By Kris McDowell
In partnership with Travel Portland, the Events & Film Office at Prosper Portland recently announced the five awardees for the 2024 Scale Up Grant, a competitive grant program that provides funding and technical assistance for local Portland events that are positioned to grow and attract attendance beyond the Portland metro region. Commissioner Carmen Rubio said, “Scale Up Event Grants build on Portland’s reputation as a creative and eventful city. By helping mid-sized events grow to attract larger audiences, especially visitors to Portland, this program greatly benefits our community and our economy.”
One of the five recipients is the 11th Annual Montavilla Jazz Festival (MJF). The MJF is a three-day festival that showcases the very best in Portland jazz. While other festivals focus on international acts, legacy heavy hitters or mainstream jazz, MJF instead supports and strengthens local culture by highlighting emerging and established artists from Portland’s eclectic and vibrant jazz scene. Additionally, the festival offers Portlanders a unique and accessible way to join Portland’s finest musicians as they chart new frontiers in jazz.
The Friday, August 30-Sunday, September 1 festival celebrates local artistry, food and shops in a village-style event suitable for the whole family. This year’s event will feature more than double the number of performances over 2023, with concerts across the city. The lineup celebrates rising stars and creative, forward-thinking artists connected to Portland, with locally-raised and internationally-lauded saxophonist Nicole Glover bringing her trio to her hometown for the first time.
Neil Mattson, MJF Executive Director, said, “Montavilla Jazz is immensely excited to receive Prosper Portland’s Scale Up Grant for summer 2024. This significant funding and technical support from Prosper Portland and Travel Portland will help us realize our grand vision for a fun and inclusive event that reaches more people, boosts the local economy and most of all, celebrates Portland’s creative spirit.”
Both ticketed and free concerts take place in iconic outdoor locations such as Mt. Tabor Park’s Caldera Amphitheater and the Historic Downtown Montavilla Street Plaza as well as indoor venues including Strum, Portland Metro Arts, Vino Veritas Wine Bar and Bottle Shop and Montavilla breweries Montavilla Brew Works and Threshold Brewing & Blending in SE. The geographic footprint extends beyond just SE however and includes festival headliners at Alberta Rose Theatre and three of Portland’s top pianists at The 1905.
MJF is the only Portland festival focused on the original music of the city’s jazz artists, and this year’s lineup is the first crafted by an artist-driven curation process. Mattson said, “We asked artists to tell us what they would love to present but might not have been able to without support, and they dreamed big. Every year, we are astounded by the way these musicians take risks and innovate. This year we’re excited to invest in even more artist-centered programming that represents a wide breadth of jazz’s creative spirit. It’s a great way to usher in Montavilla Jazz’s second decade.”
The mission of MJF is not only to bolster Portland’s dynamic jazz culture, but also to enrich the local community. Like the neighborhood that serves as its home, MJF is a progressive, diverse, locally minded event that offers Montavilla residents an opportunity to come together, form connections and plug into Portland jazz. The festival relies on the contributions of local businesses, donors and volunteers and is supported by local sponsors and community partners.
For additional details about MJF and to purchase tickets to concerts, visit montavillajazz.org/festival. To learn more about Prosper Portland and the other 2024 Scale Up Grant recipients, visit bit.ly/3VQEzVv.
Montavilla Jazz Festival. Photo by Kathryn Elsesser.
