Vancouver International Jazz Festival Friday July 3rd, 2009

Some amazing shows in the last few days, Kenny Werner, John Stetch, Vieux Farka Toure, Jimmy Cobb & crew... lots more to come, here's today's sked, get out and support live music. (Blank lines begone!) ‏July 3rd, 2009 ‏‏ ‏The Contemporary Lovers‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Granville Island - Market Stage - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Scott White Quartet‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Tom Lee Music Downtown City Stage - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏The Dawn Pemberton Jazz Quartet‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Jeanette Lindström - Workshop - Cancelled‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Tom Lee Music Hall - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Ta Ki Ta‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏City Square Shopping Centre - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏VCMI / Student Faculty Showcase‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Performance Works - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏The Zoë Trio & The Ollie Bollen Trio‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Libra Room - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Love Seat Deluxe‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Dedicated to You - Kurt Elling Sings Coltrane / Hartman & Enrico Rava / Stefano Bollani Duo‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Centre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Sylvain Kassap Quartet and Léandre / N. Mitchell / Lee / van der Schyff‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Roundhouse - Performance Centre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Roberto Occhipinti Quartet‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Ironworks - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Malcolm Aiken‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Ouisi Bistro - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Monks Dream Trio‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Bogart's Chophouse & Bar - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Mary Kastle Solo & Trio‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏So.cial at Le Magasin - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Duke Robillard Band‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Capilano Performing Arts Theatre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏A Walk on the Wild Side tribute to Jimmy Smith, featuring Vanessa Rodrigues / Martin Petersen‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Billy Dixon's Soul Train Express / Brickhouse‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Yale - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Ola Onabule‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏Performance Works - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Rastrillos‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Biltmore Cabaret - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Animal Names / Woolworm / Axis of Conversation‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Media Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Kevin Elaschuk Quartet‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Dodger‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Media Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Gordon Grdina Trio with Mats Gustafsson‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏The Ironworks - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Mike Allen Quartet - Late Night Jam Session‏ ‏Jul 3‏ ‏O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club‏

