See the original JazzPDX.org post about this event.

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 See the original JazzPDX.org post about this event.

ShareThis

See the original JazzPDX post about this event.

ShareThis

Nancy King and Bill Royston & Portland Jazz Festival Nominated by Jazz Journalists Association

The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) has announced the nominations for the 12th Annual Jazz Awards.  Two Oregonians have for the first time been nominated, including Nancy King for Best Female Vocalist and Bill Royston and Portland Jazz Festival for Jazz Event/Jazz Producer of the Year.  No Oregonian has ever been previously nominated for any of the 40 different JJA Jazz Award categories.  Winners will be announced on June 18 at the annual JJA gala in New York.

The JJA Jazz Awards are made in recognition and celebration of excellence in jazz and jazz journalism.  Voting is limited to nearly 2,000 professional writers and journalists comprising the JJA membership internationally.  The entire slate of nominations is available to the public on the Jazz Journalists Association website at jazzhouse.org.

Portland Homecoming Concert & National CD Release Party Celebrating First Major Label Recording

Widely hailed as a child prodigy on the jazz double bass within months of when she first cradled the imposing instrument as a 15 year old, Esperanza Spalding has hardly stopped to catch her breath since being hailed as the Ace of the Bass by The Boston Globe 3 years ago. The Portland native is now a full time teacher at the prestigious Berklee School of Music (the youngest professor in the history of the college) where she balanced a hectic teaching schedule while performing regularly with such jazz icons as Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, and Patti Austin. That schedule has just become even more frantic with the release of Esperanza, showcasing the bassist/vocalist, composer and arranger on her first, major label recording on HeadsUp Records.

In celebration, PDX Jazz will bring home Esperanza Spalding to Portland on Saturday, June 14, 8:00 PM, at the Winningstad Theater at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, 1111 SW Broadway, for the official launch of her new album with a national CD Release Party.

Spalding has already performed at many of the world’s leading jazz clubs, concert halls and festivals, and she’s making her major label recording debut as a leader with a quartet comprised of Leo Gaeovese (piano), Jamey Haddad (Latin Percussion), Otis Brown (drums), and Spalding (bass/vocals).

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There’s so much going on that the notion of down time after the February Portland Jazz Festival is a distant memory. We have agreed to team up with the good folks at the RiverPlace Hotel to present PDX Jazz @ RiverPlace every Friday & Saturday, 8-11 pm, beginning May 9.

Part of the original mission of the Portland Jazz Festival was to showcase regional jazz artists in an intimate, relaxed setting that is accessible to everyone, and over the past five years we’ve presented nearly 400 performances featuring local talent. We’ve also strived to present Portland artists in a free environment with no cover charges or drink minimums. This particular partnership clicked when the RiverPlace agreed with our premise and the partnership formed.

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