PORT TOWNSEND — Innovative, masterful jazz will spill out of Centrum today and Saturday into McCurdy Pavilion concerts, shows in venues throughout town and free sessions on the art of making music.
Coming off a week of teaching jazz during Jazz Port Townsend, faculty members will show their stuff during three concerts at McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State Park.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. will be the first of the three featured faculty concerts.
The vocals of Centrum veteran Dee Daniels and newcomer to Jazz Port Townsend Charenée Wade will be accompanied by Benny Green on piano, Christoph Luty on bass, Clarence Acox on drums and alto saxophonist Jeff Clayton.
On Saturday afternoon, the Gerald Clayton Trio — composed of pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Quincy Davis — will be joined by tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm for a 1:30 p.m. performance.
The final faculty concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris will perform with Sanders, Davis and Clayton.
Times and tickets
Reserved seating for each of the nighttime concerts is $35, $28 and $18, with 18 and younger admitted free.
Reserved seating for the Saturday afternoon concert is $45, $31 and $20, with 18 and younger admitted free.
But that’s only the beginning.
Musicians will perform at venues throughout Port Townsend from 10 p.m. on into the night today and Saturday.
Centrum’s annual Jazz in the Clubs series isn’t just in the nightclubs.
It spreads to three all-ages venues, some of which open their doors for free while others charge a cover.
Jazz lovers can pay at one place at a time or buy an all-venue pass for $25 each night.
Jazz in the Clubs is open to the public, and complete details are available at www.Centrum.org and 800-746-1982.
Free ‘Blowout’
There’s even more jazz during the day today, with Jazz Port Townsend’s free “Workshop Blowout,” a slate of classes and rehearsals in the Wheeler Theater and other venues at Fort Worden State Park.
■ 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: “The Creative Process 1,” the first-ever rehearsal of two works commissioned for Jazz Port Townsend 2011: one by Bill Holman with Paquito D’Rivera on clarinet and another by Jazz Port Townsend Artistic Director John Clayton, in McCurdy Pavilion.
■ 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.: “Nuance and Subtlety in the Art of Jazz Phrasing,” with Sunny Wilkinson demonstrating how a veteran singer coaxes the most out of a song, Building 204, Room 20.
■ “Bass Summit,” a master class and discussion with Chuck Deardorf, Christoph Luty and Joe Sanders, Building 204, Room 10.
■ 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: BuJazzO performance showcasing all-star jazz students from Germany, directed by Jiggs Whigham, Wheeler Theater.
■ Noon to 1 p.m.: Jazz Port Townsend workshop participants’ big-band performance with director Clarence Acox, outdoors on the Fort Worden Commons.
■ 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: “How to Listen Like a Musician,” with pianist Gerald Clayton, Wheeler Theater.
■ “Saxophone Summit,” master class and discussion with Jeff Clayton and Joel Frahm, Schoolhouse North.
■ 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.: “The Creative Process 2,” the second rehearsal of Holman, D’Rivera and John Clayton’s Jazz Port Townsend compositions, Building 204, Room 10.
■ 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Next Generation Jazz Orchestra performance, Wheeler Theater.
■ “Jazz in Europe” with trombonist Jiggs Whigham, Dr. Peter Ortmann of BuJazzO and the German Music Council, and John Clayton offering insights about the state of jazz in Europe, Schoolhouse North.
■ “Drum Summit” master class and discussion with Matt Wilson, Alvester Garnett, Clarence Acox, Kelby MacNayr and Byron Vannoy, Schoolhouse D.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.centrum.org.
