EVOLVING OUT LOUD
The largest organization presenting jazz performances and associated education programming in the Pacific Northwest
Hubert Laws and Brian Jackson
MISSION & VALUES
PDX Jazz, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, is the largest organization presenting jazz performances and associated education programming in the Pacific Northwest. Our mission is to evolve the art of jazz by engaging our community, celebrating live performance, and enhancing arts education.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion We are committed to sharing differing perspectives of jazz. We will create an environment in which any individual will feel welcomed, respected, supported and valued to fully participate in PDX Jazz artistic and educational programming. This will be achieved by incubating and presenting relevant and innovative programming experiences that align with diverse regional, social, cultural, and economic values and demographics. Our internal team will be reflective of the community we wish to engage.
HISTORY
PDX Jazz began in 2004 with a single signature event, the annual Portland Jazz Festival. The inaugural Festival was a 3-day event with most performances taking place in downtown hotels. Today, we present a two-week, multi-venue citywide jazz festival each February-March that includes ticketed and free performances, films, artist conversations, lectures, masterclasses, exhibitions, and jam sessions. In addition to the annual festival, we have added year-round concerts to our artistic programming. As an arts and culture nonprofit, free community shows and education programs for under-served youth, partnerships with local nonprofits whose work aligns with our mission, and performance opportunities for musicians who call Portland “home”, are a year-round mainstay at PDX Jazz.
EDUCATION
Our education programs fill the gap of reduced funding and in many instances no funding for arts education. We provide learning opportunities to under-served youth in the greater Portland area and surrounding communities, with a focus on Title 1A-funded schools. These education programs extend across the entire student body, emphasizing an interdisciplinary appreciation of jazz and its African-American roots from a historical, sociological, and cultural perspective.
Dan Balmer
The Portland Jazz Master recognizes a regional artist or other jazz community member for their work and contributions to jazz in the Portland region. The Jazz Master nominee may be in any career phase, allowing PDX Jazz to recognize and support upcoming talent, or, to honor those who have been staples in the jazz community for many years. The PDX Jazz Programming Committee selects the Portland Jazz Master.
Recipients include Dave Frishberg, Thara Memory, Nancy King, Oregon, Wayne Thompson, Charles Gray, Mel Brown, Art Abrams, Darrell Grant, Rebecca Kilgore, Ron Steen, Chuck Israels, and Dan Balmer.
THE PORTLAND JAZZ MASTER
Terry Currier
The McClendon/ Makarounis Award for Excellence in Jazz
The McClendon/Makarounis Award for Excellence in Jazz is given to a member of the Portland community who has made significant contributions to the prosperity, preservation, and advancement of jazz music and culture in Portland. The McClendon-Makarounis Award for Excellence in Jazz is a PDX Jazz board initiative.
Recipients include Wayne Thompson, Bea Eidsness, Jim Pepper, Bob Dietsche, Akbar DePriest, the family of Jimmy Makarounis, Marcia Hocker, Commissioner Nick Fish, and Terry Currier.