I spent a lot of time at last year’s Portland Jazz Festival. Not only was it packed with fine, adventurous music (I caught Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, the Classical Jazz Quartet—all really fun shows), but it unveiled the Portland Jazz Orchestra as a year-round, fest-supported ensemble. The group’s debut performance as official festival homies found it taking on twisted genius composers Charles Mingus and Dave Holland at the Crystal Ballroom, a show which—despite a strange dinner table set-up near the stage—was really exciting for a host of reasons: primarily because it proved that this festival was more than just a jazz circus rolling through town.

Because things were unfolding on such a large scale and with so much national attention, it was a shock to hear early last month that this year’s fest was likely canceled when a sponsor or two pulled out of large-scale sponsorships. We’d just gotten a pamphlet in the mail a week prior which, while sorta vague, got us stoked about the fest’s return.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find an email in my inbox today (my birthday, by the way) with the subject line “MEDIA ADVISORY: PDX Jazz Returns.” And even more of a relief to read a long press release over at pdxjazz.com (excerpted here):

Alaska Airlines has agreed to a multi-year title sponsorship of the Portland Jazz Festival, providing the financial support necessary to revive the world-class festival, which had announced in early September that it was ceasing operations after five years.

Alaska Airlines’ sponsorship investment arrives on the heels of a commitment for community & operational support from a committee led by Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish, businessman Sho Dozono and Travel Portland.

The corporate and organizational support ensures that the 6th Annual Alaska Airlines Portland Jazz Festival presented by The Oregonian A&E will take place, as scheduled, February 13-22, 2009. The festival will be dedicated to the 70 anniversary of Blue Note Records, as previously announced. “Alaska Airlines is pleased to sponsor the Portland Jazz Festival,” said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines vice president of marketing sales and customer experience. “Portland is home to many customers and employees of Alaska Airlines, and Horizon Air, and we’re happy to help showcase great artists and their music through this important community event.” Jarvis noted that Alaska Airlines stepped in as a sponsor allowing the popular event to continue for its sixth year.

Spearheaded by a new advisory committee led by Fish and Dozono, Portland Jazz Festival has already acquired additional corporate support from U.S. Bank, Precision Castparts Corporation and several other individuals and businesses. Qwest, the Festival’s title sponsor for five seasons, will continue its tremendous support of the Festival with a new funding pledge from its national foundation.

It almost sounds like this year’s fest will be better-supported than the previous five, which would go a long way towards making this year’s celebration of Blue Note Records (their birthday is coming up, too!) as impressive as it has the potential to be (comments section: Your five all-time favorite Blue Note Records. GO!!!!! And don’t say Hand on the Torch by Us 3, because that’s completely ridiculous)..

There’s an official announcement of the fest’s return (which may well double as an announcement of some of this year’s talent) today at 1 pm down at the PCPA (1111 SW Broadway (at Main Street)), with City Commissioner Nick Fish, the Portland Jazz Fest’s genius-in-residence Artistic Director, Bill Royston and a Alaska Airlines official, Molly Brown (artists’ rendering of her at the start of this post).

The Portland Jazz Fest has its critics, and I’ve suggested here on LocalCut that the show prices effectively freeze out young people and struggling local musicians who might otherwise attend (I’d love to see the cheap seats get cheaper at the expense of the folks in the front row—but then I’m a total commie). Still, it’s no doubt a huge net gain for the community: The fest offers free shows at Pioneer Courthouse Square, has worked in the schools and offered scholarships and even helped transplant New Orleans musicians to Portland. Today is certainly a day for celebration. I’m glad we’ll get to see the Jazz fest turn six, seven, eight…25?

Links:
pdxjazz.com
Portland Jazz Orchestra (somebody make these guys a MySpace. Jeez.)

Photo: Artists rendering of Alaska Airlines’ Molly Brown. We don’t think she has a beard, though.