Jazz is alive in Portland, Oregon

OPB’s partner station, KMHD Jazz Radio, has been celebrating its 40th birthday this year. So we’re using the milestone of this anniversary to look back at Portland’s birth and evolution as a jazz town.   When you think of jazz, perhaps its birthplace, New Orleans, or New York City first come to mind. But Portland’s been attracting jazz stars and fostering local jazz talent for practically a century, and is home today to a vibrant local scene that’s expanded beyond the boundaries of traditional jazz. We explore the history of the genre’s golden era in Portland, when the jazz scene thrived on North Williams Avenue in the city’s Albina neighborhood. Albina’s music scene later evolved to include soul, funk and R&B in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Many Black-owned jazz and soul clubs in Albina didn’t outlast destructive “urban renewal” projects that hit the historically Black neighborhood hard. But continued investment in the jazz scene by local musicians like Mel Brown has helped rebuild it to what it is now.   We also hear from beloved longtime KMHD DJ and host, Ted Smith, also known to listeners as “The Baby Boomer,” about the station’s ethos of “jazz without boundaries,” what he hopes to provide to listeners of his show, “The Soulful Strut,” and what he sees in Portland’s jazz scene today.   For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage. Follow OPB on Instagram, and follow host Jenn Chávez too. You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.   Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps: Hush Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars Politics Now Think Out Loud And many more! Check out our full show list here.