DAY 1
KATE HAMMETT-VAUGHAN QUINTET @ The Ironworks
It was so completely appropriate to start a festival that may be my last for a while with the divine KATE HAMMETT-VAUGHAN QUINTET at the incredibly luscious Ironworks, down on the outskirts of Gastown. Arrived in time for the 2nd set, hearing the first had been, as expected, fantastic. Felt immediately comfortable in the warm, inviting semi-funkiness of the rooms aglow with candlelight, and settled in for what Hammett-Vaughan indicated would be a short set because the first had been, from a practical standpoint, too long. Not words I wanted to hear, but I think it infused them with even more energy to get to it and make the most of it. They started with a sweet and swinging Dave Brubeck piece, Meadowlark, which yet again awoke a long-time thought in my head that pianist Chris Gestrin really, truly needs to record a solo piano album. He's inventive and eloquent and so bloody talented, and does it all without fanfare. I can't wait to hear that album... someday. Next came two songs about peace from, as Hammett-Vaughan put it, one from "a brilliant young Joni Mitchell" and another from a "brilliant older Joni Mitchell": The Fiddle and the Drum, and Woodstock. The first a gentle call for peace in a still-crazy world, the second a passionate cry for change that conjured up the magic of this intuitive Quintet, who all stood or sat with eyes closed, feeling it, feeling each other in communication of an unspoken language that is beyond words. As I sat swooning, it occurred to me that I almost missed this entirely. The program said 8pm start, but no indication of whether there would be one or two sets. No one was answering the phone at the venue, nor was there a message indicating there was an event at all. But I went with gut instinct as I drove on past The Centre where Bill Charlap would be hitting the stage shortly, and cruised down to Gastown. So it was 9:20 or so by the time I arrived at The Ironworks, and learned there would indeed be a second set. Luck was with me, reminding me of what it usually takes me a couple of days to recall from the previous year: always go with the gut and make the effort to catch it, or almost inevitably you'll end up regretting it later when you hear how amazing a show was. Hammett-Vaughan's Quintet finished with a bang-up Broadway-worthy version of Lerner & Loewe's Show Me, a tune Hammett-Vaughan and bassist André Lachance recorded for their duo album Too Close for Comfort in 1996.Tonight's Quintet version of this absolutely delightful piece illustrated once again the rapport these five have from years of playing together, including a recent cross-Canada tour.. They give the best pregnant pauses as they trade off beats in their musical conversation, always staying within the swing - much to the delight of the audience, especially when they turn on those Cheshire-cat grins mid-blissed-out-song. Hammett-Vaughan's name may be on the marquee, but as I bet she would tell you, with this gang it's really a five-way affair, a solidly group effort that continues to mesmerize as they continue to grow together as a unit. Dreamy, as expected. (Jim Pinchin, tenor sax; Tom Foster, drums)
BILL CHARLAP TRIO @ The Centre
By the time I raced over here, they were nearing the end, but I managed to catch 3.5 tunes. There's something very nice about men in suits playing elegant jazz in a huge concert hall. It was the polar opposite of the warm, up close and personal, so-real-you-can-touch-them Kate Hammett-Vaughan Quintet, but then a chance to sample the variety is what this festival is all about. At set's end, I was witness to a typical Vancouver finish: audience quickly on their feet, half in praise, half on their way out the door, preferring to get out fast and get home rather than see if an encore opportunity will present itself. It did, and it was the loveliest of the 3.5 tunes I heard. It was marred only by the fact that the ushers had propped open the doors at the back of the room, letting in painfully bright light and the echoes of voices as they traveled down the stairs and wafted back up into the cavernous lobby. Someone was asleep at the wheel, because the entire set of doors on the left side remained open for the whole song, an incredibly rude gesture toward the audience, and particularly the musicians. (Bill Charlap, piano; Ben Wolfe, bass; Kenny Washington, drums)
MIKE ALLEN TRIO/JAM SESSION @ O'Doul's
If I were to click sparkly red-heeled shoes together, this is where they would take me. It was SO good to walk into my 'neighbourhood pub' and actually find a seat (a minor miracle during jazz fest), and settle in for a guaranteed good time. This gig has been set up as The Jam, and the musicians - visiting and Vancouver-based alike - are pressed to bring their instruments and sit in. Some do, but it's also about The Hang. I overheard someone ask drummer Kenny Washington if he was going to sit in, and he kinda chuckled and shrugged it off. It makes you kind of sad, in a way, cause it makes you wish they all had endless reserves of fire to go on proving themselves all night long. So, to the musicians who did have the energy and desire to get up there, I am grateful. It was a GREAT hang for this currently non-practising (never say never!) musician.
