The JumpTown vision for a revitalized entertainment district would rekindle the eastside neighborhood’s reputation as the city’s premier gathering place of music, culture and community. The venue would advance Portland’s music scene with about 150 free shows a year under a covered outdoor stage in the Rose Quarter plaza.

“JumpTown will make music, including jazz, more accessible to the people of Portland,” said Bill Royston, Artistic Director of PDX Jazz and the Portland Jazz Festival. “This project will provide the catalyst to present national jazz artists outside of the Portland Jazz Festival each February, while also offering the opportunity to showcase local talent and allow Portland’s next generation of great artists and musicians to inspire us just as an earlier generation was inspired at clubs on Williams Avenue.”

The eastside neighborhood’s indelible cultural history, chronicled in Robert Dietsche’s book “JumpTown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942-1957”, served as inspiration for the project’s working title. Some of the most talented jazz artists who’ve ever played –  including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk – showcased their talents at clubs on or near Williams Avenue.

The Oregon Music Hall of Fame – dedicated to honoring Oregon’s rich musical history and ensuring student access to the arts – recognizes the authentic link to the area’s past and joins the Jazz Festival in support of a new, vibrant center of music and culture.

“JumpTown brings a deliberate tie to an important part of Oregon’s musical history,” Marc Baker of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame said. “But the district is very forward-thinking and inclusive, which is the Portland way. We see a revitalized Rose Quarter as a way of sharing the neighborhood’s history with students to get them excited about new musical talent to inspire the hall of fame inductees of tomorrow.”

In addition to celebrating Oregon musical legends, the Oregon Music Hall of Fame awards scholarships to promising students around the state. Last year’s scholarship winners include Kai Sandoval, recipient of the MVP Award at Britt Jazz Camp, the Louis Armstrong Award and the Maestro Award at the Heritage Festival.

“We are deeply appreciative of the community support and momentum organizations like the Portland Jazz Festival and Oregon Music Hall of Fame bring to this project.” Trail Blazer President Larry Miller said.

The JumpTown vision is an integrated plan to draw daily activity to the Rose Quarter, connect eastside neighborhoods, showcase Portland’s commitment to sustainability, and build on the highest and best use of Memorial Coliseum.

Currently, the Trail Blazers and Portland Winterhawks are partnering on a plan for Memorial Coliseum designed to improve and enhance the building, while adding new amenities to draw daily community activity. Upgrades will also make the building more hospitable for new events to add to the 150 existing major events that drew 430,000 annual visitors to the building last year.

The Portland City Council will soon consider the Trail Blazers/Winterhawks plan for Memorial Coliseum at the recommendation of the Mayor’s 32-member Stakeholder Advisory Committee. The endorsements from the Portland Jazz Festival and Oregon Music Hall of Fame add to the project’s growing list of supporters, including the Oregon School Activities Association and Portland Rose Festival Foundation.

FIRST offers an innovative, engaging approach to getting more students excited about STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math).  This year’s FIRST competition will feature 61 teams comprised of more than 800 high school students representing 4 states.

A wildly popular and creative event, FIRST is the type of community gathering our approach for a revitalized Memorial Coliseum seeks to preserve. Last year, Memorial Coliseum held more than 150 major events attended by more than 430,000 guests.

Leading up the event, students work with engineering mentors during a six-week period for each team to build a robot for the competition. In addition to hands-on software, engineering and animation skills, students learn strategy, problem solving and collaboration.

The JumpTown project team wishes students much success for the upcoming two-day competition,  which starts Friday and Saturday morning at 8:45 a.m. and is free to the public. For more information, visit OregonFIRST.org. See you there!

The Trail Blazers/Winterhawks plan for a revitalized Memorial Coliseum – a plan advocating a more intimate venue with new amenities designed to support existing tenants, attract new business and draw daily activity to the Rose Quarter – will be recommended to Portland City Council for the Request For Proposal phase by the Mayor’s 32-member Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC). Last night’s vote represents a milestone in our quest for a vibrant Rose Quarter.

