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Montavilla Jazz has announced the creation of the Nick Fish Community Award, a prize named for the late city commissioner (and jazz enthusiast). The first recipient is Portland drummer Ron Steen, whose previous accolades include being inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
“Portland has a remarkably active jazz scene for a city of its size and distance from the centers of cultural power,” radio host and jazz historian Lynn Darroch stated in a press release. “And though he is quick to deflect attention from his achievements and credit his colleagues, Ron Steen has played a leading role in maintaining that status.”
Darroch added: “Every successful [jam] session needs a leader like Steen, who knows the community and whose voice is respected. The sessions he leads— currently three a week—are a model of inclusivity and an opportunity.”
Fish, who died in 2020, has long be renowned as a jazz patron. He helped raise funds for the Mount Hood, PDX Jazz and Montavilla jazz festivals, earning the nickname “Portland’s jazz commissioner” from Montavilla Jazz board member Marcia Hocker.
After Fish’s passing, Hocker sang “I’ll Be Seeing You” at a celebration of the late commissioner’s life at Smith Memorial Union on the Portland State University campus, accompanied by Darrell Grant.
Fittingly, the Nick Fish Jazz Community Award will be presented to Steen on Sept. 2 as a prelude to Grant’s Piano in the Dark Concert, which is part of the 10th annual Montavilla Jazz Festival.
Piano in the Dark will begin 8 pm at the Alberta Rose Theatre. Tickets are $5-$45 with discounts for advance purchases, students and Arts for All available.