Jazz is global, but its most ambitious players still flock to the US to soak in its roots and prove they’re part of the scene. Tonight a Parisian septet called Fractale wraps up an eight-gig tour of the States at the Drom in the East Village, after stops in New Orleans, Cleveland and Chicago. From December 3 to 6 Spanish pianist Chano DomÃnguez & his Flamenco Quintet bring its commissioned “The Flamenco Side of Kind of Blue” to the Jazz Standard to assert that the Barcelona Jazz Festival (in which they premiere the work on November 12) has something to do with the Big Apple. Next February the Portland Jazz Festival explores the theme “Is Jazz Dead (Or Has It Moved To A New Address?).” But incontrovertible evidence suggests that however far the sound has spread, those who matter know where jazz calls home.
Jajouka-beyond-jazz, public interviews and local acts at Portland fest
The Master Musicians of Jajouka, a troupe from Morocco’s Rif Mountains, stretch anyone’s definition of “jazz.” They sure don’t make the cut according to alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, who regaled the crowd attending his “Jazz Conversation” at the PDX Jazz Festival (Portland OR) with the opinion that he’s the only real “jazz” artist on the sched during the fest’s second weekend, dissing saxophonists Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman and Tom Scott, among others, as having “nothing to do with jazz” slighting Frank Morgan as a “phony” and Cannonball Adderley as “not all they said he was.”
Such comments didn’t keep the fest’s Friday night jam session from having a tap-dancing alto  sax player who calls himself Shoehorn (photo slideshow here by R. Andrew Lepley) do a tune,
 
or audiences from sitting raptly for arch cabaretiste Patricia Barber, the Spirits of Havana quintet led by Canadian sax-and-flutist Jane Bunnett, electric guitarist Pat Martino‘s organ trio. Out of such disparate entertainments, festivity is born.
Portland jazz fest hails Blue Note, cancels Cassandra
The PDX Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon last week began to garner good reviews for its programs, many of which celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Blue Note Records. Yet as the first major jazz festival of 2009, it may be the canary in the coalmine regarding effects of the economic downturn. Last fall Alaska Airlines rescued the fest from folding after its major funder, Seattle-based Qwest Communications, pulled out, having been one of the decade’s 25-worst performing S&P 500 Index stocks. Now, according to PDX Jazz artistic director Bill Royston, severely disappointing ticket sales forced his cancellation of a major show scheduled for Friday 2/20 headlined by singer Cassandra Wilson, with pianist Jason Moran‘s band as an opening act.
“I’ve never cancelled a show before in 30 years,” Royston told me, continuing, “Other than sales, which are somewhat down across the boards, we’re doing fine.”
Alaska Airlines to the rescue: Portland Jazz Fest revived
The Portland Jazz Festival, pronounced dead on September 8 due to the pullout of Seattle-based title sponsor Qwest Communications, now rises from its ashes on the wings of Alaska Airlines and an advisory board of local businesses and individuals. According to a press release issued today by PDX Jazz, the fest’s umbrella organization, “the 6th Annual Alaska Airlines Portland Jazz Festival presented by The Oregonian A&E will take place, as scheduled, Februrary 13-22, 2009.” The 10-day fest’s theme will be the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. Does this suggest corporate and community support for jazz is available — if you know where to find it?
Bad news from the Northwest: Portland Jazz Fest dies
The demise of the Portland Jazz Festival was announced today by press release from its membership umbrella organization PDX Jazz, cancelling plans for February 2009 due to the pullout by title sponsor Qwest Communications. Despite concerted attempts by festival producer Bill Royston, no other funder stepped up to support the five-year-old festival’s modest budget with high returns, and the result may be due to the U.S.’s overall economic downturn.
The festival — two weeks every February starting in 2004 — filled burgeoning Portland’s boutique hotels, restaurants, wine bars, beer halls and coffee shops with local and regional fans. They came to hear headliners including Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, the SF Jazz Collective, the Bad Plus, Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Charles Lloyd and other impressive artists, along with panel discussions (which last year I helped plan) and enrichment events hosted by Portland State University, among other area institutions.Â
As produced by Royston and a small, efficient staff, the Portland Jazz Festival put this city of just over half-a-million on the international jazz map. Its ticketed and free concerts held at venues ranging from restored movie theaters to hotel ballrooms to local bars was accounted a success by enthusiastic audiences, gratified musicians and professional critics brought in from the East Coast and Canada to observe and interact with middle-aged devotees and a rising young crowd.