Spotted hanging last night were: the aforementioned Washington, Bill Charlap (ok, so he stuck his head in the room briefly), and Ken Vandermark and the Free Fall gang, which included some European musicians I recognized from previous fests, but could not possibly name (anyone?). Making the Scene on stage were: Allen's Trio: Sean Cronin, bass; and Julian MacDonough, drums (who really should do a stand-up routine - the guy is hilarious!); lovely singer Denzal Sinclaire; Brad Turner; Phil Dwyer; Morgan Childs; a French horn player in a baseball cap whose name I foolishly did not get. I'm sure I must've missed some as I was seated around the corner from the bandstand, occasionally getting up to check out who was making those glorious sounds. I'll ask Mike Allen, who I recently learned has kept the lists of who's played during the several years this jam has been happening. And last night, it was indeed happening. Have I mentioned how great it was that the music went on til 1:30am??
Ok, time to brace myself for the onslaught that is Gastown. The sun is attempting to come out as we speak, and I'm choosing to have faith. Cannot WAIT to check out Anderskov Accident and am hoping the hype isn't just that.
----
** Listened to the new TILDEN WEBB TRIO w/ special guest David Fathead Newman disc, recently out on the CELLAR LIVE label while writing this. A groovy disc disc full of energy surprisingly appropriate to daytime listening, and providing great rhythms to push the writing along. The Webb-penned Lady J, no doubt inspired by his lovely and talented wife bassist Jodi Proznick, especially thrills, and makes me think I gotta get out more cause I am not hearing enough pianist Webb. Maybe he'll make one of the jams? (Jodi Proznick, bass; Jesse Cahill, drums) **
It was so completely appropriate to start a festival that may be my last for a while with the divine KATE HAMMETT-VAUGHAN QUINTET at the incredibly luscious Ironworks, down on the outskirts of Gastown. Arrived in time for the 2nd set, hearing the first had been, as expected, fantastic. Felt immediately comfortable in the warm, inviting semi-funkiness of the rooms aglow with candlelight, and settled in for what Hammett-Vaughan indicated would be a short set because the first had been, from a practical standpoint, too long. Not words I wanted to hear, but I think it infused them with even more energy to get to it and make the most of it. They started with a sweet and swinging Dave Brubeck piece, Meadowlark, which yet again awoke a long-time thought in my head that pianist Chris Gestrin really, truly needs to record a solo piano album. He's inventive and eloquent and so bloody talented, and does it all without fanfare. I can't wait to hear that album... someday. Next came two songs about peace from, as Hammett-Vaughan put it, one from "a brilliant young Joni Mitchell" and another from a "brilliant older Joni Mitchell": The Fiddle and the Drum, and Woodstock. The first a gentle call for peace in a still-crazy world, the second a passionate cry for change that conjured up the magic of this intuitive Quintet, who all stood or sat with eyes closed, feeling it, feeling each other in communication of an unspoken language that is beyond words. As I sat swooning, it occurred to me that I almost missed this entirely. The program said 8pm start, but no indication of whether there would be one or two sets. No one was answering the phone at the venue, nor was there a message indicating there was an event at all. But I went with gut instinct as I drove on past The Centre where Bill Charlap would be hitting the stage shortly, and cruised down to Gastown. So it was 9:20 or so by the time I arrived at The Ironworks, and learned there would indeed be a second set. Luck was with me, reminding me of what it usually takes me a couple of days to recall from the previous year: always go with the gut and make the effort to catch it, or almost inevitably you'll end up regretting it later when you hear how amazing a show was. Hammett-Vaughan's Quintet finished with a bang-up Broadway-worthy version of Lerner & Loewe's Show Me, a tune Hammett-Vaughan and bassist André Lachance recorded for their duo album Too Close for Comfort in 1996.Tonight's Quintet version of this absolutely delightful piece illustrated once again the rapport these five have from years of playing together, including a recent cross-Canada tour.. They give the best pregnant pauses as they trade off beats in their musical conversation, always staying within the swing - much to the delight of the audience, especially when they turn on those Cheshire-cat grins mid-blissed-out-song. Hammett-Vaughan's name may be on the marquee, but as I bet she would tell you, with this gang it's really a five-way affair, a solidly group effort that continues to mesmerize as they continue to grow together as a unit. Dreamy, as expected. (Jim Pinchin, tenor sax; Tom Foster, drums)
