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