When four music lovers had the idea for an artist-centered neighborhood jazz festival, they didn’t imagine it would become what it is today.
What began as a quaint, 13-artist show with a budget of around $6,000 materialized into the Montavilla Jazz Festival. It’s the only jazz festival in Portland where local musicians perform exclusively original music.
“We’ve grown astronomically, but the idea is still centered around the local artists,” Neil Mattson, executive director of the festival, said. “Without the businesses that were willing to sponsor and support that first festival, and then the several after that, it would have never happened.”…