A comet in the sky for Portland's jazz scene

http://blog.oregonlive.com/portlandarts/2009/10/a_comet_in_the_sky_for_portlan.html

"Sometimes, even in the confusion of our culture, the signs and portents seem to point in a particular direction.

In the Portland jazz scene, the signs and portents are starting to point up. The historical forces are aligning. A lightning bolt has shattered the stillness. A saxophone cries out in the dark.

..."

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Just FYI for Oregon DU music lovers. The jazz scene in town is on the rise, and I've been lucky enough to have happened upon it rather accidentally the past couple years. If you like jazz, get out and check out some of these performers.

...but there is little attention paid in Oregon to some jazz styles that could broaden audiences. I, for example, have zero interest in most of what is presented at this festival but I would support wholeheartedly a festival of Ellington, Henderson, hot dance music of the twenties and other boutique niches. Because of the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, most Portlanders seem to think that jazz began with Dizzy. The place that is most reliably playing re-creations of vintage jazz is Tony Soprano's supper club over in the Hollywood district. It's kind of funny to see young pups trying to master the music with a few steady old hands in the front line for balast.

Dogmatic nostalgia for 70+ year old music is absolutely detrimental to advancing public awareness of what's been going on for the last ten years.

Jazz remade itself during the bebop revolution almost 70 years ago. You can pine away for the 'good ole days' of the 20s and 30s, but its important to realize that the majority of jazz history has taken place since that time.