Latest news with #BlackAlbina
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mel Brown still provides the backbeat to Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Mel Brown quickly dismissed any mention of being a musical legend in Portland. 'No. No, no, no,' Brown, 80, told KOIN 6 News. 'I'm just one of the musicians that grew up around here and lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.' Inarguably, Mel Brown's drumming places him as one of the most influential musicians in the history of the Rose City. In fact, his portrait hangs on a wall at the . Honoring Portland's Godfather of Jazz, Mel Brown His talents took root in Portland's jazz heyday. Black railway workers and porters moved west in the early 20th Century and brought the blues and jazz from big cities back east. When World War II broke out, many people came to Portland from the South Despite the and ongoing struggles in Portland's still-largely segregated communities, a rich jazz scene in historically Black Albina flourished. Brown grew up not far from clubs that brought in top tier talent. 'We had a paper called the Oregon Journal, and I used to deliver the newspapers around town. So you're around the music up and down Williams Avenue and you'd hear the door open up and you'd hear the music coming out in a whole bit. And it was like, 'Oh, OK, I think I want to do this,'' Brown said. 'But the people who were actually performing inside, those people also lived in the neighborhood. And so they would hear me sometimes during the day trying to beat on something and they would say, 'Oh, little kid, come here, let's show you what this is about.' I was like 14 or 15 years old and they just started coming out and just trying to help me out to get with the music.' Already playing professional gigs by his senior year of high school in the early 1960s, Brown attended Portland State University on a music scholarship. 'I got a call to play a show. The drummer got sick, it was down at the Crystal Ballroom and it was a last minute thing, 'Come in, we need you quick.' And I go on to play not knowing the person I had to play behind,' he said, 'and that was Ike and Tina Turner.' A later gig in Vancouver, British Columbia playing with Tommy Chong paved the way for a contract in Motown. Where We Live: Portland's Mel Brown 'They had a TV special in LA, it was called 'TCB, Taking Care of Business'. It was The Temptations and The Supremes. And they called me to play the drums on that. And Barry Gordy said, 'I like the way he plays. I'm going to move him and put him with The Temptations. And that's how I got with The Temptations.' After literally touring the world, Mel Brown returned to Portland in the late 1970s. Since then he's been a fixture of the city's live local music scene, still playing weekly gigs. 'I'll always be doing that all my life because people don't realize it, music kind of keeps you together. I've been around the world about nine or 10 times, and I may not speak the language, but every other country I've gone to, if you play music and play well, you end up having friends who you stay in touch with,' he said. 'Music is everything, brings everybody together.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1803 Fund provides grant for Portland Art Museum's upcoming Black art gallery
PORTLAND, Ore. () — The Portland Art Museum is forming a Black art gallery with funding from the initiative backed by Nike's co-founder. Museum leaders announced on Thursday that a 'generous grant' from the 1803 Fund will support the creation of a new exhibition highlighting Black culture and artwork. Popular cocktail bar to leave Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood for NW Portland 1803 Fund strives to revitalize North Portland's historically Black Albina neighborhood that has been impacted by gentrification. Nike co-founder into the initiative in 2023, and it is now expanding on its mission through a five-year partnership with PAM. 'This partnership is a meaningful evolution — moving from Black artists and audiences petitioning for admission into hushed, venerated spaces, and moving toward working in collaboration on dynamic places that uplift our collective creativity and highest aspirations,' Initiative Chief Executive Officer Rukaiyah Adams said in a statement. The local attraction has already showcased diverse work through previous exhibitions including the Black Artists of Oregon, but Director Brian Ferriso said the new funding will help the museum continue to platform 'marginalized' voices. 'Through this partnership, we want to continue to spotlight the ongoing growth and vitality of Portland's Black artistic community, as well as nationally and internationally recognized Black artists, to create an inclusive and welcoming space that resonates with generations of visitors to come,' Ferriso added. Oregon woman files class action suit against StubHub after receiving invalid 'Wicked' tickets The Black Art and Experiences gallery is slated to open on the first floor of the Mark Building's Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art in late 2025. Its four exhibitions will feature pieces from artists like Lisa Jarrett, Derrick Adams and Mickalene Thomas — who was honored at the PAM Center for an Untold Tomorrow's last year. The gallery's opening will be in tandem with the debut of the museum's ongoing renovation project that will add almost 100,000 feet of new or upgraded space to the campus. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
