PDX Jazz proudly presents: Stephan Crump Masterclass
Lewis & Clark College, Evans Music Center, Room 122, 4:15 PM - 5:45 PM

Revealing Magnetism - Distillation, Freedom, Development in the Groove

Known for transforming his instrument into a speaking entity of magnetic pull and for collaborations with leading lights of creative instrumental music, Stephan Crump shares his musical philosophy, including a practical approach to discerning the DNA or underlying polarity within various grooves and meters. Useful to musicians of all instruments, this process clarifies fundamental versus ornamental gestures in the line, helping us generate feel in the music and revealing a path toward freedom and development. Stephan will demonstrate how to internalize this polarity on a visceral level, moving beyond the cerebral, counting mode into a more holistic and gestural presence in the music. This allows us to interact and communicate from deeper within ourselves and in terms of shaping energies, lift and landing, tension and release…magnetism.

This event is part of the 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival presented by PDX Jazz.

PDX Jazz is excited to announce a FREE Jazz Conversation Series

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington is a cultural giant and a musical pioneer who passed away 50 years ago in 1974. Yet his influence remains pervasive, fresh and ceaslessly modern. But why, and how? How many appreciate that he not only created the music that defined (and even named) the Swing era, but that he elevated Black American music to the level of high art without sacrificing its roots? How many understand that he created a career formula for artistic and economic freedom, or that behind his tailored suits and sophistication, hew was a true revolionary, using music to push for social justce and equality? In an era when being a musician was one of a few ways an African American artist could achieve self-determination, Ellington's entire career was a struggle for civil rights and personal respect. With a generous offering of music, videos and images, we will both examine and question his legend, to truly grasp the enduring stature of Edward "Duke" Ellington. 

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Ashley Kahn

Ashley Kahn is a Grammy-winning American music historian, author, professor and producer. He teaches at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music, co-wrote Carlos Santana’s award-winning autobiography The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light (Little, Brown, 2014), and is a producer of Carlos (2023), the documentary on Carlos Santana (Imagine Documentaries/Sony Pictures Classics. He has written books on two legendary recordings: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, and one on a legendary record label: The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records. His most recent book is George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters. He also edited Rolling Stone: The Seventies, a 70-essay overview of that pivotal decade.

Kahn, who was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jazz Journalists Association, broke into the music business as a tour manager and music festival producer, has held a variety of positions in radio, television, and online businesses. As a journalist, his byline has appeared in many publications and websites, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The New Statesman, and others, and his writing has garnered four ASCAP/Deems Taylor awards, and three Grammy nominations. In 2015, he was awarded a Grammy for his album notes to the John Coltrane release Offering: Live at Temple University, and in 2017, he received the Robert Palmer-Helen Oakley Dance Award for Excellence in Writing from the Jazz Journalists Association.

Kahn has worked on many music documentaries in a variety of roles: as producer/director—Carlos; Kind of Blue: Made in Heaven for Sony Music (2005)—as a consultant/writer—Netflix’s Chasing Trane 2016) and Stanley Nelson’s documentary on Miles Davis for PBS (2018)—and as on-screen interviewee: PBS’s Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music (2016); BBC’s 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz (2009); and many others.

This event is part of the 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival presented by PDX Jazz

PDX Jazz is excited to announce a FREE Jazz Conversation Series:
A Love Supreme: Understanding The Message of John Coltrane, a multimedia presentation with Ashley Kahn at Mayo Hunt Recital Hall at the University of Portland

Too often, John Coltrane’s towering legend and enduring influence overshadows his message. This presentation employs music and video excerpts -- focusing on his masterful 1964 recording A Love Supreme (marking its 60th anniversary) to better understand the connection between his music and universal message. How did he weave a spiritual focus into his music? What role did Coltrane envision for himself and his recordings? What was his core message, and how does it continue to influence professional musicians — and not just jazz — today?

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Ashley Kahn

Ashley Kahn is a Grammy-winning American music historian, author, professor and producer. He teaches at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music, co-wrote Carlos Santana’s award-winning autobiography The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light (Little, Brown, 2014), and is a producer of Carlos (2023), the documentary on Carlos Santana (Imagine Documentaries/Sony Pictures Classics. He has written books on two legendary recordings: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, and one on a legendary record label: The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records. His most recent book is George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters. He also edited Rolling Stone: The Seventies, a 70-essay overview of that pivotal decade.

Kahn, who was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jazz Journalists Association, broke into the music business as a tour manager and music festival producer, has held a variety of positions in radio, television, and online businesses. As a journalist, his byline has appeared in many publications and websites, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The New Statesman, and others, and his writing has garnered four ASCAP/Deems Taylor awards, and three Grammy nominations. In 2015, he was awarded a Grammy for his album notes to the John Coltrane release Offering: Live at Temple University, and in 2017, he received the Robert Palmer-Helen Oakley Dance Award for Excellence in Writing from the Jazz Journalists Association.

