Portland Jazz Festival 2008

The recent Portland Jazz Festival 2008 is reviewed.

The Portland Jazz Festival (PDX Jazz) in its fifth year has already joined the ranks of world-class jazz festivals. More than 35,000 attended shows at over 25 venues, ranging from Arlene Schnitzer Hall (the “Schnitz,” with its capacity of 2,700 consistently housed nearly sold-out performances) to quainter venues like the city’s primary jazz club Jimmy Mak’s. One of the main reasons is its ringleader, Artistic Director Bill Royston who each year seems to come up with a dandy theme to thread everything together. Royston successfully creates a feeling of jazz community that stretches from local interest, through the Northwest, and to us on the “right” coast and beyond. In fact, the weekends were very New York-like: one day this reviewer caught seven sets of music!