Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

This book offers insight into the Portland music scene not available

anywhere else. Lots of detail, and reasonably well written.

This is an informative book telling about local developments in jazz. In order to judge what jazz means across America there is a need for more local histories.

While the book offers an interesting insight into the early jazz age in Portland and the long forgotten clubs around town, it fizzles out as it gets into the 1950's. Perhaps the author lost interest in the subject as several cubs and prominent local musicians were ignored. And while the Monte Ballou's Diamond Horseshoe was mentioned, the author fails include other famous clubs including Orleans Alley. And what happened to the Horseshoe and why did the Castle Jazz Band become the house band at Orleans Alley? Lots of unanswered questions. The glaring omissions of some of the better musicians of the era including Ed Zimbrick, Norm Domeries, George Baker, Lynn Teadke, and others is enough question the authors true knowledge of the jazz history of Portland. With a little more research it could have been a pretty good book. Unfortunately there's just too many places and people missing, and the Portland jazz scene wasn't that big . I'll give it a D....at best.

A plethora of information on the Portland,OR jazz scene of the 40's & 50's. The author sets each chapter with a wonderful historical context that brings a real vivacity to the text. There are a multitude of pictures and the format of the book is extremely inviting. The book is packed with useful knowledge in a reader friendly manner. Increase your jazz info and read!