PORTLAND, Ore. — The Albina Cotton Club , once the heartbeat of Portland’s Black music scene, is one of the featured locations in a new documentary centered on the Albina community .

The Albina Music Trust recently received a $100,000 arts and culture grant from the Oregon Community Foundation for the project, which documents the rich history of Albina’s jazz and funk performers, many of whom went on to achieve national and international success. The grant is one of the foundation’s largest arts awards this year and will fund a five-part documentary series.

“A lot of people say the Cotton Club is the one that started it all,” said Paul Knauls Sr ., former owner of the club on N. Vancouver Avenue and Albina’s honorary mayor.

Knauls said the club enjoyed a strong seven-year run in P

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