PORT TOWNSEND — The town is alive with the sound of music, as Centrum’s 36th annual Jazz Port Townsend festival has turned the area into a center of improvisational musical activity.
Festival participants will present three world-class jazz concerts at the Fort Worden State Park McCurdy Pavilion, at 7:30 p.m. tonight, and at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
They also will perform at smaller shows at venues throughout town through Sunday. Performances are scheduled at the Public House Grill, The Upstage, The Rose Theater, Fins, Key City Playhouse, Undertown, Castle Key Lounge and The Northwest Maritime Center.
Local music fans will benefit, as a they can enjoy a variety of sounds in small venues at a reasonable price.
For the 200 participants, who must audition to get into Centrum’s one-week instructional program, it is far more than just a night at the clubs.
Instead, it represents a musical fantasy camp where they can hone their skills onstage with some of the best in the business, getting instructions along the way.
“The participants get a chance to get hands-on experience working one-on-one with some of the masters,” said Artistic Director John Clayton, himself an accomplished bassist.
“There are people here who have played with [famed drummer] Art Blakey, and can take the students through the songs note-for-note.”
Guitarist Graham Dechter, who at 24 is the youngest faculty member, said that participation in the event is a unique experience for aspiring musicians.
“It’s like being in the real world of performing,” he said.
“If you have to put together a set to play onstage, it is a lot different than taking lessons or practicing on your own.”
Dechter said that 90 percent of the music performed is improvised, but it still requires a great deal of practice to get it right.
Clayton said there are several different types of jazz, but all have improvisation at their core.
In many cases, musicians play a strict version of a specific melodic line together, and then begin a multiple improvisation.
The skill comes in returning to the original melody at the same time, Clayton said.
Since jazz has multiple forms Clayton said that new listeners should choose and explore the type of music that most interests them, be it swing, Dixieland, or modern forms to name a few.
The participants, diverse in all respects, display combinations of eagerness, reverence and the impulse to show off a bit.
“I took a week’s vacation so I could play jazz,” said Kitsap County Health District Director Scott Lindquist, a drummer.
“It’s a good thing that I have a day job, because then I can afford to buy my instruments.”
Tickets, for the entire festival or for individual venues, can be purchased by phone between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. through Saturday and between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is 800-746-1982.
Tickets also are available online at www.centrum.org/
They can be purchased at Centrum’s box office at Fort Worden State Park, 223 Battery Way until 4 p.m. today , or at each venue’s box office, beginning one hour before showtime.
Ticket prices at the McCurdy Pavilion are $18, $28 and $35 for tonight’s show. They are $30, $31 and $40 for the Saturday afternoon performances, and $18, $28 and $35 for the Saturday night concert.
For information and schedules, go to www.centrum.org or phone 800-746-1982.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
