It's February! 

Black History Month. Portland Jazz Festival. Wine and Seafood Festival. First Jazz. Who could ask for anything more? Well, we can - but more on that in a bit.

It's quite a month of music. We start out the first weekend in February with the Wine and Seafood Festival, Friday and Saturday in the Portland Convention Center, with some of the Northwest's greatest jazz.

Your JSO, with invaluable help from Bill Royston and PDX Jazz, has booked the music for the weekend - check it out, it's a first annual event you won't want to miss.

The center of the month, the filling, is the Portland Jazz Festival. The biggest jazz event of the year for Oregon and Southwest Washington, featuring national and international jazz stars, local musicians, established talent and great new stars - something for everyone.

For the diehard jazz fans who want to take it all in, check out the hotel deals on the PDXJazz.com website - they include tickets for all the events in a package deal that's quite attractive.

Ending the month: Your First Jazz, with Jim Hall, Geoff Keezer, Thara Memory, René Marie, and two all-star youth big bands.  It's in the downstairs ballroom at the Hilton.

Check the schedule in this month's Jazzscene.  Note that there is no "dinner break" as such, and there isn't food available in the ballroom.  There are local restaurants, including a buffet in the lobby restaurant of the Hilton, and you might want to plan ahead.

Tickets are going very well, and to our surprise, most sales have been tables of ten! 

Please note that for the first time in many, many years, JSO dues have increased.  One hundred percent of your dues go to cover the cost of Jazzscene Magazine (a bargain at any price!), and that is why we have fund raisers throughout the year to support our other activities.

The JSO Board of Directors reluctantly, though unanimously, has consolidated the Individual and Family categories into a Regular Membership at $42 a year, two years for $74. 

We still have a category of "Friends of Jazz" at $75 per year above membership.  We thank you for your support!

The music is thriving, our local clubs are doing well, and JSO continues to prosper in its support of jazz of all kinds in all venues.

February is special, with so much going on, and I look forward to seeing you at all three events this month! 

Chuck Carpenter
President
Jazz Society of Oregon