Centrum’s annual Jazz Port Townsend came to a close on Sunday, July 28, following its week-long immersive program for jazz singers, instrumentalists and audiences. They came to learn, perform and absorb performances from a faculty of what Centrum touted as “diverse, world-class” teaching artists.

This year also marked John Clayton‘s 20th and final year as artistic director of Jazz Port Townsend. He was honored by Centrum, which also announced his successor.

Centrum’s goal for this year’s event, which began July 22, was to recruit approximately 160 participants from high school grades and up for the educational portion of the program. The expectation was that about half of the participants, who come from the United States and beyond, would be under the age of 20.

On Friday, July 26, Centrum Executive Director Rob Birman confirmed this year’s Jazz Port Townsend workshop had drawn 183 participants from 18 states, as well as from Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. The participants ranged in age from 14 to 85. Centrum awarded 46 scholarships worth more than $25,000.

That weekend saw Jazz Port Townsend transition from its workshop classes into its faculty performances, with two on-campus “Jazz in the Clubs” on Thursday, July 25, and that Friday, and three main stage concerts at McCurdy Pavilion on July 26 and Saturday, July 27.

Birman reported as of that Friday morning, Centrum had sold 1,632 tickets. He anticipated the number would surpass 2,300 tickets sold by the end of that Saturday, based on previous years’ sales.

“Since participants and faculty attend all of the events as part of the workshop, total attendance for the weekend should be approximately 3,415,” Birman said. “Our 2019 attendance total was 3,794, but we had one additional night of clubs that year, so it’s not truly an apples-to-apples comparison.”

The lineup for that Saturday started at 1:30 p.m. with “Afternoon Heat,” including Terell Stafford, Tanya Darby, Jiggs Whigham, Ivan Malespin, Patrick Bartley, Dawn Clement, Carlos Enriquez and Matt Wilson, leading into “Sing Your Song,” with Roberta Gambarini and J.D. Walter, Taylor Eigsti, Matt Brewer and Wilson again, culminating with the Centrum All-Star Big Band, directed by John Clayton.

That Saturday’s evening show opened at 7:30 p.m. with “Cable’s Fables,” including George Cables, Katie Thiroux and Ignacio Berroa, and wrapped up with the “Until We Meet Again” Mega-Jam, featuring Clayton again, this time alongside “The Centrum Family.”

Birman noted the significance of Clayton‘s 20th and final year as artistic director.

Not only did Clayton lead the Centrum All-Star Big Band that Saturday afternoon, but that evening’s performance also featured every Centrum jazz faculty member performing live with the Grammy-winning (and nine-time Grammy-nominated) bassist, composer, arranger and producer.

In 1985, Clayton co-founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and rekindled the Clayton Brothers Quintet, and his career highlights include arranging “The Star Spangled Banner” for Whitney Houston’s 1990 Super Bowl performance, whose recording went platinum, as well as playing bass on Paul McCartney’s “Kisses On The Bottom” album, and arranging and playing bass with Yo-Yo Ma and Friends on “Songs of Joy and Peace.” He’s worked with a string of other notable artists, as well, including Diana Krall, Gladys Knight and Queen Latifah.