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.

Grammy Congratulations to John Clayton and Paquito D'Rivera

Last night was a strong night for jazz at the Grammys. Herbie Hancock took honors for Album of the Year, and two Jazz Port Townsend artists took home statues as well.

Congratulations to artistic director John Clayton, who won a Grammy for Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die," John Clayton, arranger (Queen Latifah).

...and kudos to Paquito D'Rivera, whose quintet scored a Grammy for Latin Jazz Album: 'Funk Tango.'

Centrum at IAJE in Toronto

I recently returned from the International Association for Jazz Education annual conference, which was held in Toronto this year.  It’s the most important and best-attended conference in the jazz world.  Over 6,000 people attended, and Centrum had a booth representing the Jazz Port Townsend.  As always, there were many outstanding performances by top musicians, and as always I was pleased and proud to note that many of them are or have been on our faculty!  These included Carl Allen, Chuck Deardorf, Paquito D’Rivera, Dee Daniels, Kurt Elling, Ingrid Jensen, Kristin Korb, Bill Mays, Kim Nazarian, Sachal Vasandani, Jon Wikan and Matt Wilson.  Jovino Santos Neto and Mark Ivester have also taught at Centrum in a weekend Brazilian music workshop and were there as well.  It was fun to watch people walking by the Centrum booth doing double and triple takes when they saw the list of this summer’s faculty, and to answer their enthusiastic questions.

 

Besides hearing lots of great music, it’s inspiring to hear some of the best student players coming up these days.  Their talent and enthusiasm run deep.  Those of you who have attended the past two years know that we’ve made a special commitment to provide scholarships to talented young people of color.  It was especially valuable for me to hear a number of excellent candidates, and I’ll be contacting them to encourage them to apply.

All in all it was great to be there, and definitely worth the trip.  I hope you’re all planning to apply and attend our workshop this summer July 20-27.  Stay in touch!

Registration Opens for 2008 Workshops

Registration has opened for Centrum's 2008 workshops. Follow the links in the top right column to learn more, or bookmark http://www.centrum.org/admin/register.html, which is our new launch page for registrations.

New in 2008, we've upgraded the software we use to handle registrations, which will give you more information, more quickly than ever before. As always, your feedback will help us improve how we serve you.

New Food
Also new in 2008, we are excited to announce a new food partner at Fort Worden. Bon Appétit Management Company is bringing their passion for great food inspired by a deep commitment to sustainability and locally grown and produced fare. They share our own belief that food serves a much larger purpose for the community. Breaking bread together helps create a sense of community and comfort. We can't wait for you to come to Fort Worden to experience a new era in excellent cuisine. Learn more at http://www.cafebonappetit.com/fortworden/.

We look forward to seeing you at Fort Worden in 2008.

Joe Locke Centrum Performance Wins Earshot Award

Charismatic vibraphonist Joe Locke's July 28, 2007 afternoon performance has been named 2007 Northwest Concert of the Year by Earshot Jazz magazine. The announcement came Sunday night, January 20.

The voting was done by Earshot readers, and honored a standing-room-only show in which Locke was accompanied by Bruce Forman (guitar), Chuck Deardorf (bass), and Jon Wikan (drums).   

Trumpter Thomas Marriott, who also sat in during the set, took the Earshot awards for both Northwest Recording of the Year (for Both Sides of the Fence) and Northwest Instrumentalist of the Year.

2008 Jazz Port Townsend Faculty Nearly Complete

The following jazz performers are confirmed to appear at Jazz Port Townsend 2008! The Festival will take place July 20-27, 2008, with intensive week-long workshops for jazz participants capped by mainstage and club shows the Thursday-through-Sunday weekend of July 24-27.

Wycliffe Gordon, trombone
Eric Alexander, tenor (pictured)
Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet
Monty Alexander, piano
George Cables, piano
Benny Green, piano
Gary Smulyan, sax
Terell Stafford, trumpet
Lewis Nash, drums
Clarence Acox, drums
Bruce Forman, guitar
Chuck Deardorf, bass
John Clayton, bass
Jeff Clayton, sax

Brazilian Choro Workshop Full: Performance Tickets Still Available

Due to high demand, the Brazilian choro workshop (November 8-11, 2007) is completely full. Tickets to the November 10 performance are going just as fast, but thanks to the capacity of the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater there is still room at the show. Tickets are available by calling Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 as well as on our secure online site.

Paquito Rivera to Join Jazz Port Townsend in 2008

We are pleased to welcome NEA Jazz Master Paquito D'Rivera to Jazz Port Townsend in 2008. Born in Cuba, the eight-time Grammy Award-winning clarinetist and saxophonist began his career as a teen prodigy, creating various original and ground-breaking musical ensembles.

As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra.

D'Rivera eventually went on to premiere several works by notable Cuban composers with the same orchestra. Additionally, he was a founding member and co-director of the innovative musical ensemble Irakere. With its explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical, and traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout Europe and the Americas.

