Since the release of his debut album Black Art, one of the New York Times's top ten jazz CD's of 1994, Darrell Grant has built an international reputation as a pianist, composer, and educator who channels the power of music to make change. He has performed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe in venues ranging from Paris’s La Villa jazz club to the Havana Jazz Festival. Dedicated to themes of hope, community, and place, Grant’s compositions include his 2012 Step by Step: The Ruby Bridges Suite honoring the civil rights icon who integrated New Orleans’s public schools. Also in 2012, he won a Chamber Music America grant for his composition The Territory which explores the terroir of music through the geographic and cultural history of Oregon. Committed to practicing civic engagement through artistry, Grant has driven pianos deep into state forests to support the environment, arranged protest anthems, and shared the stage with Bishop Desmond Tutu. Since moving to Portland, Oregon he has been named Portland Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalist Association, received a Northwest Regional Emmy, and has been named the 2019 Portland Jazz Master. Grant is a Professor of Music at Portland State University where he directs the Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute.  

Edna Vazquez is a fearless singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose powerful voice and musical talent transcend the boundaries of language to engage and uplift her audience. Her original music crosses the genres of alternative rock, folk, pop, and R&B seamlessly and delivers a message of light, love, and cultural healing - beautifully captured by TEDx in 2018. Her passion for music and education have led her to empower youth and the community through workshops and projects with the Bravo Youth Orchestras, Young Audiences, and the Lullaby Project by Carnegie Hall through the Oregon Symphony. After releasing her album, Sola Soy, Edna Vazquez began to perform at venues nationwide that include Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. She has also performed at the MGM in Las Vegas in a special performance with Latin Grammy award-winner Flor de Toloache and Natalia Lafourcade. Vazquez is receiving the Most Influential Latina Award 2019 and is currently touring with Pink Martini, sharing a special version of her song, Sola Soy with their full orchestra, while working on a new album due to record April 2019. Edna Vazquez looks forward to sharing more of her original compositions in 2020 at Fiesta! with the Oregon Symphony. ednavazquez.com

Photo by Tania GomezDaza

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Edna Vazquez es una cantante, compositora y guitarrista sin temores, quien tiene una voz poderosa y talento musical que embrujan y trascienden las fronteras del idioma para enganchar y levantar el espíritu de su audiencia. Ella es un crisol de creatividad, con un rango vocal que le permite transicionar fluidamente entre canciones originales sazonadas con influencias de rock, pop, folklore y R&B. Su pasión por la música y presentación nacieron de sus raices biculturales y con canciones basadas en la emoción universal humana, ha viajado muy lejos para compartir su mensaje de luz, amor y sanación cultural. ednavazquez.com

Foto por Tania GomezDaza

Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal is a Mexican Filmmaker and Cinematographer currently based in Portland, Oregon. From a young age he’s been interested in exploring light and darkness through a camera lens and through his storytelling. His films explore a wide array of topics spanning the human experience. 
In 2014 he directed and shot The Darkest Hour a feature documentary that exposed the inhumanity of the U.S. prison system narrated through spoken word and hip hop. In 2015 he provided cinematography for the series California Matters a food scene video series hosted by Mark Bittman and produced by the University of California’s Global Food Initiative and The New York Times.  
Adolfo has also directed videos for a wide array of artists like Dallas-based post-punk trio Nervous Curtains and emerging Portland rapper Karma Rivera, among others. In 2018 he shot STACY, a  fiercely funny feature film about how we choose to avoid honest conversations about sex, gender, and race in America set for a 2019 release. 
One of Adolfo’s biggest passions is to be involved in lifting up his community and to generate a positive impact through his creative work.
adolfocv.com