Lack of Cash Could Mute Portland Jazz Festival
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Jazz Festival plans to stop operating next week because it lacks money following the loss of its title sponsor.
Without an infusion of roughly $100,000, the February 2009 festival will be canceled, organizers say.
The annual festival began in 2004 and has bolstered Portland's small jazz community. But Qwest, the title sponsor for each of the five festivals, told organizers in April it couldn't provide its usual $50,000 because times are tough. Several returning sponsors reduced their contributions, and no new sponsors have signed on since the Portland Trail Blazers did so last year.
“Jazz in this market has always been a hard sell," artistic director Bill Royston told The Oregonian newspaper. “We haven't been able to generate any new revenue."
The most-recent festival, headlined by saxophonist Ornette Coleman and pianist Cecil Taylor, attracted about 36,000 attendees to around 150 events, about 20 of which required tickets, Royston said. Organizers estimate about 30 percent of attendees came from out of town, and the festival was responsible for about 2,000 hotel room nights sold last February.
Royston said the event's success filled organizers with hope that they would find additional community support, but “that optimism has not held up." The festival has a hole of at least $100,000 in its almost $700,000 annual budget.
Without an infusion of roughly $100,000, the February 2009 festival will be canceled, organizers say.
The annual festival began in 2004 and has bolstered Portland's small jazz community. But Qwest, the title sponsor for each of the five festivals, told organizers in April it couldn't provide its usual $50,000 because times are tough. Several returning sponsors reduced their contributions, and no new sponsors have signed on since the Portland Trail Blazers did so last year.
“Jazz in this market has always been a hard sell," artistic director Bill Royston told The Oregonian newspaper. “We haven't been able to generate any new revenue."
The most-recent festival, headlined by saxophonist Ornette Coleman and pianist Cecil Taylor, attracted about 36,000 attendees to around 150 events, about 20 of which required tickets, Royston said. Organizers estimate about 30 percent of attendees came from out of town, and the festival was responsible for about 2,000 hotel room nights sold last February.
Royston said the event's success filled organizers with hope that they would find additional community support, but “that optimism has not held up." The festival has a hole of at least $100,000 in its almost $700,000 annual budget.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
