John Gilbreath photo by Bill Uznay

Letter from the Director

The Rising Tide

There is a lot of Sound in Motion around our region this month, and, as always, we’re happy to be a part of this incredible creative community.

We are lucky this year to harness part of the flow of touring-artist traffic through the region this month, generated in part by the PDX Jazz Festival and a special focus on ECM Records that our colleagues at SFJAZZ are doing. Check out our Sound in Motion offerings for the month, and mark your calendars for upcoming Earshot concerts with Helen Sung, Gerald Clayton, Les Mystere du Voix Bulgare, and more.

As you read further into these pages for overviews and listings of the many upcoming events, take special note, beyond the bandleader’s name, of the incredible personnel on these concerts. There are some really amazing people coming through.

Recognition is due to the Seattle Improvised Music Festival, which is the longest-running festival of improvised music in America, and clearly set the pace for “artist-curated” concert events. Special thanks, once again, to Steve Peters, at the Chapel Performance Space, for his tireless dedication and essential financial support for the Improvised Music Festival, and so many other important events over the years.

And the lineup for this year’s Portland Jazz Festival is incredible! Huge thanks and respects to Don Lucoff, whose appearance on the Portland scene as director of PDX Jazz has not only saved, but greatly enriched, the quality and the spirit of the entire Portland jazz scene. Don is a team player, with a deep love of the music, and years of unrivaled experience behind the curtain as the head of DL Media, the preeminent public relations firm in jazz for the past 20+ years. One of the major coups in Don’s very intentional programming for this year is the rare appearance of Maria Schneider and her entire New York orchestra. PDX Jazz is well worth the trip. Take A Train, as they say.

Oh, and one more special event for this month: Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget that the love we celebrate one day of the year, for (generally) one special person, need not be so limited. It seems important that we practice love every day, so we can get good at it.

Finally, and especially, thank YOU, for all of your support for Earshot Jazz over the years. In fact, thank you for your abiding love of the many faces and sounds of jazz, one of the most dynamic and rewarding art forms ever to emerge from the human spirit.

–John Gilbreath, Executive Director