Jack De Johnette Archive

Portland Jazz Festival Highlights 2013

Portland Jazz Festival Highlights 2013

For its tenth year of jazz in Portland, this year’s U.S. Bank festival, presented by Alaska Airlines, kicked off with a number of sold out shows. An imposing array of internationally-recognized and local musicians played a variety of jazz styles, and the festival’s recognition of Black History Month was seen in a number of community-wide initiatives tied in with the festival.     In addition to the headline performers on the main stages—which included recent Grammy-winner Esperanza Spalding, Barry Harris, Nancy King, Gerald Wilson, Patricia Barber, Steve Kuhn, Kenny Garrett, Jack De Johnette, Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen, the Art Abrams Swing Machine, the Blue Cranes, the Afro-Cuban All-Stars and SexMob— there were simultaneous performances by local musicians at various watering holes around the city.                   One of the highlights was the February 22nd concert at the Newmark Theater: “The Jazz Message: Celebrating Art Blakey. The assembled sextet consisted of Javon Jackson, tenor sax; Bobby Watson, alto sax; Curtis Fuller, trombone; Eddie Henderson, trumpet; George Cables, piano; Buster Williams, bass; and Lewis Nash, drums. There are occasional nights in which the stars align and the jazz gods look down upon us lowly […]