In a vote at the end of Tuesday’s meeting, 21 of 22 SAC members present elected to advance the Trail Blazers/Winterhawks plan, the highest total received by any project. The Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center and the Veteran’s Memorial Arts and Athletic Center also advanced.

Should City Council agree with the recommendations of the SAC, all three groups will have an opportunity to formally present their proposals to the SAC, the PDC and City Council.

“It’s clear that people have given the future of Memorial Coliseum a lot of thought,” JumpTown project leader J. Isaac said. “We’re learning a lot from other teams throughout this process, and will continue to incorporate community input into our plan.”

Tuesday’s meeting included 10-minute presentations from five groups and Q&A participation from two additional groups, followed by a committee vote and public comment. Community Crossroads and Portland Action Sports were designated as alternates, in the event one of the three advanced proposals were to withdraw from the RFP process.

The Vision Into Action organization—representing more than 17,000 Portlanders who’ve weighed in on the future of our city—led the Community Crossroads proposal. More than 50 people were on hand to support their proposal for an inter-cultural community gathering place.

After the vote, tabulated by hand on a tote board by member of the PDC, many Portlanders had the opportunity to deliver public comment. Several impassioned citizens spoke on behalf of Community Crossroads and veterans. Another lauded the Trail Blazers project as one of two that presented a renovated Memorial Coliseum in the context of a revised district that would connect the many adjacent neighborhoods to better serve the eastside.

During the presentations, Isaac and Winterhawks President Doug Piper affirmed their pledge to have community outreach continue to guide and shape the JumpTown team’s approach.

“Each team presenting last night should be proud of its efforts,” Isaac said. “It’s clear that every project team is committed to revitalizing an important neighborhood. We believe we have the right team and the right vision to help shape the future of an important part of Portland’s eastside, and we are looking forward to the next step in the process of bringing that vision to fruition.”

Trail Blazers forward Jeff Pendergraph with Paul Knauls, the unofficial Mayor of NE Portland and owner of Genevas Hair Salon.

The celebration of the jazz and jump music that enriched the post-World War II neighborhood featured a riveting performance by an All-Star band that was headlined by local Jazz legend “Sweet Baby James” Benton.

More than 100 jazz fans and party goers attended the event, including community elders and their families, senior center staff and Urban League executives. Also on hand were Trail Blazers Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph, as well as team legend Jerome Kersey.

Friday night’s musical celebration not only provided a chance to socialize, it allowed the Trail Blazers “JumpTown” project team to honor the musical contributions of the era and to capture primary accounts of what the neighborhood was truly like from people who enjoyed it first-hand.

"Sweet Baby James" Benton and his all-star band delivered music reminiscent of the post-WWII era.

The evening was part of an outreach effort to engage the community in conversation about the Trail Blazers’ proposed “JumpTown” district. a new, vibrant neighborhood that pays homage to the area’s cultural and jazz heritage, provides jobs and connects eastside neighborhoods.

Attendees on Friday experienced great music from local legends, but also had the opportunity to lend their voices to the conversation about how best to revitalize an important part of Portland’s eastside. Many thanks to those attendees, to our community partners, to the Urban League and to Sweet Baby James and his band for delivering an evening that won’t soon be forgotten by those in attendance.

OSAA Competitions, including Dance & Drill, brought more than 4,000 participants and 42,000 spectators to Memorial Coliseum in 2009.

Today’s announcement – along with January’s Rose Festival endorsement and the initial project partnership with the Winterhawks – reflects a core strength of the Trail Blazers/Winterhawks plan: protecting and enhancing existing community uses of Memorial Coliseum.

“Thousands of participants and spectators enjoy our cheerleading, wrestling and dance and drill championships each year,” said Tom Welter, Executive Director of the OSAA. “We appreciate and support the Trail Blazers new plan for a revitalized Coliseum complex that will accommodate our events in the years to come. The revitalized arena bowl will greatly enhance our events and allow us to continue to showcase the talents of our young people.”

