Page 2
April 25, 2001
S U P P L E M E N T
O F
Wbc
^îorthniô
(Dbseruer
E d i t o r in C h ie f,
P u b lis h e r
C harles H. W ashington
Editor
L arry J . Ja ck so n , Sr.
Business Manager
G ary A n n Taylor
A sst Publisher
M ichael L eighton
Copy Editor
Joy Ramos
Creative Director
R o b ert P ark er
4747 N E M a rtin L u th e r
King, Jr., Blvd.
Portland’s Answer to Quincy Jones
C e le b ra te d P o rtlan d ja z z a rtist
D arrell G ran t h as b ro u g h t a new
g ro o v e to the c ity ’s stre e ts with
the recent release o f “ T he Flow (A
3-PointPlay).”
T he C D release coincided w ith
the start o f the N BA playoffs, and
marked the launch o f a new com m u
nity-building initiative spearheaded
by G rant w ith the support o f Self-
E nhancem ent Inc. “This endeavor
is about using the pow er o f music as
a m eans by w hich to inspire people
to support com m unity," says Grant.
Proceeds from the C D 's sales will
support the Flow Project, an initia
tive to em pow er P ortland's youth in
realizing their ideas for com m unity
change.
“The Elow(A3-Point Play),” high-
lights a different side o f G ran t’s
m usical vision. Bringing together
the talents o f instrum entalists, vo
calists, and rappers under the aus
p ic e s o f PM P (P -T o w n M usic
Project), the CD , produced by Grant
and released on his label Lair Hill
Records, features original songs
drawing on jazz, soul, funk & hiphop
so u n d s.
also su p p o rted C o ffee K ids, an
here.”
The idea for “T he F lo w ” w as
organizaiton assistin g children and
A s w ith his 1999 ja z z release,
inspired by the dom inating m id-sea-
fam ilies in c o ffee -p ro d u cin g
son play o f the Portland T railb laz “Smokin ’ Java,” Grant has found
countries. T h e F low P roject
a w ay to integrate co m m u
ers. “T he N B A is a lot about stars,”
is an in itiative intended to
nity into the m usical mix.
G rant says, “but the B lazers, even
provide opportunities for lo
w ith all their talent, live o r die as a “ Sm okin’ Java” featured a
cal youth to spark change in
c e le b r a tin g
team. At their b est,” G rant co n tin s to r y
their com m unities. “The en
Portland's coffee culture,
ues, “their magic can inspire all o fu s
ergy and clear visionofyoung
and included photos o f
to find that groove w here w e w ork
people is o ften the engine
area celebrities. The
together for som ething g reater.”
that m oves the rest o f the w orld
C D
T he C D ’s second tra c k , th e
fo rw a rd ,” D arre ll says.
T o w e ro fP o w e r-in flu e n c e d , 7 0 ’s
G rants aw arded by The
era g ro o v e 'H o u s e o f S o u l' is a
Flow Project would
trib u te to the clu b Jim m y M ak s,
ftmd proposals con
w h ere G ra n t p e rfo rm e d on
ce iv e d b y young
W e d n esd ay n ig h ts in 1998-99.
people to positively
“ I t’s a b o u t ho w m u sic o p en e d
affect theirneighbor-
up a p lace o f accep tan ce for m e
hoods, schools and
in th is co m m u n ity ,” G ra n t
com m unities. S elf
states. “ I t's also a b o u t h a v
Enhancehancement
ing a p la ce to h an g o u t
Inc. will provide ad
w ith frie n d s.”
ministrative support
The C D ’s clo se r “ F o r
and g uidance for
tu n e R a in s,” is a b le n d o f
the project, as well
ja z z , soul, an d sp o k e n -
as being the vehicle
w o rd rem in isce n t o f p re
Local ja zz artist Darrell Grant inspires us to work fo r a d m in ste rin g
rap poet G il-Scott H eron.
once
W ritten as an expression together like the Portland Trailblazers through his g r a n t s
aw arded.
new CD entitled “The Flow (A 3-Point Play). ”
o f the good things that ju st
seem to rain dow n on us
P o rtlan d , O R 97211
503-288-0033
Fax 503-288-0015
e-mail:
thefocus@ portlandobserver.com
subscription<s)xxtlandob8erver.a<n
ads@ portlandobserver.com
D e a d lin e s l o r
,
Get Ready for
the Battle of the
Local Bands
s u b m itte d m a te ria l:
Articles: Friday by 5 p . m .
Ads: Monday by Noon
Focus w elcom es freelance
subm issions. M a n u scrip ts and
p h o to g rap h s ca n be re tu rn e d if
acco m p an ied by a self-
ad dressed sta m p e d envelope.
A ll created display ads
becom e the sole p ro p erty o f
the new spaper a n d ca n n o t be
u sed in o th e r p u b lic atio n s o r
p erso n al usage w ithout the
w ritten consent o f th e g en eral
m anager, unless th e client has
p u rch a sed the co m position o f
th e ad.
Tlw Pordaad Obwrvtr
(The ÿorUanb ©beeruer
Darrell Grant
Focus
A
Focus
T he P ortland Rose Festival A s
sociation selected 10 teen bands
from across the N orthw est to per
form at 94-7 N RK presents Rose
Festival M usicFest, a battle-of-the-
bands sty le co m p e titio n at the
Rpseland T heater, located at N.W .
Sixth Ave. on Saturday, April 28.
Prelim inary auditions are 10 a.m. to
3 p.m ., and finals begin at 5 p.m.
T he P ortland Rose Festival A s
sociation and 94-7 N R K review ed
m ore than 40 applications and audi
tion tapes from N orthw est teen
bands and selected the best o f the
subm itted bands to perform live at
M usicFest. A t least h a lf o f each
ban d ’s m em bers are currently en
rolled in high school. A variety o f
m usic styles are rep resen ted at
M usicFest this year including pop,
rock, alternative, ja zz and blues.
Bands selected for M usicFest
perform live on the R oseland T he
ater stage and receive constructive
feedback from a panel oflocal music
professionals.
T he best o f the 10 auditioning
bands perform at the Pepsi W ater
front Village and other Rose Festi
val events this June. Bands m ay
also w in tickets to various Rose
Festival events and 94-7 N R K ’s Big
Stink 6. G rand prize is an interview
on 94-7 N R K ’s specialty show
“ Som ething C ool” with host Jaim e
Cooley.
Students, fans and other music
enthusiasts are encouraged to at
tend this all-ages event and support
their favorite bands. Proceeds from
the event go tow ards the w inning
b an d ’s high school m usic program.