Kerry Politzer, a pianist on the adjunct jazz faculty at Portland State University, has received a Regional Arts & Culture Council grant for her work related to the upcoming concert “Bebop Meets Bossa Nova: The Music of Durval Ferreira.” Kerry is the NW Nosh columnist for Oregon Jewish Life.
Bossa nova is a Brazilian music genre that was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Its greatest proponents were composer/pianist Antonio Carlos Jobin, poet Vinicius de Moraes and the still-living guitarist/vocalist Joao Gilberto.
For the concert Kerry will partner with Sounds of Brazil PDX, which will feature an octet of musicians.
Kerry has often explored Brazilian jazz themes and rhythms in her five jazz albums as a leader. She is a featured performer on saxophonist Laura Dreyer’s Brazilian jazz release “Free Flying Bird” (Sony Latin). In 2018, Kerry and her band, Bossa PDX, were featured at PDX Jazz’s Lan Su Garden series, the Florence Wine & Jazz Festival and the Oregon Coast Jazz Party in Newport. After the Newport performance, Kerry presented an educational clinic on bossa nova, which was funded by Just Jazz, Inc. Kerry recently received a professional development grant from Portland State University to present this clinic at the University of Kansas.
“Bebop Meets Bossa Nova” will take place at Classic Pianos (3003 SE Milwaukie Ave.) at 7:30 pm, May 4.
kerrypolitzer.com | brownpapertickets.com/event/4064770
