Jazz at Centrum

Centrum's Facebook Page

Whether you are a workshop participant, performance attendee, donor, volunteer, resident, or interested observer, we hope you will take a moment to visit our new Facebook page.

Facebook allows each of you to connect with us and extend your experience at Centrum. Upload your photos and videos. Talk about your past or upcoming workshops, review performances and readings. In large measure, 'our' page is 'your' page.

So take a look, and let us know what you think. We're exploring whether or not to create specific social networking sites for each of our major program areas. What do you think? (Now you have your first discussion topic on Facebook.)

The Music of Benny Green

Jazz pianist Benny Green, one of the most popular performers and teachers in the country, will be returning to Jazz Port Townsend in 2008!

Born in New York in 1963, Benny Green grew up in Berkeley, California, and began classical piano studies at the age of seven. His attention, however, soon turned into jazz.

"I began trying to improvise on the piano, imitating the records I'd been hearing from my father's collection, which included a lot of Monk and Bird… it was a gradual process of teaching myself," Green says. He played in school bands before hooking up with singer Fay Carroll, saying, "That was good training for me in terms of accompaniment and learning about the blues, and she also gave me a chance to play trio, opening for her every night."

As a teenager, Green worked with Eddie Henderson, and got some big band experience with a twelve-piece group led by Chuck Israels. Back in the Big Apple, he met veteran pianist Walter Bishop Jr. "I began studying with him and he helped point me in the direction of developing my own sound," Green says. "He also encouraged me to check out and study the whole scope of jazz piano history, so I could get a sense of how I was to fit in".

After a short stint with Bobby Watson, Green worked with Betty Carter between 1983 and 1987, the year he joined Art Blakey's band. He later worked with Freddie Hubbard's quintet.

[Benny Green on piano]

WANTED: Bloggers

When we redesigned this site last year, we had a vision that at some point, we could invite community members to post/write for the site, sharing their passion with other members of the Centrum community.

That time is NOW!

If you are passionate about jazz, and would like to share your knowledge and a sense of discovery with others, we want YOU. Please contact Keven Elliff at keven at centrum dot org for more information.

Are You Ready to Swing?

At Jazz Port Townsend, we focus on the 'straight-ahead' part of the jazz spectrum. We wanted to let you jazzoids know, however, about a special weekend workshop taking place in May that lives in the "vintage-swing" part of the spectrum.

We've invited Mike Dowling, Paul Anastasio, Jennifer Scott, and Rene Worst to conduct a Swing Intensive, May 8-11, 2008. If you play guitar, fiddle, acoustic bass, or sing at an intermediate and above level, this weekend could be for you.

The world of swing is a big one, but with this intensive long weekend the focus will be on "vintage swing", classics from the 30's and 40's that will include jump blues, and western swing, instrumentals as well as vocals. Morning sessions will be devoted to technique, while afternoons will include a faculty-led band lab that will demonstrate how to "put it all together."

Please visit the Swing Intensive page on our Fiddle Tunes site to learn more and to register--space is very limited in this special weekend. Hope to see you there!

At Jazz Port Townsend, we focus on the 'straight-ahead' part of the jazz spectrum. We wanted to let you jazzoids know, however, about a special weekend workshop taking place in May that lives in the "vintage-swing" part of the spectrum.

We've invited Mike Dowling, Paul Anastasio, Jennifer Scott, and Rene Worst to conduct a Swing Intensive, May 8-11, 2008. If you play guitar, fiddle, acoustic bass, or sing at an intermediate and above level, this weekend could be for you.

The world of swing is a big one, but with this intensive long weekend the focus will be on "vintage swing", classics from the 30's and 40's that will include jump blues, and western swing, instrumentals as well as vocals. Morning sessions will be devoted to technique, while afternoons will include a faculty-led band lab that will demonstrate how to "put it all together."

Please visit the Swing Intensive page on our Fiddle Tunes site to learn more and to register--space is very limited in this special weekend. Hope to see you there!