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  • Things to Do in Portland
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      • three women walk through rows of rosesView All Things to Do in Portland
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      • Cultural Communities
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      • Nightlife
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      • Downtown
      • Hawthorne
      • Lloyd
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      • Northwest / Nob Hill
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      • Pearl District
      • St. Johns
      • Sellwood-Moreland
      • Williams
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  • Region
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Oregon Arts Watch

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Gary Bartz-Alto Saxophone
Culture / Arts / Music

Portland Jazz

Saturated in black coffee and rain, Portland is a perfect percolator for another acquired taste: jazz.

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Gary Bartz-Alto Saxophone

Saturated in black coffee and rain, Portland is a perfect percolator for another acquired taste: jazz. Many jazz players call this region home and find the city’s low-key atmosphere inspiring. In Portland, it’s pretty easy to find small venues hosting intimate combos of world-class talent or bigger, more boffo live shows that still “got that swing.”

Jazz Festivals

For two weeks every February, the Biamp Portland Jazz Festival spotlights the best local talents and welcomes a fleet of jazz-world luminaries to Portland. This is easily the city’s most active jazz season. After a decade of jazz curation, however, the PDX Jazz organization has expanded its efforts into year-round support of the jazz scene. Check their calendar anytime for a solid show recommendation.

The annual Montavilla Jazz Fest is a three-day celebration spotlighting local jazz talent. With a diverse lineup spanning traditional to experimental styles, the festival takes place across multiple venues in Southeast Portland. Catch performances by renowned musicians like Korean American Joe Kye and internationally lauded saxophonist Nicole Glover.

The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, founded in 1981, the longest-running free jazz festival west of the Mississippi, is held beneath North Portland’s majestic St. Johns Bridge in Cathedral Park every July.

In August, pay homage to a historic Northwest legacy, the Vanport Jazz Festival, commemorating the pioneering musicians who established Portland as a true jazz city in the wake of the tragic Vanport Flood of 1948.

Across the river from Portland, the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival draws national and regional acts to its outdoor waterfront setting each August.

Upcoming Jazz Events

Explore Portland's vibrant jazz scene at one of these upcoming shows.

Cake and Jazz Nights
Ongoing

Cake and Jazz Nights

Farina Bakery

Join in every Friday and Saturday for Cake & Jazz Night. Farina Bakery will be open late for delicious desserts, a…

Food & Drink, Music
Louis: A Silent Film with Wynton Marsalis and Cecile Licad
Friday, May 30, 2025

Louis: A Silent Film with Wynton Marsalis and Cecile Licad

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall $50 – $95

LOUIS – A Silent Film – Live on Tour will see preeminent jazz musician Wynton Marsalis take to the road with…

Film, Music
PSU Jazz with Inara George
Friday, June 6, 2025

PSU Jazz with Inara George

Lincoln Performance Hall Pay what you can

Immerse yourself in an evening of jazz and creativity, presented by the PSU Jazz Area. This special concert is a…

Music
Metropolitan Youth Symphony: Esperanza Spalding
Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Metropolitan Youth Symphony: Esperanza Spalding

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall $28.50 – $72.25

MYS’ 50th Anniversary Season finale features five-time GRAMMY winner, Portland native, and barrier breaker…

Music
Matteo Mancuso
Sunday, June 22, 2025

Matteo Mancuso

Aladdin Theater $43.73 – $56.30

Born in 1996 and raised in the province of Palermo. A musical prodigy from an early age, Matteo’s introduction to…

Music
Editor's Pick
Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
July 18–20, 2025

Cathedral Park Jazz Festival

Cathedral Park Free

The Jazz Society’s Cathedral Park Jazz Festival is a free concert open to the public and held over three days in…

Editor's Pick
Cultural Communities, Festival, Music

Music Festivals

More music
a musician performs on an outdoor stage

Pickathon Music Festival

Every August, Pickathon draws diverse musical performers to celebrate music and the outdoors at the lush Pendarvis Farm just outside of Portland.

a quartet of string musicians wearing white tuxedos

Chamber Music Northwest’s Summer Festival

Chamber Music Northwest’s annual summer festival combines high-caliber classical music with a laid-back atmosphere.

two people laughing with a crowd and stage in the background

Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival

Every Fourth of July weekend, the Waterfront Blues Festival takes over downtown Portland’s Waterfront Park.

Venues of Note

Visitors to Portland can find regular jazz offerings at Wilfs. For a classic speakeasy vibe, descend into the basement of the Alder Building to the Jack London Revue.

3 To Try

Jazz Venues in Portland

Sit back and listen to local and visiting jazz musicians at these live music venues.

  • Jack London Revue

    The Jack London Revue is located in the basement of a historic downtown building — it delivers a classic speakeasy feel in an intimate setting, and features some of Portland’s best jazz musicians.

  • Wilf’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar

    Located at Union Station, this family-owned restaurant and bar hosts live, local jazz. They offer a contemporary take on the classic American menu, with ingredients sourced locally whenever possible.

  • Blue Diamond Bar & Grill

    This unpretentious, locally-owned watering hole hosts live music and dancing in an intimate setting. They also offer hearty food options and a full bar.

Grammy Winners

“City of Roses” is both another name for Portland and the name of a Grammy-winning jazz hit by Portlander Esperanza Spalding. Spalding, a young jazz bassist and composer that David Letterman once dubbed his “coolest guest,” became a figurehead for new jazz in Portland — and indeed the world — after her shocking 2011 “Best New Artist” Grammy win over Justin Bieber.

Other Notables

The Jazz Society of Oregon’s Hall of Fame helps record jazz luminaries (of memory’s general ilk) from the region’s present and past. Many of these inductees are still active around Portland.

Veteran pianist and composer Dave Frishberg, who wrote songbook classics like “Peel Me A Grape” and “I’m Hip,” gigged regularly well into his 80s.

Drummer Mel Brown plays regular sets with his combo The Mel Brown Quartet. Recently passed, veteran pianist and composer Dave Frishberg, who wrote songbook classics like “Peel Me A Grape” and “I’m Hip,” still gigged regularly well into his 80s in small clubs with singer Rebecca Kilgore. Portland was also home to the late Native American jazz saxophonist Jim Pepper, whose work is commemorated in the Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival, held each August.

Pink Martini, one of the highest-profile jazz/pop crossover bands of the last decade, is based in Portland but travels all over the globe. The Shanghai Woolies, a Pink Martini “hot jazz” offshoot, more regularly make the rounds in P-town. Growing jazz-rooted acts with broad appeal include Ben Darwish and Trio Subtonic.

Portland’s preeminent vaudeville acts also favor a jazzy live accompaniment. Vagabond Opera and Wanderlust Circus each play polka-flavored gypsy jazz and put on a glitzy, cheeky live show full of dancing, dialogue and various cirque-burlesque feats.

Jazz Radio

Portland radio listeners are lucky to have access to a dedicated nonprofit jazz radio station that plays the pantheon, from swing to soul. KMHD Jazz Radio broadcasts at 89.1 FM from Mt. Hood Community College in collaboration with Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Arts, Black Community, Cultural Communities, Music

Mentioned Elsewhere Online

Jazz Society of Oregon

PDX Jazz

Black Community in Portland

With a diverse range of organizations and businesses, Portland’s Black community provides visitors with resources and a friendly welcome. Explore the city’s Black history and cultural events, as well as Black-owned businesses and restaurants.

Read more

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