JAZZ FESTIVAL 2021: WHAT TO EXPECT

The 2021 Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, entirely free to the public and entirely online, will take place from this Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2.

Sessions will run 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with musical performances scheduled each day at 1 and 6 p.m.

Masterclasses, presentations that include a Q&A and webinar session for musicians and others with an interest, will be at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m all three days.

“It’s gonna be awesome,” said Dan Davey, coordinator of the Jazz Festival and music instructor at MHCC.

There will be local and regional artists represented during the festival, including MHCC faculty groups (with Davey among them, at 1 p.m. Friday) and groups from across the country.

One of the top military bands in the country, the U.S Army Blues, will perform at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Popular local groups the Charley Porter Quartet, and the Mel Brown Sextet, will perform on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, respectively, both at 1 p.m.

Among the masterclass artitsts are trumpeters Trent Austin and Ingrid Jensen, and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon.

“I wanted to bring them to the event,” said Davey, who said he’s excited about the lineup.

Access to the event can be found at https://www.mhcc.edu/jazzfestival/.

Performances will be available over the weekend on the site and on Mt. Hood Jazz Festival social media accounts (Facebook and YouTube). Davey noted that some performances will most likely be taken down after the weekend, due to copyright law.