Kahn has worked on many music documentaries in a variety of roles: as producer/director—Carlos; Kind of Blue: Made in Heaven for Sony Music (2005)—as a consultant/writer—Netflix’s Chasing Trane 2016) and Stanley Nelson’s documentary on Miles Davis for PBS (2018)—and as on-screen interviewee: PBS’s Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music (2016); BBC’s 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz (2009); and many others.

This event is part of the 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival presented by PDX Jazz

PDX Jazz proudly presents: Sullivan Fortner Community Outreach Event

For the past decade, Sullivan Fortner has been stretching deep-rooted talents as a pianist, composer, band leader and uncompromising individualist. The GRAMMY Award-winning artist out of New Orleans received international praise as both key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window (Mack Avenue, 2018), alongside multi-GRAMMY winner, vocalist-composer Cecile McLorin Salvant. As a solo leader, he has released Moments Preserved (Decca, 2018) and Aria (Impulse!, 2015) to critical acclaim, and he’s only getting started. Now based in New York, Fortner has earned recognition in multiple DownBeat Critics Poll categories, winning first place in Rising Star Piano and Rising Star Jazz Artist.

In addition to associations with such diverse voices as Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Diane Reeves, Etienne Charles and John Scofield, Fortner’s frequent and longtime collaborators have included Ambrose Akinmusire, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stefon Harris, Kassa Overall, Tivon Pennicott, Peter Bernstein, Nicholas Payton, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Fred Hersch and the late Roy Hargrove. Recent collaborations include GRAMMY-nominated releases Dear Love (Empress Legacy) and Generations from leaders Jazzmeia Horn and The Baylor Project, respectively.

A highly-sought improviser, Fortner has performed across the country and throughout the world at such cultural institutions as Snug Harbor, New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Lorraine’s and The Jazz Playhouse in New Orleans, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Standard and Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. He’s appeared at celebrated festivals, including Newport, Monterey, Discover, Tri-C and Gillmore Keyboard, among others. In 2019, Fortner brought his band to the historic Village Vanguard for a week-long engagement he would reprise in 2020 as a virtual performance during lockdown. His notable studio contributions include work on Etienne Charles’s Kaiso (Culture Shock, 2011), Donald Harrison’s Quantum Leap (FOMP, 2010), and Theo Croker’s The Fundamentals (Left Sided Music, 2007).

Playing solo or leading an orchestra, Fortner engages harmony and rhythmic ideas through curiosity and clarity. Within phrases, he finds universes, and listeners often hear how he’s moved by each note he explores. Coming up in New Orleans, Fortner began playing piano at age 7, following a storied lineage of improvisers, masters of time and every iteration of the blues. He earned his Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory and Master of Music in Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music (MSM). A champion of mentorship, Fortner has offered masterclasses at MSM, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Purdue University, Lafayette Summer Music Workshop, Belmont University and Oberlin Conservatory where he held a faculty position.

Pulling distinct elements from different eras, Fortner’s artistry preserves the tradition and evolves the sound. He seeks connections among different musical styles that are at once deeply soulful and wildly inventive. Both his works and his insights have been featured in culturally iconic publications, from The New York Times to The Root. Accolades include the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship awarded by the American Pianists Association, Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists and, in 2020, the prestigious Shifting Foundation Grant for artistic career development.

This event is part of the 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival presented by PDX Jazz.

PDX Jazz is excited to announce a FREE community event “Jazz and Wine Conversation”.

The upcoming Jazz and Wine Conversation event promises to be an engaging and enriching experience, combining the soulful world of jazz with the refined tastes of wine. Scheduled for February 24, 2024, from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM, this event will be hosted in the welcoming lobby of Portland'5 Centers for the Arts. The conversation will be moderated by Eric Degerman, the esteemed CEO of Great Northwest Wine and co-founder of Winepress NW, who brings a wealth of knowledge from his experience in orchestrating wine competitions and contributing to The Seattle Times.

Joining him will be Nate Klostermann, the head winemaker of Argyle Winery, the Biamp Portland Jazz Festival’s premier wine partner. Klostermann started his winemaking journey at Falconer Vineyards in Minnesota before moving west to the Dundee Hills. He joined Argyle as a harvest intern and quickly rose through the ranks to become the head winemaker, mentored by the renowned Oregon wine pioneer and Argyle founder, Rollin Soles. Klostermann is known for his hands-on approach to winemaking and his commitment to producing world-class méthode champenoise sparkling wine, barrel fermented Chardonnay, and 'silky' textured Pinot Noir.

Adding to the ambiance, Eldon T Jones, one of Portland's finest saxophonists known for his heartfelt jazz, gospel, and soul performances, will share his insights and a few of his favorite wines. This gathering is set to occur just before the much-anticipated Bob James + Lee Ritenour performance, making it a perfect prelude to an evening of exceptional music. Attendees can look forward to a harmonious blend of discussion and discovery, set against the backdrop of Portland's vibrant cultural scene.

This event is part of the 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival presented by PDX Jazz

Image provided by ©Richard Duval Images