Cathedral Park Jazz Festival

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The music line-up is truly a homegrown showcase of exceptional world-class jazz and blues talents

The Festival has a long tradition of taking place on the third weekend of July in the majestic natural setting of Cathedral Park beneath the historic St. Johns Bridge. This festival is a free 3-day event that provides a very diverse audience the opportunity to enjoy " Jazz," America's original art form. The festival has an authentic American feel, like small-town picnics on the Fourth of July.

The music line-up is truly a homegrown showcase of exceptional world-class jazz and blues talents living in the Portland area. KBOO 90.7 fm will simulcast Saturday's portion of the festival through its Full-Strength Community Radio for Portland, Oregon, Cascadia & the World! Also, KBOO will be streaming online via their website with listenership as far away as Japan and Europe.

The causal setting, fantastic view and quality of the live music create a positive ambiance that reflects on the St. Johns neighborhood in a positive way. Information booths for community organizations and sponsors and a variety of food concessions complete the community oriented festival atmosphere.

The event provides families, young people and seniors of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds an opportunity see world-class music that most people could not experience otherwise. It's especially heartwarming to see the sense of community created among neighbors and within families. The audience is a true reflection of our diverse community.

The festival is administered and staffed through volunteer efforts and has been for all of it's long history. We're a non-profit multicultural arts organization. That means donations and grants underwrite a good portion of our costs, for which we are tremendously thankful. Our success is dependent on the continuation of this generosity.

The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival Committee is dedicated to providing a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for our guests, performers, sponsors and volunteers. The local community receives positive media exposure to the greater Portland Metro Area; this event draws attendance from the Greater Northwest. We serve the broader community by keeping the festival FREE!

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KBOO Stream 1
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Current

42nd Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Day 3

Airs at: Sun, 07/17/2022 at 1:00pm - 8:30pm
  Sunday, July 17, starts with the Portland State University Festival Ensemble. Greaterkind gives the final performance – the premier of “Time Sound; Albina’s Jazz Re-Imagined”, a suite of local jazz, soul, funk, and fusion compositions together with narration by elders fr... Read more

42nd Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Day 2

Airs at: Sat, 07/16/2022 at 1:00pm - 10:00pm
  Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17 will feature a mix of jazz, soul, and Latin performers. Kicking off the day on Saturday at 1pm is the newly formed orchestra from Portland’s The 1905 jazz club. Also on Saturday is the dynamic 10-piece Latin band, Pura Vida Orquestra... Read more

42nd Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Day 1

Airs at: Fri, 07/15/2022 at 4:30pm - 10:15pm
  Friday, July 15 is dedicated to the Blues, starting at 4:30 pm. The featured performer is guitarist and studio session player Eddie Martinez, who played alongside Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. Friday night ends with Tony Coleman’s “Tribute to the Three Kings: BB, Albert, ... Read more

Tony Pacini Interview at The 41st Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival

Airs at: Sun, 07/18/2021 at 5:00pm - 5:30pm
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KBOO Interview with Jazz pianist Tony Pacini Read more

The 41st Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Sunday, July 18, 2021

Airs at: Sun, 07/18/2021 at 1:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday, July 18 1:00 – 2:00 Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra Founded by multi-instrumentalists Ben Medler and Michelle Medler, PYJO is Oregon’s largest private jazz program. They have been training musicians from the Portland Metro area since 2001. The PYJO band is the Jake Kh... Read more

The 41st Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Saturday, July 17, 2021

Airs at: Sat, 07/17/2021 at 1:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday, July 17 Line-up 1:00 – 2:00 Collective Combo from PSU Jazz featuring some of the brightest future stars emerging from this lauded jazz education program. 2:30 – 3:30 Michael Raynor Quartet Chicago Drummer, who spent more than twenty years backing tenor titan Von ... Read more

The 41st Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Friday, July 16, 2021

Airs at: Fri, 07/16/2021 at 4:30pm - 10:00pm
Friday, July 16 - 4:30pm Kick-off *AUDIO PENDING* 4:30 – 5:30 Steve Cheseborough plays the harmonica, guitar, percussion, sings, and tells stories while he plays. He was a finalist in the International Blues Competition in 2004. 6:00 – 7:00 Sonny Hess & Lady Kat “Smokin’ T... Read more

Cathedral Park Jazz Festival on 07/16/21

Airs at: Fri, 07/16/2021 at 4:00pm - 10:00pm

40th Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Sunday July 19th, 2020

Airs at: Sun, 07/19/2020 at 1:30pm - 8:00pm
Sunday, July 19th Lineup 2:00 – 3:00 Minidoka Swing Band (19) 3:15 – 4:15 John JB Butler Quartet (4) 4:30 – 5:30 Christopher Brown (4) 5:45 – 6:45 Mel Brown Trio & special guest Shirley Nanette (4) 7:00 – 8:00 Tezeta Band (8) More information and the lineup for the rest of t... Read more

40th Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival: Saturday July 18th, 2020

Airs at: Sat, 07/18/2020 at 2:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday, July 18th Lineup 2:30 – 3:30 Devin Phillips Trio (3) 3:45 – 4:45 Eddie Parente Quartet (4) 5:00 – 6:00 Charlie Porter Quintet (5) 6:15 – 7:15 Outer Orbit (6) 7:30 – 8:30 Bobby Torres Ensemble (7) 8:45 – 9:45 Saeeda Wright (9) More information and the lineup for the... Read more