Sheryl Bailey recalls of the advice she received from jazz guitarist Emily Remler (1957–’90). “‘They’re going to say you slept with somebody, you’re a dyke, you’re this and that and the other. Don’t listen to them, and just keep playing.’”
Feb 3, 2025 10:49 PM
In the April 1982 issue of People magazine, under the heading “Lookout: A Guide To The Up and Coming,” jazz…
The Old Country: More From The Deer Head Inn arrives 30 years after ECM issued the Keith Jarret Trio live album At The Deer Head Inn.
Jan 21, 2025 7:38 PM
Last November, Keith Jarrett, who has not played publicly since suffering two strokes in 2018, greenlighted ECM to drop…
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
If only because openings for JLCO’s 15 permanent positions appear about as frequently as sub-freezing days on the…
Larry Appelbaum with Wayne Shorter in 2012.
Feb 25, 2025 10:49 AM
Larry Appelbaum, a distinguished audio engineer, jazz journalist, historian and broadcaster, died Feb. 21, 2025, in…
