Jazz pianist Darrell Grant Finding community in Portland

DESPITE INTERNATIONAL ACCOLADES, Darrell Grant left New York in 1997 to reconnect to the roots of his love for jazz. "I came to Portland looking for community," he explained, "a place where I could have more impact on a day-to-day level."

Grant's iconic jazz career began in New York in the mid-'80s, playing with Betty Carter and Roy Haynes, while forging an inimitable voice on piano. Featured in the The New York Times and Village Voice, Grant was a recognized voice before moving to Portland, where he took up a professorship at Portland State University.

Embracing Portland's vibrant jazz scene, Grant envisioned arts education as the foundation for community change. He conceived the Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute in 2002 as a hub for workshops and cultural awareness, implementing the jazz festival's flagship education program.

"It's a framework for collaborating with other organizations around outreach," he said.

°is belief in social progress extended to his Truth and Reconciliation project, which in 2007, used his sixth LP to stage benefits, raising funds for charity. "°e culmination was definitely the Voices of Reconciliation concert with bishop Desmond Tutu in 2009," Grant said.

In the Pacific Northwest, where Ray Charles and Bill Frisell once roamed countless clubs, Grant found more of an ecosystem than a music scene. "The scene seems resilient," Grant observed. "The pieces are there to keep it surviving, even as parts go dormant from time to time. The region may change, but it will always have fertile ground welcoming new talent willing to grow."