Jazz Journalists Association honours Bill Smith at jazz fest opening gala
On behalf of the Jazz Journalists Association, the Vancouver Jazz Festival’s artistic director, Ken Pickering, presented Bill Smith with the JJA’s “A Team” Award for lifetime achievement at the jazz fest’s opening gala at the Vancouver Art Gallery last night. Almost from the day he arrived in Toronto in 1963 from his birthplace in Bristol, [...]
McGill Alumni jazz night
Thursday, May 27th marked the McGill Alumni Association of Vancouver’s 9th annual Jazz Night at Hycroft Mansion. Performances featured bassist Jodi Proznick, pianist Tilden Webb, and vocalist Melody Diachun. More at: McGill Alumni Portal
Shrek & Steig
When the final installment of the Shrek franchise opens this week, there is apparently a new character named The Pied Piper who makes people (and ogres) do crazy things with his flute playing. The music is taken from a piece called “Nightmare” from a classic release on the ENJA label called Outlaws with Jeremy Steig [...]
Percussive Compassion
An international consortium of percussive-oriented musicians will be performing for a worthy cause on June 13th at the Cultch. Themba Tana will be my guest on an special extended edition of the A-Trane on CFRO 102.7 FM, Friday June 4th from 2:30 to 6:30 to play some music, remember the late South African Jazz musician [...]
CJBS appoints new executive director
Coastal Jazz & Blues Society, producers of our annual jazz festival and other events throughout the year, has named Fatima Amarshi as executive director. Fatima succeeds Julie Smith who stepped in to fill the post when Robert Kerr, founding director, left to head the cultural olympiad.
great day in vancouver
In celebration of their fiftieth anniversary, and inspired by Art Kane’s ultra-famous Harlem jazz photo (coincidentally also fifty years old) CODA magazine commissioned photographers in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver to assemble their respective jazz musicians and others involved in jazz locally, for group portraits. Vancouver photographer, Steve Mynett, produced the shot you see above. That [...]
Neil Ritchie retirement party
Neil Ritchie, producer of CBC Radio One’s Hot Air since 1980 has retired. A party celebrating the twenty-eight years he devoted to presenting and recording the best of Vancouver’s jazz groups will be held tomorrow (Saturday August 16, 2008) from 7:00pm to midnight at: The Billy Bishop Legion (Upstairs) 1407 Laburnum Street (1 block east [...]
Happy Birthday Jeni LeGon!
Singer and tap dancer Jeni LeGon, who has lived in Vancouver for almost forty years celebrates her 92nd birthday today. Born Jennie Ligon on August 14, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, at age thirteen she successfully auditioned for the Count Basie Orchestra’s chorus line. A year later, LeGon was already a cutting edge professional dancer. In [...]
New feature: Gary Barclay’s “Vancouver Jazz Profiles”
Gary Barclay has been involved in the Vancouver jazz community for almost forty years. From 1971 to 1985 he hosted Vancouver’s only all-night jazz show on CHQM AM/FM. He’s conducted hundreds of interviews with local and international jazz performers. Among his current activities is a regular column in VLM: Vancouver’s Lifestyle Magazine featuring profiles of [...]
Galaxie “Rising Star” award
Every year since 1998, CJBS (producers of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival) and Galaxie, (the continuous music network of the CBC) has awarded a $2000 prize to a selected group of emerging Vancouver jazz artists who are performing at the festival. The nominees this year are North/Mann/Pennell, Umph Trio, Shannon Scott Band, The Grand Trine, [...]
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