Montavilla Jazz Festival Adds Concerts and Venues to Fall Festival

With more than twice the number of performances than the previous year, the 2024 Montavilla Jazz Festival will run Aug. 30–Sept. 1, 2024, with concerts across the city. The festival lineup celebrates the 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. On Sunday, Sept. 1, Glover’s group will perform selections from her latest release Plays. Saturday, August 31, violinist, vocalist, and storyteller, Joe Kye journeys through lineage and emotion in collaboration with Seattle’s Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai. The festival’s geographic footprint continues to expand with the number of concerts, and this year features a nexus of activity in the heart of Montavilla. 

The 29 East Portland neighborhood events include free concerts and conversations in the plaza in collaboration with SoundsTruckNW, a co-presentation with the Driveway Jazz series, performances at Portland Metro Arts and Beer Brats & Beats, DJ sets at multiple establishments, three student stages, and a return to Mt. Tabor Park’s Caldera Amphitheater for two free concerts on Friday, August 30. Outside the neighborhood, listeners can venture to Alberta Rose Theatre to see the festival headliners, to The 1905 for three of Portland’s top pianists, and Strum for adventurous guitar-centered performances.

Montavilla Jazz Festival 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. Montavilla Jazz Executive Director Neil Mattson shares, “We asked the 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.”

Find ticket details and information at http://montavillajazz.org/.