Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942-1957 [Paperback]

Robert Dietsche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

A fascinating blend of music, politics, and social history, Jumptown sheds light on a time and place overlooked by histories of Portland and jazz. For a golden decade following World War II, a thriving African American neighborhood—that would soon be bulldozed for urban renewal—spawned a jazz heyday rarely rivaled on the West Coast. Such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, and Wardell Gray headlined Portland clubs and traded chops with the up-and-coming local talent.

The Dude Ranch. Lil’ Sandy’s. McClendon’s Rhythm Room. The Frat Hall. The Chicken Coop. The Uptown Ballroom. Jazz historian Bob Dietsche leads a guided tour of the main jazz spots—from supper club to dance hall—capturing the emotion, excitement, and energy of an evening on the town. His book for the first time collects hundreds of pieces of local jazz history—photographs, personal recollections, reviews, handbills—to create "an anatomy of a jazz village."

Dietsche’s compendium of stories and moments brings to life the citizens of this jazz village—the musicians and dancers, the disc jockeys and promoters, the critics and music teachers, the club owners and patrons. Jumptown celebrates and preserves this rich cultural past and showcases its continuing influence. In an afterword, Lynn Darroch recaps the highlights in Portland jazz during the past forty years and shows how "Portland’s twenty-first-century jazz scene reflects the city’s original golden age, and the spirit of the Avenue remains in the sounds of today."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Dietsche has taught courses in jazz history at Oregon colleges and universities and was the longtime host of "Jazzville" on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio. He is the founder and former owner of Django Records, Portland’s legendary used-record store. His writings about jazz have appeared in numerous publications, including Jazz Journal, The Oregonian, Willamette Week, Pittsburgh Press, and the Toledo Blade.

Jim Swenson is an independent film director in Portland.

Lynn Darroch is a Portland writer and editor. His articles about jazz and culture often appear in The Oregonian.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Oregon State University Press (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870711148
• ISBN-13: 978-0870711145
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,059,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The definitive Portland jazz book, January 29, 2008

By 

Alexander Craghead - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942-1957 (Paperback)

A visitor to Portland today might not realize that the city has a rich history in jazz. Fueled by the shipbuilding boom of World War Two, the city's black population grew rapidly throughout the 40's, creating a vibrant community on the east bank of the Willamette. This was a land of wild nightclubs, neighborhood bars, shady speakeasies that were open all night. Big names came to play, artists like Duke Ellington, Dizzie Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong, but the city also produced a number of local talents, like Wardell Gray and Doc Severinsen. It was not, however, to last; the construction of the Memorial Coliseum wiped out much of the jazz scene, and much of its history was lost. Dietsche's Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz sets out to record that lost history.

Jumptown is by-and-large a narrative prose history. The story of the Portland jazz scene flows generally in a chronological line from the 1940s through to the 1980s, with each chapter focusing on a particular location that was key to the jazz of the time. The text relies heavily on direct research, consisting primarily of interviews with direct participants; many quotes and extended passages are included verbatim. Supporting this are numerous photos, many culled from those individuals. There are also reproductions of numerous LPs including recordings of local talents.

This work contains a wealth of information on the history of Portland music and Portland's black neighborhoods. The book is not written for jazz neophytes however; many portions seem to be a stream of name-dropping, as if the book is a bop version of the Chronicles in the King James' Bible. Without this context, many passages will feel confusing or dense, and even with it, it seems to be more a who's who list than a story. The book does yield up some gems of local history, however, including the locations of most of the big clubs and some entertaining anecdotes in the words of witnesses and participants themselves.

The book is printed in the dimensions of a typical hardbound book, but is in a softcover trade paperback binding. Paper weight is smooth and the photos are reproduced adequately. The back of the book contains a discography of Portland-related music that proves handy.

Though a bit thin, the book is the only work I am aware of dedicated specifically to Portland jazz culture. Jazz lovers will no doubt understand the laundry list of names better than the average reader, and there is enough obscure history of the city that it will prove a worthy edition for Portland historians wishing for a truly broad library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't Make It, August 21, 2010

By 

D. Cook "bookguy" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942-1957 (Paperback)

I was intersted in this because I am a Portland OR native and also am acquainted with Mr. Dietsche.
Alas, I have to report that this thin volume doesn't do it's subject justice nor is the author a skilled enough writer to hold the reader's attention with a compelling narrative.
The content explains in at least a minimal way the locations and occurrences but doesn't have any insightful analysis of the subject musical world nor of what happened to it afterwards.

The author is known for being a former part owner of a record store and a leader of musical appreciation classes.
He is not known for being a musician either as a leader or member of a successful performing group.
Maybe this lack of real world experience leads him to use the tired old Portland mythology that the public entity
reconstruction of the area where the Afican American music clubs were located was racist in motivation.
The fact is a proportional number for whites, both owners and renters, were displaced at that time.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Real Backstage Peek, January 4, 2007

By 

Little Moose (Eugene, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942-1957 (Paperback)

This book offers insight into the Portland music scene not available
anywhere else. Lots of detail, and reasonably well written.