Vancouver International Jazz Festival Thursday July 2nd, 2009

The beat goes on with most venues quiet today for the Canada Day Celebrations and festivities at Granville Island. Sonny Rollins' performance at the Orpheum on Monday night was definitely a highlight so far. I heard a few people groan when Sonny was first announced that he'd been here just year before last but Sonny followers know that when Sonny is energized, he can give one of the most riveting performances in the business. Which this was, in spades. When he and the band came out, the bustling crowd gave him a standing ovation before he played a note and he took note in turn. Sonny came out in a black shirt and white suit, his shock of white hair and dark sunglasses. He still has that colossus frame but it's fairly hunched over now that he's in his late 70s. But the energy he put out after the music started was incredible, the effect was a caged animal like a white leopard prowling the stage. It almost seemed as though he never stopped playing, his energy was so infectious - pacing the stage, challenging the other players, facing the drummer, taking swipes during other solos and unleashing torrents during his own solos. We were sitting next to Kate Hammett-Vaughan and just before the concert started we'd been discussing the upcoming Kurt Elling tribute to the Coltrane/Hartman collaboration. Ironically, Rollin's first two pieces appear on that recording - he started with My One and Only Love and continued with They Say It's Wonderful, followed by a ballad that sounded like a familiar show tune that I couldn't quite place. Rollins has been criticized in the past for keeping a band that is not up to his calibre but on a night like this, the best thing the rest of the band can do is get out of the way. My only complaint was that on the next tune Sonny Please (one of his strongest compositions in decades) Sonny took a fiery solo and handed things to the guitarist Bobby Broom. The riff tune called for a strong rhythmic and melodic statement and Broom's solo was anything but, a meandering collection of notes that was only loosely related to the tune - fortunately it didn't last long before Sonny took the reins again. Sonny's longtime bassist Bob Cranshaw was workmanlike, the trombonist Clifton Anderson was as good as I've ever heard him and the percussionist Victor See Yuen was relatively non-descript. I would single out the drummer Kobie Watkins for challenging Sonny and really driving the whole band forward with uncomplicated energetic percussion, a perfect foil for Sonny and the reason that Sonny seemed to carry on a dialog with him for most of the evening. They played a few more tunes (including one of Sonny's obligatory 'mango' tunes) and the energy didn't let up. I kept thinking of Paul Gonsalves famous Newport 56 solo on Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue where the effect is almost like an RnB player who builds a solo and ups the ante on every chorus but always remains in total control, no screeching, every note passionate but perfectly selected for maximum effect. And thinking "Damn, Sonny probably does this every night!" Definitely one for the ages .... ---- Back to a full complement of shows, here are tomorrow's offerings (with blank lines at no extra charge): ‏Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 ‏‏ ‏The Kenny Wayne Gospel Group‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Saul Berson Quartet‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Tom Lee Music Downtown City Stage - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Collin Yong Trio‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Granville Island - Market Stage - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏VCMI Student Showcase‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Vancouver Community College - King Edward Campus - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏David Sikula & Paul Rushka‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏City Square Shopping Centre - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Peggy Lee Band‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Performance Works - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏The Monica Lee Band & Victor Noriega‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Libra Room - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Gord Grdina & James Danderfer‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Dockside Restaurant & Brewing Company at The Granville Island Hotel - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Gavin Youngash & Jackée Guillou Jazz Duo‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Bogart's Chophouse & Bar - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Weaver Werth Band‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Remembering the Miles Davis classic 'Kind of Blue' @ 50: Jimmy Cobb's So What Band and John Stetch Trio‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Centre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Karen Larsen‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Ouisi Bistro - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Laura Crema‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Mary Kastle Solo & Trio‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏So.cial at Le Magasin - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏N. Mitchell / Plimley / Léandre / Ho Bynum and Horvitz / N. Mitchell / Lee / van der Schyff‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Roundhouse - Performance Centre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Jennifer Scott Quartet‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Ironworks - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Kelly Joe Phelps‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Capilano Performing Arts Theatre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Vieux Farka Touré‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏Performance Works - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Fond of Tigers with Mats Gustafsson and Secret Mommy Quartet‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Biltmore Cabaret - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Tamara Rhodes‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Greedy Pig - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Jillian Lebeck Trio‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Mostly Marley‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Lamplighter - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏The Vince Mai Project‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Yale - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Tony Wilson Sextet‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏The Ironworks - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Mike Allen Quartet - Late Night Jam Session‏ ‏Jul 2‏ ‏O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club‏

Vancouver International Jazz Festival Monday June 29, 2009

The Festival continues with some spectacular music after a very successful opening weekend. Some more hard decisions loom, too many choices ... (and I thought I figured out how to get rid of all the blank lines!) Jun 29, 2009 ‏‏ ‏Amanda Tosoff Quartet‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Tom Lee Music Downtown City Stage - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Jim Byrnes & The Sojourners‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Yuji‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Granville Island - Market Stage - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Fred Lonberg-Holm - Workshop‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Tom Lee Music Hall - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Anagram Duo‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏City Square Shopping Centre - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Ugly Beauties‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Performance Works - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Zapato Negro‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏CBC / Radio-Canada Studio One Jazz - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Bruno Hubert Trio & The Cat Toren Band‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Libra Room - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Paul Pigat & Michael Dunn‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Dockside Restaurant & Brewing Company at The Granville Island Hotel - Free‏ ‏‏ ‏Chris Gestrin Trio & Brad Turner Trio‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Soul Syndicate‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Al Di Meola World Sinfonia '09‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Centre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Sonny Rollins‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Orpheum - TICKETED‏ ‏‏ ‏Laura Crema with Sharon Minemoto Trio‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Ironworks - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Alexander von Schlippenbach "Monk's Casino"‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Roundhouse - Performance Centre - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏David Priest‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Ouisi Bistro - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Redgy Blackout‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Lamplighter - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Joyce‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏Performance Works - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏King Khan & BBQ Show‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Biltmore Cabaret - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Tony Foster Trio‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏CubaZone‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Greedy Pig - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Lesismore‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Yale - Club‏ ‏‏ ‏Delirium‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏The Ironworks - Ticketed‏ ‏‏ ‏Mike Allen Quartet - Late Night Jam Session‏ ‏Jun 29‏ ‏O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club‏

