Our Mission

PDX Jazz promotes jazz in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2003, the Portland Jazz Festival is dedicated to furthering jazz as America's most recognized indigenous art form by presenting internationally recognized contemporary jazz masters in a multi-venue concert setting; nurturing local jazz musicians presented within intimate, free performances; and celebrating February as Black History Month with a series of jazz education and outreach programs that extend into Portland area schools and community centers. Every year a thematic Signature Series of shows forms the Festival's central core, offering a unified tribute to a jazz artist, organization, or movement vital to the music.