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July 25. 2012
Page 9
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East County
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North Portland
Instructor Plays Pivotal Role
Oregon Music
Hall Honors
Calvin Walker
by T eresa L ane
The Oregon Music Hall of Fame will honor
Mt. Hood Community College’s Calvin Walker
for his pivotal role in the Portland music
scene.
A local musician since the late 1960s, Walker
I «
now works in the Academic Advising and
Transfer Center at MHCC, where he helps
students reach their goals.
Walker is a jazz musician and plays key
board, drums and trumpet and sings with
various groups throughout the area.
He has played with Carl Smith and the
Natural Gas Com pany, Cruise Control,
Shirley Nanette and in his own band first
called Calvin and the Conquerors O rches
tra. He has opened for the innovative trum
pet player Miles Davis, as well as the Tem p
tations and Lou Rawls.
“It’s a great honor to be inducted into the
Oregon Music Hall of Fame,” says Walker.
“With all the thousands of musicians in Or
egon, just to be recognized is really cool.”
The induction ceremony and concert will
take place Oct. 6,7 p.m. at the Aladdin Theatre.
Walker will perform with an all-star band that
Future Oregon Music Hall of Famer Calvin Walker helps students reach their
evening.
For the past nine years, Walker has been on goals as an adviser at Mt. Hood Community College.
staff at MHCC, first as the developmental direc
tor for the KM HD 89.1 jazz radio station, and then
as a student adviser.
O f his current position. W alker says, “My
favorite thing is when a student is ready to
graduate. You couldn’t ask for a greater re
ward than that.” He likens the feeling to the
standing ovations he received as a perform er.
Though the two appear different. Walker says
he finds similarities between music and advising.
"In each one of them you give,” he states. “There’s
just so much more satisfaction in seeing some
one satisfied than sitting around waiting to be
satisfied yourself.”
Through his travels as a musician, Walker
played at jazz clubs and music festivals across
the Northwest. He was the first person to perform
at the refurbished and renamed Arlene Schnitzer
Concert Hall. He even had the opportunity to
play at the Vortex music festival in 1970, Portland’s
answer to the 1969 Woodstock festival.
“It was all crazy at that time,” he reminisces of
his time on the road.
At 60 years old, music is still a large part of his
life.
In between the rewarding experiences at M HCC
and his garden at home, he continues to play
music and produce recordings and videos
through his company Nacawana Projects Pro
ductions. “I’ve been blessed enough to play all
these years,” he says.
Walker joins the ranks of other musicians from
MHCC who have been inducted into the Oregon
Music Hall of Fame, including Patrick Lamb, a
saxophone player and music business consult
ant.
Charles Jordan
Center Dedicated
«
Charles Jordan, a former Portland Parks and Recreation Director and City
Commissioner, was honored Sunday when the University Park Community
Center in north Portland was officially renamed in his honor.
The Portland City Council voted unanimously on June 6 to rename the
facility for Jordan, a nationally-renowned African-American leader.
“Charles Jordan is a champion who’s connected generations of children
and families to their parks. One of his most memorable sayings is, ‘W e’re
more than fun and games’ - reminding us all of the importance that
recreation programs play in building good citizens and thriving communi
ties,” said City Commissioner Nick Fish.
Decades ago, Jordan won voter approval to turn the run-down building
- which had been built to house shipyard workers in the former Vanport in
the 1940s - into a thriving center for community life. Today, the center bears
his name as one of the best and most-visited community centers in Portland.
“I draw great inspiration from this amazing man,” says current Parks and
Recreation Director Mike Abbaté. “I am humbled to follow in his footsteps.”
Fernando Fantroy o f Portland Parks and Recreation shows off his fine work, the sign for the
Charles Jordan Community Center.
. . .