Vancouver International Jazz Festival Friday June 26, 2009

The 10 day marathon known as the TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival gets underway today. Listed below are some of the gigs for Friday June 26th with links back to the artist and venue descriptions. A few general festival notes: Jeanette Lindström's concert originally scheduled at Performance Works and her workshop have been cancelled. José González's concert originally scheduled for the Commodore has been cancelled. Ndidi Onukwulu is now scheduled for Performance Works for Saturday July 4th. Word is that Hiromi's SonicBloom concert at Performance Works is very close to a sellout. I'll be continuing festival previews on the A-Trane (102.7 FM or listen live online Fridays from 2:30 to 5:30) with the brand new release from The Monterey Quartet and other fest favorites, requests always welcome. That's it for now, get out and check out some live music, there's lots to choose from. Tony Foster Trio Jun 26 Tom Lee Music Downtown City Stage - Free Ribcage Jun 26 Granville Island - Market Stage - Free Checo Tohomaso and the VOC Soul Gospel Choir Jun 26 St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church - Free The Grand Trine Jun 26 City Square Shopping Centre - Free SOLOS & DUOS: Two Slices of Acoustic Car, Kornstad / Homlander / Lonberg-Holm / Müller Jun 26 Performance Works - Free Mimosa Jun 26 CBC / Radio-Canada Studio One Jazz - Free The John Korsrud Latin Jazz Quintet & The OllieBollen Trio Jun 26 Libra Room - Club Rene Worst & Doug Stephenson Jun 26 Dockside Restaurant & Brewing Company at The Granville Island Hotel - Free Bria Skonberg Jun 26 Capilano Suspension Bridge - Free The David Sanborn Group Jun 26 The Centre - Ticketed Red Stick Ramblers Jun 26 West Vancouver Memorial Library - Free Uno Mas Jun 26 Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club Jason Kao Hwang / EDGE and Léandre / F. Houle / Strid Jun 26 Roundhouse - Performance Centre - Ticketed Melody Diachun Trio Jun 26 So.cial at Le Magasin - Club Don Fraser Trio Jun 26 Bogart's Chophouse & Bar - Club Mike Allen Quartet Jun 26 The Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club Brad Turner Quartet Jun 26 The Ironworks - Ticketed Noya Jun 26 Ouisi Bistro - Club In Medias Res & Grand Theft Bus Jun 26 The Media Club Jerry Doucette / Mostly Marley Jun 26 The Yale - Club Blue King Brown Jun 26 The Biltmore Cabaret - Ticketed The Lost Fingers Jun 26 Performance Works - Ticketed Karin Plato Trio Jun 26 O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club King Sunny Adé & his African Beats Jun 26 The Commodore Ballroom - Ticketed Havard Wiik Trio with François Houle Jun 26 The Ironworks - Ticketed Mike Allen Quartet - Late Night Jam Session Jun 26 O'Doul's Restaurant and Bar - Club

