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Page 4
Music Boulevard
MT. HOOD JA ZZ FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
NEW WINTER CONCERT SERIES
o f the com m unity. Previous educa­
tional program s have featured pia­
nist Liz Story, violinist John Blake
and drum m er Steve Sm ith am ong
I t ’s “ w in te r h o m e ” to
M cM enam ins K ennedy School,
5736N E33id Street! 1 blocknorthof
Killingsworth), Portland, and it will
present tw o concerts and a free
w orkshop in early 1999. A fter two
successful seasons o f w inter con­
certs at Pers im m on Country C lub in
Greshm an, M t. H ood is m oving the
series to the m ore expansive and
relaxed facilities o f the K ennedy
School, a new ly renovated form er
elementary school that has becom e
one o f the M cM enam ins’ m ost
popularbrew pubs. Concerts will be
held in the form er school audito­
rium, w hich screens films onaregu-
lar basis, with a seating capacity o f
approxim ately 400 on an eclectic
assortm ent o f com fortable living
others.
This past week, K urt Filing re-
ceivedhis third G ram m y nomination
as “B est J azz Vocalist” for his recent
release. This Tim e It s Love, his third
B lue N ote recording.
A nother performer from the 1998
ML H ood Jazz Festival, Elling re­
“ranting.” R anting is E lling’s per­
sonal m ix o fb eb o p and literary im ­
provisation blended into both origi­
nal m usical material and highly styl­
ized standards. B acked by a trio,
w hich includes O regon bassistG len
M oore, Elling also incorporates
o rig in a l ly rics to w ell k n o w n
instrum entals by such ja z z m asters
as Freddie H ubbard, D exterG ordan
and M cC oy Tyner.
In p erfo rm an ces, E lling has
room furniture.
“W e’re excited about our asso­
ciation w ith the M t.H ood Jazz Fes­
tival,” states the K ennedy S chool’s
Liz Robbins. “It adds another cre­
ative com ponent to this exciting
facility, and aids in o ur efforts to
offer an artistic, com m unity out­
reach program .”
RKJKBRAUNOPENSSERIES
TOCELF.BRATE KKJZ’SSTH
BIRTHDAY
In celebration o fK K JZ Sm ooth
Jazz 106.7 5th anniversary, the ML
H ood Jazz Festival W inter C on­
certs will presents RickBraun, with
special guest E v e re tte Harp, on
V alentine’sD ay.Sunday,February
14,at7:00p.m .
O ver the past tw o years, trum ­
peter B raun has a Mt. H ood favor­
ite, appearing w ith his ow n band 15
nam ed “C ontem porary Jazz Album
o f the year’’ b y both publicahons.
Earlier in his career, B raun w asa
m em ber o f the rock band W ar, and
toured extensively w ith both Rod
Stewart and Sade. As musical direc­
tor for sade, B raun received a
Grammynomination,whichbecame
the catalyst for his successful solo
as a special guest w ith guitarist
Peter W hite.
In tw o w e e k s a fte r la s t
N ovem ber’s release, B raun’snew -
est album Full Stride reached # 1 on
theC on temporary Jazzcharts where
it still com fortably sits nearly tw o
months later. This com es as no
surprise to hrs grow ing num ber o f
fans after B raun w as tw ice nam ed
‘C ontem porary Jazz artist o f the
Y eaP '(1996& 1998)bybothG avm
and Jazzle m agazines H istw opre-
vious album s. Beat Streey (1996)
and Body & Soul (1997) also reached
career.
A ppearing as a special guest
w ith B raun at the February 14 con­
cert w ill be saxm an Everette Harp,
one o f the m ost popular acts at the
1998 M t. H ood Festival o f jazz.
Entering its fourth year as the
official radio station and prom o­
tional sponsor o f the M l H oodJazz
Festival, K K JZ is collaborating on
its anniversary celebration for the
secondyear. “Last year’s bash with
Joyce C ooling w as a real party, but
this year R ick Braun, one o f the true
superstars o f the “Sm ooth Jazz’
formaL will beevenabigger celebra­
tion,” note KKJZ Program Director
Paul W arren. “ K K JZ is very proud
o f its association with the Mt. Hood
Jazz Festival,and w e’re very happy
# 1 on sales charts, and were both
to produce this event in order to
m onths ago at Persim m on Country
Club, as well as perform ing as part
ofth e'S m o o th Jazz All-Stars” at the
1996Mt. H ood Festival and in 1997
inaugurate ML H o o d ’s new w inter
h o m e’ at the K ennedy School.”
SECOND EVENT FEATURES
KURTELLINGIN BOTH CON­
CERT ANDWORKSHOP
Mt. H ood Jazz Festival W inter
C oncerts w ill present jazz vocalist
K urt EUing at the M cM enam ins
K ennedy School auditorium on Sun-
day ,m arch 14,at7:00pm .
In addition, Elling will present a
free w orkshop on Jazz V ocalese &
Scatting, as a com ponent o f the Mt.
H ood Jazz F estival’s education out­
reach program , at 2:00 pm in the
K e n n ed y S c h o o l’s C o m m u n ity
R o o m (th e fo rm e r e le m e n ta ry
school’s gym nasium ) that is open to
the public.
This program will be o f special
interest to all aspiring vocalists, and
is presented as the eighth in a year-
round series o f ja z z workshops, fo­
rum s and m aster classes that are all
free and open to the public. T o date,
these programs, which are sponsored
b y B eacock’s M usic with additional
support from T he Boeing C om pany,
have attracted over 1,000 student
m usicians and interested m em bers
ceived the G ram m y A w ard for his
1997 T he M essenger, w hich in turn
cam e on the heels o f his critically
acclaim ed debut C lose vour Eyes in
1995. A ll o f w hich is rem arkable for
the 30-year old vocalist w ho left the
U niversity o f C h icag o ’s D ivinity
S chool ju s t prior to graduation be­
cause"... o f m y realization that G od
w as speaking to m e through m usic,
and, specifically from the influences
ofEUa Fitzgerald, D ave Brubeck and
H erbie H ancock.”
A s a ja z z v o cal im p ro v iser,
E lling’s other m ajor influences is
B eat P oetry, w hich has created
E lling’s unique scatting style o f
quickly developed a cut-like fol­
lo w in g , w h ic h in c lu d e s la s t
A ugust’s M t. H ood perform ance,
that also prom pted com m entary in
the recent 1998 C ritics Poll from
D ow nbeat M agazine that’' ...Elling
is not only the Best Jazz VocalisL he
is also the m ost H ip.”
M t. H ood Jazz Festival is pre­
sented by Equity G roup, Inc. R eal­
tors. T icketsforboththeR ickB raun
and K urt E lling perform ances are
av a ila b le a t the M cM en am in s
K ennedy School front desk, and at
all T icket M aster outlets including
G I Jo e ’s and M eier & Frank loca­
tions, o r by calling 224-4400.