Last year, more than 4,000 students and 42,000 supporters attended OSAA competitions at Memorial Coliseum, including Dance & Drill, Cheerleading and Wrestling. These community events helped contribute to the 430,000 people who visited the venue last year.

Next month, the OSAA 6A boys’ and girls’ state basketball tournament returns to the Rose Quarter, March 10-13, 2010, at the Rose Garden. The tournament will attract approximately 45,500 additional fans to the Rose Quarter. Previously, the OSAA basketball tournament was held at Memorial Coliseum from 1966-2003.

“We appreciate OSAA’s decision to support for our plan for a modernized Memorial Coliseum,” Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said. “We are very proud of our history of support for high school athletics, and we hope to continue hosting memorable family moments in an even more desirable, enlivened Memorial Coliseum setting.”

The Trail Blazers and Winterhawks concept for Memorial Coliseum includes:

• A new community athletic center — open for patrons of all income levels — at the event level of the Memorial Coliseum.

• A designated meeting space for veterans, as originally promised during construction, and a more visible memorial element to better honor their sacrifice and service.

• Daily-use restaurants to increase the building’s activity and draw.

• Preservation of the building’s architectural character, value and history as a veterans’ memorial and multi-purpose sports arena.

• A revitalized arena — with the interior bowl preserved — featuring new amenities and reduced seating capacity to better match promoter demand, attract new events and ensure a bright future the building’s many community uses.

“We hope to make a revitalized Memorial Coliseum part of Portland’s proud tradition of forward-looking projects,” Miller said. “Our plan is guided by the communications we’ve had with stakeholders throughout the community, and realizes the economic, environmental, and architectural benefits of protecting the historically-listed interior arena bowl.”

The Rose Quarter’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee will next meet tomorrow, February 9, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the offices of the Portland Development Commission. The committee will review public input from the January 26 public presentations and begin the process of determining which proposers will be invited to further discuss their proposals.

The event celebrates the musical history of the neighborhood detailed in the book “Jump Town: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz” by Robert Dietsche, a book that inspired the working title for the Trail Blazers proposed Rose Quarter project.

What: A free musical tribute to N. Portland’s Jazz Heritage
Who: Sweet Baby James and other artists
Where: Northeast Multi-Cultural Senior Center (5325 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd)
When: Friday, Feb. 5, 6-9 p.m.

The special evening will feature timeless music performed live by Sweet Baby James and an all-star band; King Louis & Baby will also perform. The evening will serve as a perfect setting for the Trail Blazers “JumpTown” project team to engage with a community touched by the music of greats like Louis Jordan, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong at eastside clubs like the Dude Ranch, Chicken Coup, and Lil’ Sandy’s.

“A celebration of this neighborhood’s indelible legacy is a fitting Black History Month tribute,” Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said. “The music that once played on Portland’s eastside is an enduring symbol of Portland’s African-American culture, and we look forward to finding inspiration from the stories of the people who lived that history.”

The festivities will start at 6:00 p.m., with a swinging music set by vocalist Sweet Baby James, Louis Pain on B-3 Hammond organ, Renato Caranto on saxophone, Eddie Martinez on guitar, and Micah Kassell on drums.

Sweet Baby James, considered by many a living legend, continues to make great music with some of Portland’s best musicians and play for audiences who appreciate live music. Dancing, refreshments, history, and more music will round out a great evening.

The Trail Blazers are seeking to create a new, vibrant district in the Rose Quarter that’s accessible to Portlanders from all walks of life. “JumpTown,” is an eastside entertainment district that would host about 150 free events annually and foster a connection among existing neighborhoods. The project plan includes a revitalized Memorial Coliseum, a covered plaza, restaurants, clubs, retail and residential space as well as a possible hotel and Nike presence. More information is available at www.imaginejumptown.com.

The Northeast Multi-Cultural Senior Center, operated by Portland’s Urban League, serves as a gathering place for many Portlanders who experienced first-hand the music and culture of N. Williams’ post-war renaissance.