Portland Jazz Festival, 2010

The Portland Jazz Festival today announced its 2010 headliners and beefed up its front office strength by adding a veteran jazz publicist as managing director.
The headliners for the February 22-28 festival will be Pharoah Sanders (pictured), Luciana Souza, Dave Douglas, Dave Holland and the Mingus Big Band. There will also be concerts by three Norwegian groups. They are the saxophone-accordian duo of Trygvie Seim and Frode Haltli, the Christian Wallumrod Ensemble and In The Country, a trio of acoustic bass, piano and drums that, according to the festival's publicity, combines rock influences with jazz. That's not a revolutionary idea, but maybe they have a new slant.

Don Lucoff, who has for more than two decades run the extensive publicity agency DL Media, will take over as the festival's managing director, working with its founder and artistic director, Bill Royston. For details about the artists and Lucoff, see the PDX web site.

Speaking of festivals, I'm moving at a fast pace battling car trouble and trying to keep up with The Seasons Fall Festival, now in its sixth day. I promised reports, and they will come, possibly beginning as soon as late tonight. The variety and quality have been impressive.