BILL CHARLAP TRIO @ The Centre
By the time I raced over here, they were nearing the end, but I managed to catch 3.5 tunes. There's something very nice about men in suits playing elegant jazz in a huge concert hall. It was the polar opposite of the warm, up close and personal, so-real-you-can-touch-them Kate Hammett-Vaughan Quintet, but then a chance to sample the variety is what this festival is all about. At set's end, I was witness to a typical Vancouver finish: audience quickly on their feet, half in praise, half on their way out the door, preferring to get out fast and get home rather than see if an encore opportunity will present itself. It did, and it was the loveliest of the 3.5 tunes I heard. It was marred only by the fact that the ushers had propped open the doors at the back of the room, letting in painfully bright light and the echoes of voices as they traveled down the stairs and wafted back up into the cavernous lobby. Someone was asleep at the wheel, because the entire set of doors on the left side remained open for the whole song, an incredibly rude gesture toward the audience, and particularly the musicians. (Bill Charlap, piano; Ben Wolfe, bass; Kenny Washington, drums)
MIKE ALLEN TRIO/JAM SESSION @ O'Doul's
If I were to click sparkly red-heeled shoes together, this is where they would take me. It was SO good to walk into my 'neighbourhood pub' and actually find a seat (a minor miracle during jazz fest), and settle in for a guaranteed good time. This gig has been set up as The Jam, and the musicians - visiting and Vancouver-based alike - are pressed to bring their instruments and sit in. Some do, but it's also about The Hang. I overheard someone ask drummer Kenny Washington if he was going to sit in, and he kinda chuckled and shrugged it off. It makes you kind of sad, in a way, cause it makes you wish they all had endless reserves of fire to go on proving themselves all night long. So, to the musicians who did have the energy and desire to get up there, I am grateful. It was a GREAT hang for this currently non-practising (never say never!) musician.
Spotted hanging last night were: the aforementioned Washington, Bill Charlap (ok, so he stuck his head in the room briefly), and Ken Vandermark and the Free Fall gang, which included some European musicians I recognized from previous fests, but could not possibly name (anyone?). Making the Scene on stage were: Allen's Trio: Sean Cronin, bass; and Julian MacDonough, drums (who really should do a stand-up routine - the guy is hilarious!); lovely singer Denzal Sinclaire; Brad Turner; Phil Dwyer; Morgan Childs; a French horn player in a baseball cap whose name I foolishly did not get. I'm sure I must've missed some as I was seated around the corner from the bandstand, occasionally getting up to check out who was making those glorious sounds. I'll ask Mike Allen, who I recently learned has kept the lists of who's played during the several years this jam has been happening. And last night, it was indeed happening. Have I mentioned how great it was that the music went on til 1:30am??
Ok, time to brace myself for the onslaught that is Gastown. The sun is attempting to come out as we speak, and I'm choosing to have faith. Cannot WAIT to check out Anderskov Accident and am hoping the hype isn't just that.
----
** Listened to the new TILDEN WEBB TRIO w/ special guest David Fathead Newman disc, recently out on the CELLAR LIVE label while writing this. A groovy disc disc full of energy surprisingly appropriate to daytime listening, and providing great rhythms to push the writing along. The Webb-penned Lady J, no doubt inspired by his lovely and talented wife bassist Jodi Proznick, especially thrills, and makes me think I gotta get out more cause I am not hearing enough pianist Webb. Maybe he'll make one of the jams? (Jodi Proznick, bass; Jesse Cahill, drums) **
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