Three's A Charm

[February 15th, 2006] Now in its third year, the Portland Jazz Festival has done something unexpected. No longer content with the mainstream formula that nurtured it, the 10-day festival is acting out and flexing some muscle. Like a toddler testing his boundaries, the fest has crawled out of its infancy (as a showcase for sure-bet, big-ticket performers like Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, David Holland, Patricia Barber) and is hurtling hands-free with an exceptional array of jazz in all of its varieties, making this hotel-centric fest a vital pulse-reading on the state of jazz as we know it. Dig these highlights.

^Catching the Trane

When Gertrude Stein said, "The creator of the new composition in the arts is an outlaw until he is a classic, there is hardly a moment in between," she could very well have been foreseeing the specter of John Coltrane. The late saxophonist was one of the most polarizing, influential forces in jazz and improvised music. And he still is—so much so that Portland Jazz Festival director Bill Royston should be applauded for pushing forward "Chasin' the Trane—Remembering John Coltrane," a dozen-plus events (performances, workshops, lectures, gallery shows, book signings, roundtable banter) exploring the artist's rich legacy.

At the time of his death, Coltrane had abandoned accepted strategies like hummable melody and traditional finger-poppin' jazz form and was well on his way to shattering the sound barrier with spiritually infused epics like Ascension and Interstellar Space that are still stuck in the craw of the jazz establishment. Author Ashley Kahn contends that listeners have caught up with the innovations—"It's a very universal, accessible sound, even though he's one of those guys who was very intense and devoted to experimental, avant-garde sound." That's a tough claim, when we regularly see audiences for nail-biting, exploratory improv on the dwindle and an appetite for Eisenhower-era pop (Michael Bublé, Jane Monheit, the "new" Paul Anka, Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr.) on the rise.

Still, 2005 was a banner year for Coltrane—which might sound funny considering he's been dead nearly 40 years. With two never-before-released recordings topping the best-of lists, the inclusion of Coltrane in this weekend's events is a fitting tribute to the heavyweight champion of the saxophone's giant steps and his contribution to the great four-letter word "jazz."

Smack-dab at the center of things is an appearance by pianist McCoy Tyner, the last surviving member of the classic Coltrane quartet, with special guest Ravi Coltrane (son of John and Alice). Sixty-seven-year-old Tyner, the subliminal undercurrent that girded the often orbit-bound Coltrane, brings his most pulsating Trane-esque group in years. With a strong postbop linearity, keening pulse (and more wispish tone than his dad), Ravi Coltrane presents his working group (which includes dynamic pianist Luis Perdomo). Both Tyner and the younger 'Trane will take part in workshops and dialogues.

Also on the table are lectures with Kahn (A Love Supreme—The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album and the forthcoming House That Trane Built), a passionate chronicler of Coltrane's oeuvre; The Oregonian's Lynn Darroch unveiling a commissioned "jazz story"; tribute king Bryan Dickerson performing the music of the master; and a two-day round-robin featuring critics, know-it-alls, and jazz poets and pundits from around the region and nation convening on Coltrane, whether you like it or not.

Join McCoy Tyner for a Jazz Dialogue (followed by a sax master class with Ravi Coltrane) at 2:30 pm Friday, Feb. 17, at Portland State University's Lincoln Hall, Room 75. Free. Tyner, Charnett Moffett, Eric Kamau Gravatt and special guest Coltrane play at 8 pm Friday at the Hilton Grand Ballroom. SOLD OUT. Coltrane performs at 10:30 pm Friday at the Governor Hotel Heritage Ballroom. $25 advance, $35 at door. For complete details, go to www.pdxjazz.com.

^TRADING FOURS: Quick Festival Picks

Miguel Zenón

Alto saxophonist Zenón, a 29-year-old Puerto Rico native, has a delicious tart tone, an effervescent spark and a quiet yet intense focus that is riveting. Chiseled and dashing, Zenón suggests a young Yul Brynner and is equally as adventurous as he cuts a swashbuckling path through Latin, high-octane Charlie Parkerisms and a tender contrapuntal classicism. He is one of the festival's best-kept secrets. 2 pm Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Governor Hotel Heritage Ballroom. $20 advance, $30 door. All ages.

Eddie Palmieri with Nicholas Payton

The grand duke of Latin jazz piano, seven-time Grammy-winner Palmieri is a legendary firebrand known for his careening flights between undulating montunos, spicy Afro-Caribbean excesses and Monk-tinged klangfarben. 2 pm Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Waterfront Marriott Oregon Ballroom. $30 advance, $40 door. All ages.

Dee Dee Bridgewater

One of the great curveballs of the festival is Bridgewater. A first-rate jazz singer, host of NPR's Jazz Set and Tony Award winner (for The Wiz), the 56-year-old Bridgewater has never been given her due. Her latest offering, J'ai Deux Amours, a concept album/love letter, was inspired by her time living as an American in Paris during the 1980s—and is a touching array of jazz standards en français and French cabaret staples. 8 pm Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Waterfront Marriott Oregon Ballroom. $30 advance, $40 door. All ages.

Bill Frisell Unspeakable Orchestra

There's an alluring pleather quality to guitar innovator Frisell's latest large-band project. Described as "heavy funk for thinking truckers," this pioneering Downtown figure leans heavily on '60s and '70s loping grooves and suspended string-laden backings to generate a taut, cinematic feel. This is some of the most curious, enjoyable Frisell you'll hear. 8 pm Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Waterfront Marriott Oregon Ballroom. $30 advance, $40 door. All ages.

^HOLA NOLA

Following the catastrophic horror of Hurricane Katrina, the Portland Jazz Festival and a cadre of local organizations donned their humanitarian thinking caps and launched NOLA2PDX—an effort that has provided travel, housing, donated instruments and work opportunities to displaced New Orleans musicians. In the spirit of jazz, this cooperative improvisational effort brought 50 musicians to Portland. For some, Portland was a pit-stop before returning to New Orleans, but 20-some others have opted to make Portland their new home. And what we get in return is a new hue to our local jazz scene, which will be on display at the Jazz Festival.

We're blessed to have an outcropping of exceptional players in our midst. There are the shouters and shuffle merchants like trombonist Steven Walker, Bernard "One Man Machine" Pearce and saxophonist Reggie Houston (who anticipated Katrina by a year). There are bop-oriented upstarts like saxophonist Devin Phillips, bassist Nobu Ozaki, drummer Mark DiFlorio, and guitarist Jesse Young. And then there are seasoned generalists like guitarist Tom Sandhal and bassist Tom Sciple. Up from the cradle of jazz to joyous second-line strut to hip-worrying funk—thanks to the largesse of this community's forward-thinking vision—the Rose City's feeling like the Little Easy.

The festival kicks off with Reggie Houston's Box of Chocolates at noon Friday, Feb. 17, at Jimmy Mak's. Steven Walker plays at 5 pm Friday, Feb. 17, at the Rogue Distillery and Public House. Jesse Young plays at 10 pm Friday, Feb. 17, at the Daily Grill. Tom Sandhal plays at 9 pm Saturday, Feb. 18, at Billy Reed's. Devin Phillips & New Orleans Straight-Ahead perform at 9 pm Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Rogue Distillery. All events are free. 21+. For complete NOLA2PDX schedule, see www.pdxjazz.com.