Jazz Night 2024
Jazz Night 2024 was a huge success! Our community gathered on Friday, March 8th at the Village Ballroom for this special celebration of our school community and the Black music, culture, and history of our neighborhood.
The event may be over, but it is not too late to support the essential work of the Woodlawn PTA. Donations help us show appreciation to Woodlawn staff, organize community events, and provide direct assistance to families in need through the Woodlawn Resilience Fund.
We are still buzzing from Jazz Night! We had beautiful performances by Tahirah Memory & Charlie Brown III with Noah Simpson, and inspiring history talks by Calvin Walker of Albina Music Trust & Mr. Paul Knauls, the Mayor of NE Portland! We feasted on dinner from Cason’s Fine Meats and drank refreshments donated by StormBreaker Brewing, Black Rose Market & Happy Mountain Kombucha.
Our fundraising team organized a beautiful silent auction & raffle and the community was so generous. Meanwhile, Woodlawn staff cared for our children at school so parents could enjoy a kid-free night out at Jazz Night. If you weren’t able to make the event, please consider donating now, and we hope to see you next year!
Our featured guests
Soul singer/songwriter Tahirah Memory is a Portland, Oregon native. Miss Memory has released two full length studio albums. She has been heard and seen touring as a background vocalist for long time vocal icon KD Lang, and foremost as front-woman on her own successful tours abroad, as well as locally. Following the release of Tahirah’s 2nd album, “ASHA”, in 2019, she was nominated by SOULTRACKS for Best Female Vocalist, Best Album, and Best Song of 2019. Most recently, Tahirah was featured in the 2022 PDX Jazz Fest, opening for headliner Robert Glasper, at the 2022 Vanport Jazz Festival alongside Eric Benét, and as a performer on the 2023 Capital Jazz Supercruise.
Charlie Brown III is a pianist, keyboardist, producer, and musical director from Portland, Oregon. You can frequently find him performing locally with the group greaterkind, a jazz/funk/fusion band with undertones of hip-hop, r&b, and gospel. Whether playing internationally with bassist MonoNeon or locally in PDX, Charlie’s music radiates an energetic and infectious positivity that is both timeless and of its time.
Mr. Paul Knauls is the “Honorary Mayor of NE Portland.” Born in Huntington, Arkansas, in 1931, he joined the Air Force just 17 days after graduating from high school. He became the first African-American to be stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington. After his honorary discharge, he worked three jobs to save money to fulfill his dream of owning his own business. In 1963, Knauls bought Portland’s Cotton Club, which became a hugely popular night club in the 1960s. Located at North Vancouver & Tillamook, the Cotton Club hosted the likes of Etta James, Big Mama Thornton, and Sammy Davis Jr. When the construction of I-5 shuttered his building, Knauls and his wife Geneva went on to open several more businesses. Geneva’s Shear Perfection, their beauty salon, was a hub for Portland’s African-American community until it closed in 2020. We are honored that Mr. Knauls will be our guest historian at Jazz Night!
We’ll also need lots of volunteers to chip in before, after, or during part of the night to help our event run smoothly. Sign up here, and thanks!
