On March 10, against the backdrop of an elaborate stained glass cross, Seattle-based organ trio Joe Doria’s McTuff got funky as part of Jazz Live, a free concert series at Marine View Presbyterian Church. In the chapel overlooking Puget Sound in Dash Point, just northeast of Tacoma, attendees began the night with a pastor-led prayer, grooved to the music in their padded chairs, shared homemade cookies at intermission, and left with a coupon to three local restaurants.
This semi-regular monthly tradition almost wasn't resurrected after the pandemic, but the community's live music lovers weren't ready to see it go.
Since 2009, except during the COVID years, Jim Foster, a retired Dash Point resident and long-time member of Marine View Presbyterian, has organized a jazz concert once a month from September until June. Alumni performers of the series include national acts like smooth jazz saxophonist Darren Motamedy and guitarist Steve Oliver, as well as homegrown talent, such as guitarist Michael Powers, vocalist Greta Matassa, vibraphonist Susan Pascal, and pianist Jovino Santos Neto.
In 2020, when the pandemic put an end to congregating, Foster stopped the series — for good, or so he thought. But, in December 2022, after producing a hugely successful one-off Michael Powers holiday concert, past attendees urged Foster to bring the jazz series back. Since March 2023, the free concert series is back and going strong with the help of its enthusiastic supporters.
"Music is healing, and so loving jazz and loving music, [I] just find it very inspirational," said Jackie Jones-Hook, a regular attendee.
"It's just a great way to relax. And let the music take you away."
Fourteen years ago, Foster decided to produce this series because he loves jazz, especially the fusion jazz that was popular while he was in college in the 1970s. A self-proclaimed “music guy,” Foster regularly makes the trek to Seattle to scout talent at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley and The Royal Room, and he’s highly regarded for his booking abilities and taste amongst Jazz Live attendees.
“I'm always amazed at the quality of talent that Jim finds for the event,” said Myla Montgomery, a member of Marine View Presbyterian who’s volunteered with Jazz Live since its inception.
Foster, who’s an elder at Marine View, has another aim with this series: To do some “soft, subtle” community outreach for his church. Every Jazz Live performance begins with some words of welcome from the church’s senior pastor, Jesse Skiffington, and a prayer.
“We're not asking people to come to a Sunday morning service, and you know how intimidating that might be for some people,” said Foster. “So, why not bring them into the church by way of another avenue?”
While the Marine View Jazz Series is a unique offering amongst Tacoma-area churches, The Atlantic reports that many churches across the country have begun to embrace jazz as a tool for worship and community outreach. In fact, many Christians love jazz, with some theologians even drawing parallels between a jazz musician’s approach and living a life of faith.
Interestingly, jazz and church haven’t always been so sympatico. While the music is directly influenced by sacred music performed in Black Christian churches, many Black and White churches in America pre-World War II regarded jazz with distrust. Some even led campaigns to censor it.
Only after the war did the music garner more acceptance from Christians, when artists like Duke Ellington, Mahalia Jackson, and Mary Lou Williams began to compose for and perform jazz in places of worship.
As for Marine View, they’ve gained a few members from the series, but church members have always been a small slice of the of Jazz Live audience, Foster said. Overwhelmingly, the attendees of Jazz Live are people unaffiliated with the church who live in the surrounding community.
“That’s where I get my satisfaction...seeing all the people's responses and their appreciation of bringing music to their backyard, for most of them. Because particularly the people that are up in age, they don't really want to go up to Seattle these days,” Foster said.
Jazz Live offers free admission and is entirely supported by donations from attendees, which are collected in baskets during the show and through QR codes in the event program. With the church supplying the venue at no cost, Foster said 90% of the money taken in goes towards paying the artists, and the additional 10% goes towards printing the event programs and marketing. In this manner, Jazz Live has survived as long, or longer, than many regional music venues.
A loyal band of volunteers from the church also rallies around Jazz Live. When they’re not working as greeters at the door or handing out event programs, they’re collecting and counting donations, baking, laying out homemade cookies and beverages for the intermission between the two hourlong sets, and cleaning up after the event. All their efforts help make Jazz Live welcoming to everyone, according to attendees.
“There’re so embracing,” said Jones-Hook, a resident of the Gig Harbor area who is not a member of Marine View Presbyterian, though she’s attended Jazz Live for about four years. “I mean, it's just like family.”
The relationships that Foster has nurtured with Federal Way restaurants Pizza, Pasta & Co. by Gino’s and Pimienta Bistro, as well as The Cliff House in neighboring Brown's Point, also make Marine View's jazz nights special. For attendees looking to go out for dinner immediately after the show, the three restaurants offer 20% off the food portion of your bill when you present the concert program.
“Sometimes I feel it’s like a date night. Every now and then, like last night, we...go out for dinner afterwards to one of the restaurants,” said Montgomery, who volunteered at Jazz Live on March 10.
For all their efforts, Marine View is known in the surrounding community as “the jazz church.” Foster, who recently turned 70, would like to keep that reputation up for as long as he can.
This season, Jazz Live at Marine View is booked until the end of the year with prominent artists including the Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project, which features some of New York’s most in-demand jazz musicians, lauded local saxophonist and flutist Mark Lewis, and California-based singer Rebecca Jade, who earned two San Diego Music Awards in 2022.
For more information about Jazz Live at Marine View visit their website.
