42nd Annual Cathedral Park Free Jazz Festival Announces Schedule of Performances

The free Cathedral Park Jazz Festival [CPJF] featuring local jazz, blues, soul, and Latin artists will take place in Cathedral Park under the historic St Johns Bridge in North Portland for the 42nd year of the festival on Friday, July 15, Saturday July 16, and Sunday July 17.

Oregonians Credit Union and the Jazz Society of Oregon are this year’s presenting sponsors.  The festival is organized by the Jazz Society of Oregon (JSO).

CPJF is the longest-running free annual jazz festival west of the Mississippi – and Portland’s longest-running annual community event, according to organizers.

Highlights

Friday, July 15 is dedicated to the blues starting at 4:30 p.m. The featured performer is guitarist and studio session player Eddie Martinez, who played alongside Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. Friday night ends with Tony Coleman’s “Tribute to the Three Kings: BB, Albert, and Freddie.” Coleman was BB King’s drummer.

Saturday, July 16, and Sunday, July 17, will feature a mix of jazz, soul, and Latin performers. Kicking off the day on Saturday at 1 p.m. is the newly formed orchestra from Portland’s The 1905 jazz club. Also on Saturday is the dynamic 10-piece Latin band, Pura Vida Orquestra, playing salsa, timba, cumbia, cha-cha-cha, Latin jazz, merengue, bachata and Latin Funk, and led by Costa Rican saxophonist/vocalist Gabriel (“Paquito”) Martinez.

Sunday, July 17, starts with the Portland State University Festival Ensemble. Greaterkind gives the final performance - the premier of “Time Sound; Albina’s Jazz Re-Imagined,” a suite of local jazz, soul, funk and fusion compositions together with narration by elders from the Albina neighborhood, where most of Portland’s Black residents lived in the 20th century. “Time Sound” is a production of World Arts Foundation/Albina Music Trust & Brown Branch.

“This is the 42nd consecutive year of the festival, which was started by a group of volunteers seeking to commemorate the construction of spectacular Cathedral Park,” said Rita Rega, creative director of this year’s festival and president of the Jazz Society of Oregon.

Keep it free: volunteers, sponsors, donations needed

“To help keep the festival free, the CPJF planning committee is seeking donations, community sponsors, and volunteers,” noted Yvonne Lerch, CPJF managing director. 

Those interested in sponsoring the festival can check out jazzoregon.org/become-sponsor.

Volunteers may sign up on the Jazz Society of Oregon’s website by emailing volunteer@jazzoregon.org. Donations can be made at www.jazzoregon.org/donate.