Paquito D'Rivera's first recognition as a solo artist by the Grammy Recording Academy came in 1996 with the highly acclaimed recording Portraits of Cuba. Since then, D'Rivera has received numerous recognitions as an artist and composer. 

Your Instrument Chooses You: An Interview with Chuck Deardorf

Centrum: How did you begin playing jazz?

Chuck Deardorf: I was about eleven when I started playing music. I started out a trombone player, and went through the school band program and that sort of thing, and in my senior year of high school I discovered jazz. I was also playing bass guitar at that time, mostly in rock and roll and R & B. So probably sixteen, I guess, would be the age that started to happen, seventeen, as far as jazz goes.

C: How did you decide to play the bass?

CD: Well, you know I have a theory that instruments choose you, you think you choose them, but they kind of call your name. I was a trombone player, and I was playing in big bands, and you know as horn players, especially in big bands, you play a little bit and then you just sit there for a while, and then you play some more and then you sit.  And I found myself always listening to the bass player, because they get to play the whole time, and I thought, wow they sound like they’re having a lot more fun then I am. 'Cause they’re just in the music, and the bass just shapes the music so much. You have a lot of responsibility and freedom to really determine where the music goes. And so the bass just started calling my name and I responded. I became a full-time bass player when I was in college. 

C: Were there any bass players in particular that you listened to early on that got you excited about the bass?

Summer Tickets Now On Sale

We're pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for Centrum's summer performances at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. Highlights of the 2007 summer season include:

• Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and Trio Solisti anchor the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, led by new Artistic Director Helen Callus.
• Centrum's June 10 special sneak preview of the Seattle Men’s Chorus’ new show “Scared Faithless,” a look at religion through the lens of experiences by gay men and women.
• South African teaspoon slide guitar player Hannes Coetzee and Grammy winning vocalist Laurie Lewis performing at the combined Voiceworks/Port Townsend Slide & Steel Festival.
• National Heritage Award fellows Liz Carroll and Paul Dahlin, along with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and dozens more, turning up the temperature during the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes.
• Writers Eileen Myles, Arthur Sze, Thomas Glave Camille Dungy and others whom Artistic Director Rebecca Brown says “work beyond the bounds of well-behaved American literature” at the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference.
• Roberta Gambarini, the Banda Brothers Latin All-Stars and NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson joining Artistic Director John Clayton and others at Jazz Port Townsend, Washington’s longest-running summer jazz festival.
• The Port Townsend Country Blues Festival, the nation’s largest gathering of acoustic blues musicians, welcomes National Heritage Award winners Eddie Pennington, Henry Gray and John Cephas, as well as Robert Belfour and many more.

Information on ordering tickets is available on our Information Center site.

Top Jazz Prizes Go To Centrum Alumni

Six of the top ten outstanding soloist acknowledgments at the Essentially Ellington national high school jazz competition in New York City this past weekend are Jazz Port Townsend alumni. Alto saxophonists John Cheadle (Garfield High School) and Logan Strosahl (Roosevelt High School), tenor saxophonist Joel Gombiner (Garfield), pianists Benjamin Hamaji (Garfield) and Scotty Bemis (Roosevelt), and banjo player Reed Ferris (Roosevelt), all won outstanding soloist awards. Congratulations to all our Centrum alumni! (Read Seattle Times jazz critic Paul de Barros's complete article on the Essentially Ellington competition here.) 

Centrum Seeks Development Director

Centrum is seeking a Development Director to develop, nurture, and manage over 1,500 individual and institutional relationships to inspire $1,200,000 million in annual charitable giving. If you're interested in joining a dynamic and passionate team, read more at The Centrum Information Center blog.

Upload your jazz photos to Flickr

As part of this new website relaunch, we wanted to create a way for you--whether you were a workshop participant or an audience member--to share photos of your experience.

Using the website www.flickr.com, we think we've done it. On the lower right of the site, you will see a random selection of photos from last year's festival. By clicking on one of them, you'll be able to see that photo, and all of the other photos that we've loaded onto our flickr Centrum Jazz photo pool.

Now it's your turn. If you took photos last year, please join the pool, and upload them for the rest of us to see. We look forward to seeing your photos!

For those of you who bookmark pages, here's the web address for our Group page on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/centrumjazz/ .

Jazz Port Townsend

Founded more than twenty-five years ago, Jazz Port Townsend has become one of America’s finest jazz experiences. Led by Artistic Director John Clayton, the Festival consists of a weeklong residential workshop where musicians live, jam and learn with some of the finest jazz artists working today.

At the end of the workshop, the artist/faculty take to the stage for public performances Thursday through Sunday in Fort Worden's WWI-era balloon hangar, and in Port Townsend's historic waterfront clubs.

The dates: July 22-29, 2007

• Jazz Port Townsend Mainstage Schedule
• Jazz Port Townsend Club Schedule