The 10th Annual Montavilla Jazz Festival begins this Friday, September 1st, and runs through the 3rd. This weekend’s music celebration expands beyond the neighborhood’s borders with five venues and a livestream. For the first time in its ten years, the festival will feature two free outdoor concerts in the Mt. Tabor Park Caldera Amphitheater, starting at 6 p.m. on opening night.
The 2023 Montavilla Jazz Festival starts with the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra Vanguard Combo at Vino Veritas Wine Bar & Bottle Shop. This all-ages show starts at 4 p.m. and features Youth Jazz Orchestra alums, professionals, band directors, and college students alongside accomplished high school musicians. Festivities shift up the mountain to hear Vestal Stories with the Mary-Sue Tobin Sextet in the Caldera Amphitheater. This first free concert in the Mt. Tabor Park series features Montavilla Jazz’s Artist In Residence at Vestal Elementary School Mary-Sue Tobin.
Following that performance, the second park concert begins at 7:30 p.m. with Views of an Urban Volcano. Composers Cyrus Nabipoor, Kirsten Volness, and James Powers will premiere jazz inspired by Portland’s unique formerly volcanic natural space, Mt. Tabor Park. The 12-member Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble will perform the new works based on a year of research and community engagement.
The Montavilla Jazz Festival continues after that with an already sold-out 11:30 p.m. show at The 1905 jazz club. A donation-based livestream is still available. People interested in reserving a spot at the free shows or purchasing tickets to the other events should visit the Montavilla Jazz website, montavillajazz.org, or look for links at the bottom of this article.
Images in article courtesy of Montavilla Jazz
Friday September 1st
4:00PM – Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra Vanguard Combo
MJF Student Stage at Vino Veritas Wine Bar & Bottle Shop – Make all-ages reservations here.
Breakout student performers take center stage. Read more.
6:00PM – Vestal Stories: Mary-Sue Tobin Sextet
Mt. Tabor Park Caldera Amphitheater – FREE! (RSVP)
ADA parking and accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Celebrating where we come from and the joy around us, this project is the culmination of a collaboration between Montavilla Jazz, Portland State University’s Artist as Citizen Initiative, and Vestal Elementary. Read more. ASL interpretation provided.
7:30PM – Views of an Urban Volcano with Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble
Mt. Tabor Park Caldera Amphitheater – FREE! (RSVP)
ASL interpretation provided. ADA parking and accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Composers Cyrus Nabipoor, Kirstin Volness, and James Powers premiere new jazz inspired by Portland’s beloved greenspace and extinct cinder cone, Mt. Tabor Park, performed by Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble’s 12-member band. Read more.
11:30PM – Charlie 3rown Quartet
The 1905 – Tickets $15-20 SOLD OUT! – LIVESTREAM
Riding the edge of multiple genres, the Charlie 3rown Quartet’s creations use their diverse experiences and influences to take listeners to the brink. Read more.
Saturday September 2nd
2:00PM – George Colligan: The Phyllis Wheatley Project featuring Zyanna
Portland Metro Arts – Tickets $5-30 – LIVESTREAM
ADA parking and accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Phyllis Wheatley was the first African American poet to be published in the United States. George Colligan sets her poetry to music. Read more.
5:00PM – Ryan Meagher, Ralph Alessi, Peter Epstein, and Mark Ferber
Portland Metro Arts – Tickets $5-30 – LIVESTREAM
ADA parking and accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Prominent Portland guitarist Ryan Meagher assembles a team of eminent improvisers to mine their decade-long creative relationships. Read more.
6:00PM – Mt. Hood Community College Student Combo
MJF Student Stage at Vino Veritas Wine Bar & Bottle Shop – Make all-ages reservations here.
Breakout student performers take center stage. Read more.
8:00PM – Darrell Grant’s Piano in the Dark with special guest Billy Childs
Alberta Rose Theatre – Tickets $5-45
Accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Chasing the magic of the unexpected, Darrell Grant curates ephemeral encounters at and beyond the keyboard melding tradition and innovation. Read more.
11:30PM – Nicole McCabe Quartet
The 1905 – Tickets $15-20 – LIVESTREAM
McCabe’s Los Angeles-based band plays music from her recent album Landscapes released on the Spanish label Fresh Sounds New Talent. Read more.
Sunday September 3rd
2:00PM – Domo Branch and Branchin’ Out
Portland Metro Arts – Tickets $5-30 – LIVESTREAM
ADA parking and accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Branch and company are on a mission to heal, motivate, and inspire through the trance of original and arranged music. Read more.
4:00PM – Jam Session Hosted by Alan Jones Academy of Music
The 1905 – Tickets $15-20
Local artist hone their craft in the traditional jam session format hosted by AJAM instructors. Read more.
5:00PM – Tim Willcox Quartet featuring Chuck Israels
Portland Metro Arts – Tickets $5-30 – LIVESTREAM
ADA parking and accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Tim Willcox’s saxophone “sings and, at times, broods passionately and inventively” into the original works of his ensemble of local heavyweights. Read more.
6:00PM – Portland State University Combos
MJF Student Stage at Vino Veritas Wine Bar & Bottle Shop – Make all-ages reservations here.
Breakout student performers take center stage. Read more.
8:00PM – Alan Jones Quartet featuring Tivon Pennicott, Kevin Hays and Joe Martin
Alberta Rose Theatre – Ticket $5-45
Accessible seating available, email accessibility@montavillajazz.org to reserve.
Festival headliner Alan Jones assembles a dream team of award-winning talent for a concert of original music designed to inspire and challenge. Read more.
11:00PM – Frank Irwin’s Aurora Septet
The 1905 – Tickets $15-20 – LIVESTREAM
Blending chamber orchestration with improvisation and modal groove, Aurora Septet paints a beautiful landscape of self-discovery. Read more.