LIVE RECORDING AT THE CELLAR THIS WEEKEND

Friday/Saturday and Sunday, Tix $15 / students no cover on Sunday! This weekend is gonna be a fun one at The Cellar. Tenor saxophonist Steve Kalestad has put together a band featuring some of he peers and old teachers. The group features JESSE CAHILL on drums, JODI PROZNICK on bass, KEVIN DEAN on trumpet and ANDRE WHITE on piano. For those of you that are unfamiliar with KEVIN DEAN and ANDRE WHITE, this weekend is perfect time to get acquainted with them. They hail from Montreal and are absolutely wonderful musicians. Kevin has performed in concert and recorded with numerous well-known jazz artists including Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson and Barry Harris. In recent years Kevin has begun to play and perform on the Hammond organ and has a quartet that features Andre White playing drums and saxophonists Mike Murley and John Nugent. The group performed at jazz festivals in Montreal, Sweden, and Finland last summer and released their first CD; Kevin Dean Organ Band, Live at Upstairs. Drummer/pianist Andre White has performed with many Canadian and American musicians including Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Dave Liebman, Don Thompson, Steve Grossman, Sonny Greenwich, Pepper Adams, Cecil Payne, Junior Cook, Bob Berg, Rob McConnell, Gary Bartz, Craig Handy, Ben Monder and Kevin Dean. In addition, Andre works as a free-lance recording engineer and producer. Since 1990, Andre has been involved in the production and recording of over sixty independent jazz releases, including recordings by Remi Bolduc, Kirk MacDonald, Kevin Dean, Geoff Lapp, and Jean Beaudet.

Cecil Taylor in conversation with Bill Smith

When soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy visited Vancouver in March 1976 for his solo performance at the Western Front, we spent an afternoon eating, drinking, and talking at a little restaurant on Robson St. He was one of the brightest, most erudite and articulate men I'd ever met. So it meant something to me when, among many other things, he mentioned that he thought CODA Magazine was the one of the best music magazines in the world. (This was 33 years ago. The magazine has gone through some changes since then.) He went on to say that Bill Smith's interview with Cecil Taylor, published in the magazine a year earlier, was the best interview with a musician he'd ever read. (I still have my copy of that issue.) I've urged Smith to add that interview to his ever-growing online archive of interviews, articles, and reviews, Imagine the Sound. It's now available here: http://vancouverjazz.com/bsmith/2009/05/cecil-taylor_02.html Post comments in the Jazz Forum

THOMAS MARRIOTT CD RELEASE AT THE CELLAR

"Thomas Marriott is irrepressible" -The Seattle Times May 8th and 9th, Seattle Trumpeter will be in Vancouver with collaborators, drummer MATT JORGENSEN and alto saxophonist MARK TAYLOR. Rounding out the quintet will be Vancouver's own BRAD TURNER on piano and PAUL RUSHKA on bass. Trumpeter Thomas Marriott is one of the most exciting musicians to emerge on the national jazz scene in more than a decade. The six-time Golden Ear award winner is a skilled instrumentalist, composer and producer, and is always seeking to expand the boundaries of jazz music in all its forms. After winning the prestigious Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition in 1999, Marriott headed east from Seattle to New York where he gained initial acclaim through his work with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau band. Marriott completed 3 world tours with Ferguson (who called Marriott “a truly great jazz trumpet player”), and then continued to work in New York and on the road with the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Joe Locke, The Tito Puente Orchestra, Brian Lynch, The Chico O’Farrill Orchestra, Eddie Palmieri, Eric Reed, Bebo Valdez, Les Brown and the Band of Renown, Kenny Kirkland, Ritchie “Alto Madness” Cole, and many others. Marriott’s diverse interests and skills are reflected in the range and success of his albums. His 2005 release on Origin Records, “Individuation,” was named among the top 10 jazz records of 2005 by WBEZ radio, Chicago. 2007’s “Both Sides of the Fence” received over 3300 spins nationally, pushing his album into the top ten on jazz radio. His most recent release “Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson,” was released in early 2008 to wide critical acclaim. Jazz Times Magazine declared Marriott a “first-tier trumpet player” with “serious chops and a luxuriant trumpet sound….This album is a kick in the pants.” Known for his innovative spirit and broad musical scope, Thomas continues to perform on the stages of the world’s greatest jazz clubs and concert halls, as a leader and alongside the top names in jazz. The Seattle native is featured on more than 50 recordings with musicians of all genres and styles. Thomas has produced albums for a number of artists including saxophonist Hadley Caliman and serves on the Board of Governors of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. His fourth album on Origin Records, "Flexicon," is due out in April of 2009.