Jazz
Service
Augustana
Lutheran Church
2710 NE 14th
Ave., 288-6174
6 pm most
Sundays, call to confirm
Christmas
Candlelight Service
7
pm Sunday,
Dec. 24.
On a dark and rainy Sunday evening, the pews at Augustana
Lutheran Church mostly sit vacant. Around 5 o'clock, though,
a lazy trickle of parishioners slowly fills the cavernous
sanctuary. The mood suddenly rises like--well, supply your
own theological metaphor. Marilyn Keller takes the mic.
"I'm a little lamb who's lost in the woods," she sings,
her voice wafting with soft piano in tow. "I know that I
could be very good to...someone who'll watch over me." Aside
from her muscular voice, there is nothing but reverent silence.
Of course, this classic Gershwin song wasn't written about
God. And it's definitely not about Jesus. At Augustana's
Sunday jazz services, though, standards take on a new life--as
hymns.
"The thing about great jazz and blues is that they speak
to the human condition, that need for community and healing
and hope," says Augustana's Rev. Mark Knutson. "All that
ties in with how God works in our midst."
"It's uncanny," says Keller, who leads the house quartet
at Augustana. "I'll speak with Mark about which part of
the Gospel he'll be speaking from that Sunday. Then I'll
come to church with some songs to perform, and they fit
almost exactly. It raises the hair on the back of my neck."
Augustana's jazz service began in 1992 under then-pastor
Mitch Jones, who was inspired by the famous Jazz Vespers
service at New York's Grace Cathedral, where musicians like
Duke Ellington and Vince Guaraldi worshipped and played.
"He always vowed that whenever he got a permanent calling,
he would have a jazz worship at his church," Keller recalls.
From the beginning, Augustana has attracted a who's-who
of Portland jazz musicians. The first lineup included saxophonist
Patrick Lamb, pianist Wayne Henderson, bassist Joe Seifers
and drummer Trip Hardin. A month later, Keller joined as
a vocalist. The ensuing eight years have included appearances
by Darin Clendenin, Phil Baker, Dana Lutes, Mary Kadderly,
Larry Natwick, Jeff Minnieweather, Carlton Jackson, Robert
Hicks, Shirley Nanette and more. Along with Keller, the
current lineup features acclaimed drummer Ron Steen, bassist
Kevin Deitz (whom Steen calls "a virtuoso"), and pianist
George Mitchell, who has played with Diana Ross for nearly
20 years and was married in a jazz ceremony at Augustana.
"The service is kind of like a password among musicians
around town," says Keller. "It's a very cool gig to do.
There aren't the usual distractions: smoking, clinking of
glasses, ostracizers in the background. It's a very concentrated
level of attention that you rarely get." Many musicians
even use the service as a testing ground for their original
compositions, revising pieces over the course of several
Sundays.
Augustana's service also provides access to new audiences.
"A lot of times the people who go to church don't go to
night clubs," says Steen. "So maybe they wouldn't normally
get a chance to hear live jazz. But here they can't seem
to get enough of it."
"We call it church for the liturgically challenged," laughs
Keller. "There are people who've told me the sound of music
coming across the church lawn as they walked down the street
is what drew them in."
It's not just about the worshipers, either.
"We want jazz musicians to know there's a congregation
that cares about them," says Knutson. "They're out
there all week long, late at night, feeding people. Music
really feeds the soul."
"And it can deplete you," says Keller, finishing his thought.
"You need something back. I've become a better performer
as a result of this service. It's been spiritual food for
me."
In return, musicians have embraced the congregation. Knutson
recalls visiting a terminally ill parishioner who requested
a jazz funeral service. When Knutson asked the musicians
to grant her wish, Steen replied, "Let's not wait until
she dies." Group members cleared their schedules and played
an hour-and-a-half jazz concert in the woman's living room
just two days before she passed on.
Last Sunday marked a special version of the jazz service,
a rendition of Handel's Messiah, as interpreted by
Quincy Jones and performed with musicians from Portland
State University. And in a few weeks comes the popular Christmas
Eve jazz candlelight service, which usually fills every
seat in the church.
There will always be some worshipers who scratch their
heads at jazz inside a church. After all, only a few decades
ago clergyman Henry Vandyke called jazz "music invented
by demons for the torture of imbeciles." But this little
community is all too happy to keep swinging. "By the time
you leave here at 7 or 7:30, it's all good," says Keller.
"Everything smooths its way out, and your path is set for
the rest of the week."
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