Mt Hood Jazz Festival

WELCOME TO THE 27th YEAR OF
THE MT. HOOD JAZZ FESTIVAL
August 15th-17th at Mt. Hood Community College Gresham, OR
The Mt. Hood Jazz Festival is celebrating 27 wonderful years of jazz this season with some of the hottest names in the jazz.
2008 Line-up
Friday Artists
The Benny Green Trio A perpetual student of the history of Jazz piano, Benny Green mentions Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Hank Jones, Ahmad Jamal, Phineas Newborn, Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson as some of his main influences. His approach to Jazz can be resumed in his own words: "… for myself and a lot of musicians I admire, the main focus is to just swing and have fun, and share those feelings with the audience … and, if I'm able to convey that, then I feel like I'm doing something positive".
Born in New York in 1963, Benny Green grew up in Berkeley, California, and began classical piano studies at the age of seven. Influenced by his father, a tenor saxophonist, his attention soon turned to jazz. By 1987, at the age of 24, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he stayed until late 1989, at which point he began working with Freddie Hubbard’s quintet. In 1993 Green replaced Gene Harris in Ray Brown's Trio, working with the veteran bass player until 1997. From 1997 on, Benny resumed his freelance career, led his own trios, and concentrated on his solo piano performances.
Benny is currently on tour to support the January 28, 2003 release on Telarc, Jazz at the Bistro, a duo recording with guitarist Russell Malone, dedicated to the memory of the late jazz bassist Ray Brown.
Diane Schuur Born in Tacoma, Washington, vocalist/pianist Diane Schuur is as eclectic as she is brilliant. A longtime disciple of Dinah Washington and other legendary jazz singers of the ‘40s and ‘50s, Schuur has built a stellar career by embracing not only the jazz of her parents’ generation, but also the pop music of her own youth during the late 1950s and ‘60s. In a recording career that spans nearly three decades – and includes two Grammy Awards and three Grammy nominations – Schuur’s music has explored nearly every corner of the 20th century American musical landscape.
In February 2008 Schurr released Some Other Time, a recording of songs by jazz artists whom she first discovered via her parents during her childhood and adolescent years. The album features songs by George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn, Rogers and Hammerstein and more. Some Other Time is, among other things, Schuur’s celebration of the music of her parents’ generation, and a tribute to her late mother on the fortieth anniversary of her death at the young age of 31. “This is a celebration of the music she introduced to me when I was growing up,” says Schuur. “After enough time goes by, everything your parents ever told you, everything they ever tried to teach you, starts to make sense. You find out how they grew up and how they looked at the world in the context of their generation and their times.”
Saturday Artists
BlackSwan featuring Marilyn Keller The Black Swan Classic Jazz Band was established in early 1989 as a hot dance band dedicated to the preservation and performance of Dixieland, old-time gospel, early jazz and ragtime music. Black Swan delights in entertaining as well as educating its audiences with authentic renditions of the music of noteworthy early jazz figures such as Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Duke Ellington and others. Marilyn Keller joined Black Swan in 1997and brings a special magic to the stage with her charming presence and flawless vocal stylings.
MHCC Jazz Band featuring Nancy King She’s been called everything from a “Cult figure” and an “uncompromising artist,” (Earshot Jazz) to “the greatest living jazz singer,” (Herb Ellis). As one of the few improvisers in vocal jazz to master the vocabulary, Nancy King has “indefatigable scat chops and a remarkably elastic range.” (The Oregonian) In 2001 Nancy was inducted into the Oregon Jazz Society’s Hall of Fame. Come see one of the jazz world’s treasures.
