JazzPDX.org is introducing a new category - “Community Discussion” in an attempt to make the site more interactive. Since the 2008 Portland Jazz Festival just concluded, why not have that be the first topic?
- If you attended any of the events, which did you particularly enjoy and why?
- Did you miss any concerts that you wished you had caught?
- If you’re a musician and you played at the festival, at which events did you enjoy playing?
You don’t have to be a registered user to comment and your e-mail address won’t be used or published, so comment away!
March 1st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I run the site, so I might as well get the ball rolling:
I was busy playing gigs on a few of the nights, but I did manage to catch a couple of day-time shows, including Anat Cohen’s Quartet and the Flecktones with the Symphony. Both were great concerts and I especially appreciated the fact that both were stretching outside of the straight-ahead vein that so many festivals stick to in their booking.
I also managed to catch Dan Balmer’s trio on Monday night with Alan Jones and George Mitchell. It’s great to have Alan back in town. Also, it was nice to see a big crowd during the festival for local musicians as well as the national acts.
In terms of performing, playing my own concert at the Old Church was a pleasure - it was nice to be able to play with great musicians in a ‘concert’ setting rather than a club (although I always enjoy both). Also, playing with Shelly Rudolph at Wilf’s was a nice atmosphere and fun time.
If I had had more time, I definitely would have liked to have caught Joshua Redman’s Trio, Maceo Parker, the Bad Plus, and a handful of others. Maybe next time.
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:59 am
John,
Thanks for getting the ball rolling, so to speak, on this discussion - one that I think has taken place in many a bar, after many gigs and at house sessions all across Portland. I do have lots of thoughts on this whole discussion and am interested in what everyone else has to say - would like to take a moment to coagulate my thoughts, as they are many and varied.
I will post more soon and thanks,
MST
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Dear Portland Jazz Community (whatever that means),
Don’t they know that jazz musicians can’t afford expensive concert tickets? I would have loved to see/hear the SF Jazz Collective, Ornette Coleman, the Flecktones, and lots of other stuff. But I’m don’t have no twenty dollars for no ticket, let alone many tickets. Sheeit.
But I did have a blast playing with Drew Shoals at the Someday Lounge and then listening to Chris Mosley’s slamming band after we played. Damian and Russ are THE fusion rhythm section in town, and Chris’ “microtonal splendor” plus Tim Willcox floating on top of them deep grooves … wow.
John, Drew, Damian: that show at Zaytoons was one of the most enjoyable to date. Thank you. “Dusk” is a fretless bass feature from now on.
For relaxing times, always make it a Santori time.
-Dan
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
that “farewell to jazz” comment in the Oregonian is totally whack! Like jazz doesn’t exist the rest of the time … hmmph.
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
every month is black history month.
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I thought that this years Jazz Fest was a big step in the right direction. The lineup was incredible and I like that the biggest headliners were free jazz innovators such as Ornette and Cecil Taylor. I got to see Taylor and he sound as good as ever. The other two shows I really wanted to see were Fred Hersch and Avishai Cohen, but sadly, both shows were cancelled.
My experience performing was not as great. Local acts usually get spaces that are not normally used for musical performances. Various restaurant and hotel lobbys. The space we played at was nice, Gracies restaurant, but we had problems with sound because there weren’t enough sound crews to set up each show. In addition, my Trio was the only show that wasn’t listed in the fold out brochure due to a mere oversight. I would recommend that next years locals be placed in real venues. On a better note, John’s show was fantastic and was lucky to be performing in The Old Church, one of my favorite places to hear live jazz. Overall, I think the festival was a great success. I’m curious to see what next years line up will be like.
- B
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Tip for people with little money - you can volunteer to help at pdx jazz and you can get free admission to events which are not sold out. A few musicians have caught onto that. It is fun to be a driver - you really get a chance to talk to people that way.
One problem, which maybe is a good problem, is there were 150 events and it is not possible to see everything you want to see. One that was sadly under-attended was Myra Melford’s “Be Bread” performance. It was at 11 pm after Ornette Coleman and the SF Jazz Collective, which probably didn’t help. I think the same people who like “The Bad Plus” would like “Be Bread”. It was really interesting and energetic, the musicians are on the younger side. Myra Melford from U.C. Berkeley is a brilliant composer, influenced by eastern European and east Indian music. She plays piano, and harmonium on some pieces, and that was wonderful. I felt touched by the spirit of her music.
I hadn’t heard The Bad Plus before and was surprised how much I enjoyed their concert. I expected to like Maceo Parker and it was even better than I expected. I loved seeing people of different ages and races all grooving to that music. I could go on and on but that’s probably enough here.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:48 am
One of the few shows I was fortunate to catch was the Bad Plus. It was reassuring to see a near sold-out Crystal Ballroom comprised of music fans ranging in ages from sixteen to ninety! It’s a great example that passionate, innovative music is a strong bridge between generation gaps. Anyway, the Bad Plus rocks….. REALLY HARD!
I played some great gigs with some fantastic players. I enjoyed my gigs with Chris Mosley’s ExStatic Band as well as the Tugboat session with Damian Erskine, John Nastos and Dan Duval. I also had a blast playing with the Shelly Rudolph Quintet(@Wilf’s/Riverpalce Hotel). The group featured some killing players- Clay Giberson, Scott Steed and John Nastos. We played some of Shelly’s originals, as well as some beautiful arrangements of standards by Mr. Nastos.
Local groups I enjoyed hearing included Paxselin Quartet and the Drew Shoals Collective.
Drew, Dan Duval and Damian Erskine tore it up! Hey PDX Jazz Fest, why not let these locals play a short opening set before the big names? Just a thought….
Had I been free, I would love to have checked out Anat Cohen, Joshua Redman, and Rez Abazzi. PEACE!!! -Russ
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I was lucky to catch many of the big headliners, including SFJAZZ Collective, Classical Jazz Quartet, Bill Charlap trio, Nancy King/Kurt Elling, and Joshua Redman. I learned a great amount from seeing these masterful musicians perform live, and enjoyed the experience. I was also extremely impressed by John Nastos’ show at the Old Church. He sure is playing a whole lot of saxophone.
I also played at the PDXJazz Pavilion with the PDXJAZZ Collective. It’s interesting that two groups of people both stole their name from SFJAZZ, though I would like to proudly proclaim that we did it first. It was a fun gig, although it was only 45 minutes long. I would have appreciated better payment, instead of vouchers where you had to wait until show time to get a ticket.
Overall, I thought it was it was a great festival, though I was disappointed by the cancellation of Fred Hersch and Avishai Cohen. I look forward to next year.
-Patrick