Alaska Airlines has agreed to a multi-year title sponsorship of the Portland Jazz Festival, providing the financial support necessary to revive the world-class festival, which had announced in early September that it was ceasing operations after five years.
Alaska Airlines' sponsorship investment arrives on the heels of a commitment for community & operational support from a committee led by Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish, businessman Sho Dozono and Travel Portland.
The corporate and organizational support ensures that the 6th Annual Alaska Airlines Portland Jazz Festival presented by The Oregonian A&E will take place, as scheduled, February 13-22, 2009. The festival will be dedicated to the 70 anniversary of Blue Note Records, as previously announced. "Alaska Airlines is pleased to sponsor the Portland Jazz Festival," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines vice president of marketing sales and customer experience. "Portland is home to many customers and employees of Alaska Airlines, and Horizon Air, and we're happy to help showcase great artists and their music through this important community event." Jarvis noted that Alaska Airlines stepped in as a sponsor allowing the popular event to continue for its sixth year.
Spearheaded by a new advisory committee led by Fish and Dozono, Portland Jazz Festival has already acquired additional corporate support from U.S. Bank, Precision Castparts Corporation and several other individuals and businesses. Qwest, the Festival's title sponsor for five seasons, will continue its tremendous support of the Festival with a new funding pledge from its national foundation.
These partners join Oregonian A&E, Travel Portland, the Portland Trail Blazers, Rogue Ales, Music Millennium, Azumano Travel, Amtrak, NW Natural, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and numerous downtown hotels in support of the Festival.
"Portland is a great jazz town and there was no way we were going to let this festival go without exhausting every means," Fish said. "The commitment made by Alaska Airlines is a remarkable gift for jazz lovers. Their support, and that of several area businesses and individuals like Sho Dozono, allows us to continue to grow a festival that attracts some of the world's top jazz talent and attracts thousands of visitors to Portland every year."
The Festival is in the process of hiring a new managing director and hoping to announce the hire soon. In the interim, Festival co-founder Sarah Bailen Smith has returned to assist the organization's administrative transition.
"It's important to me that the Portland Jazz Festival continue in this community, so I am committed to its sustainability," Smith said. "I'm obviously not alone. I've been astonished at how incredibly supportive this community has been since our announcement. Portland recognizes the value of the arts. It makes me proud to live here."
Founded by Smith and artistic director Bill Royston in 2003, the Portland Jazz Festival has become one of the country's top jazz showcases, attracting musicians and visitors from around the world.
The 2008 Festival featured 150 separate events over 10 days, attracting an estimated 36,000 patrons and 2,000 hotel room night sales through its unique cultural tourism promotions.
Last June, Portland Jazz Festival was named as one of the top 5 jazz events by the Jazz Journalists Association. In addition to presenting such renowned headliners as Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and Dianne Reeves, Portland Jazz Festival produces over 100 performances annually featuring regional Portland artists through the weekly PDX Jazz @ RiverPlace series at the RiverPlace Hotel, the formation of the Portland Jazz Orchestra as the resident ensemble of the Portland Jazz Festival, and programming at such community events as Street of Dreams and River Fest.
In addition to corporate funding, the Portland Jazz Festival is supported by grants from National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Oregon Arts Commission, Western Arts Federation (WESTAF), Paul Allen Family Foundation, and the Renaissance Foundation.
DL Media
Still very concerned about the organization and management of this event having served as a volunteer during the past 3 years -personally witnessing the ineptitude and mismanagement that goes with PDX Jazz Festival events.
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Hello there, How Can I sign up my group for the contest? thank you, Jim Dwyer
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