Dusty York Quintet Portland tenor saxophonist and composer Dusty York is a rising voice in jazz today. Coupling unique and creative improvisation, with a high level of prolific composition, York will be certain to mark his spot in the upcoming jazz world. His groups feature a distinct sound, very energetic performances, and all original compositions. His recording career continues with his latest recording, "A State Of Secession Volume One,” featuring his father, well-known Portland tenor saxophonist Michael York
Devin Phillips Band Born and reared in New Orleans, the cradle of jazz, Devin Phillips’ intense affair with the saxophone began at the age of eight. He has performed, toured and recorded with top jazz artists, such as Wynton Marsalis and Eddie Palmieri. In 2005, Phillips formed New Orleans Straight Ahead. But in August, Hurricane Katrina came and Phillips lost everything except his sax. His family scattered throughout the U.S., Phillips evacuated to Portland and reformed New Orleans Straight Ahead with other musician evacuees. "With his dazzling skills and movie-star charisma, it seems certain Devin Phillips will be lured away from Portland at some point….What Devin does truly well is take music that a lot of people perceive as complex and show you can simplify it and make it work." --The Portland Tribune
Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco has come a long way from All of Me, his recording debut as a leader made in 1989 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old. From the get-go, the Philadelphia native established his credentials with virtuoso technique and an innate soulfulness that he brought to bear on the hulking Hammond B-3 organ which belied his young age but spoke of his deep Philly roots. Through the 1990s, Joey was widely recognized as spearheading a renewed interested in the Hammond organ, and today DeFrancesco is regarded by organ aficionados as one of the best organ players in the business. With over 20 solo releases and historic associations with legends such as Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvin Jones and John McLaughlin, DeFrancesco's place in the idiom’s history is cemented.
Additional Saturday Artists
Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra Festival Band, Louis Pain & Sweet Baby James, Hailey Niswanger Quartet, Mt. Hood Community College Alumni Band featuring Gary Hobbs, Tony Pacini, Paul Mazzio, Warren Rand, Jeff Usitalo, & other's!
Sunday Artists
Boka Marimba In Shona, boka means "group.” And marimba is the plural of rimba which means “wooden voice.” Formed in 1987, Boka Marimba is a ten-member dance band that plays exhilarating, positive-energy music from Zimbabwe and other areas of southeastern Africa. The music is in the Shona style: melodic themes and variations layered in polyrhythmic, cyclic patterns. People, on hearing this music for the first time, have often described the feeling as one of coming home. This music will make you want to dance!
Quadraphones The Quadraphonnes are an all female, Portland based professional saxophone quartet with an active performance schedule including several appearances at the Portland Jazz Festival, live performances on KMHD, numerous Portland area club dates, an educational outreach program and monthly appearances as the saxophone section for the Lily Wilde Orchestra. All members are active music professionals and educators.
Cana Son Cana Son is a Cuban son band that plays traditional son music. The group focuses on popular Cuban son music from the turn of the last century through the 1950’s.
Origin All-Stars with Matt Jorgenson Drummer Matt Jorgensen,one of the partners behind Origin Records, works out of Seattle Washington, where he is heavily involved in the jazz scene. He brings artists who have recorded on the Origin label with him to the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival. According to Willamette Week, Jorgensen is “a hip, explosive drummer to be reckoned with,” with an ensemble that “tackles tunes with a cold-blooded, urgent precision-throwing into the mix of originals, Miles and Mingus a simmering, eclectic mix of Radiohead and Coldplay.”
Additional Sunday Artists
Trio Subtonic with Christian Howe, Portland Composers Orchestra!
Indoor & Outdoor, Ticketed & Free Events This Year!
Serious jazz fans will appreciate the venue of the Friday and Saturday evening concerts. Both ticketed events will take place in the elegant, air-conditioned, College Theater with state-of-the-art sound. All seats will be reserved.Saturday and Sunday’s outdoor events will be free and family friendly. Great jazz from the courtyard stage will be complemented by 25 artist booths, a gallery show, planetarium shows, kids activities, a beer garden, great Northwest food, wine tasting, and much more.
The 27th year of the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival celebrates all jazz styles that have come through the festival over the last quarter century, with a wide range of music, from traditional swing sounds and cutting-edge hard bop to melodic standards, Latin rhythms and funky contemporary sounds. The festival has hosted some of the best names in jazz history over its quarter of a century, including Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Mel Torme, Chick Corea, Rosemary Clooney, McCoy Tyner, Abbey Lincoln, the Heath Brothers, and many others.
The Mt. Hood Jazz features the best in international, national, regional and local jazz talent. Expect great players like the Benny Green and Diane Schuur, as well as superb local talent. There's something for everyone! So come out to Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham and hear all this great jazz.