When you see Portlandbased musician Arietta Ward and the band Doo Doo Funk All Stars & Friends, you see a community of artists that aren’t afraid to indulge and experiment with some legtapping, hipswaying funk.

It’s a community that performs and lets you perform, allowing experts and novice musicians to join them on stage and add their own twist to the ensemble’s jam session — also known as The Dookie Jam.

The Dookie Jam is where Ward, who is lovingly nicknamed Mz. Etta by her mother and famed jazz pianist Janice Scroggins, found her voice. It takes place once a month at the Alberta Street Pub, which is located in a historically black neighborhood in Portland.

Producer: Deena Barnwell
Director of Photography: Nate Sjol
Videographers: Nate Sjol, Deena Barnwell, Prakruti Bhatt
Editor: Prakruti Bhatt
Graphics: MacGregor Campbell
Audio Engineer: Steven Kray
Executive Producer: MacGregor Campbell

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