2002 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary

Day 9 - Saturday, June 29, 2002 (Part 1)

Ok, so Gastown is wicked, but the Roundhouse is what we all wait for, no? The sheer variety and quantity of music is a smorgasbord where there’s gonna be something for every taste, the ‘festival within a festival’, they call it and, dammit, they’re right. So, was busy writing my last report and heartbreakingly missed most of the first-up Tony Wilson Tentet, not to mention the Jazz Journalists Panel going on next door, which I wanted to peek in on (am hoping a transcription will pop up, oh, I dunno, somewhere). Not the greatest way to start a day I was sure would be absolutely perfect, and not so sure the big outdoor stage was the best place for this very intimate listening music, but I guess ya never know til ya try. If everyone in town doesn’t know that Tony Wilson’s beautifully gentle songs drawn from respect and appreciation for life, love, music and the musicians who make it (both past and present). Wilson’s got an affinity for the underdog and society’s less fortunate, and empathy and compassion permeate his songs. With a ten-piece, you might think ‘oh, right, loud, big group’ - don’t think that. Not that they’re exactly always tip-toeing, but it’s not about the bombast, it’s about passing on stories. All that’s to say that one of the regrets of this festival will be that I missed this show, and, despite Wilson’s residence in B.C., the full tentet is difficult to get together and so usually only happens once or twice a year. However, Wilson in other combos, like his quartet, and his many collaborations with other area musicians are quite frequent these days and there’s always his great CD, "Lowest Note". (Insert Yahoo here). . (Tentet includes Wilson, guitar; Peggy Lee, cello; Dylan van der Schyff, drums; Paul Blaney, bass; Dave Say; tenor sax; Kevin Elaschuk, trumpet; Becky Whitling, violin; Jeremy Berkman, trombone; Kim Darwin, accordion; and I’m completely stumped on the tenth member - somebody help me, here, k? I need to know.)

Next up was a rollicking, very fun performance by John Korsrud’s Hard Rubber Orchestra in the Festival Hall. Now this large group is about volume, and fun and letting loose and having a good time, but don’t worry, they sneak the great music in there, too. Korsrud and his 17-piece giant have uncovered the secret to bringing new audiences to their brassy, jazzy new music ­ throw a party heavy on party favours (goofiness, some healthy doses of schtick, etc.) fling open the doors so they can see how much fun everyone’s having, and invite ‘em on in. This day was no different, and in fact, was one of the liveliest, brashest, loudest, best concerts I’ve heard from our very own HRO. And considering they probably can’t get much rehearsal time with a group this size, they sounded amazing. This day the group celebrated bari saxist Daniel Miles Kane’s 40th birthday, and (I missed this part), but it was reported that he climbed up on some speakers at the side of the stage and delivered a typically wild, smokin’ solo. Wonder if anyone’s got video… Once the HRO gets rolling, it’s dangerous to try to apply the brakes, and anyone who dared try would’ve met with major bruises and broken bones, if they were lucky, and thus the 17 minutes over time with the HRO and the audience ending in a tie in what really amounted to a win-win situation. Before launching in to the concert closer, a classic HRO-style ripper of “Oh Canada” played by solo violin (courtesy the very talented Cam Wilson), Korsrud was heard at the mic delivering this shocking, yet not so surprising speech: “They want to change the stage over, but they’re gonna have to pry the microphone out of my dead, cold hands.” No one would’ve dared, and who wanted them to? Thanks, guys! Ok, let’s see if I can name ‘em all: John Korsrud, conductor/trumpet; Kane, bari sax; Bill Runge, tenor sax; Graham Ord, saxes; Saul Berson, alto sax; Jack Duncan, percussion; André Lachance, electric bass; Dave Robbins, drums; Bernie Arai, drums (guesting); Rod Murray, trombone; Ross Gregory, trombone; Dennis Esson, trombone; Hugh Fraser, trombone (guesting); Brad Muirhead, bass trombone; Bill Clark, trumpet; Mike Zachernuk, trumpet (guesting?)… uh oh, think I missed one… sorry! Help?

Back out to the park to catch a bit of the Kevin Elaschuk/Campbell Ryga Quartet on the big stage. The crowd was starting to fill out despite the clouds, though the sun was struggling to make appearances. It was great to catch Elaschuk, trumpet and Ryga, alto sax, pouring on some tunes, including stuff that will be on their forthcoming release, which was recorded live at The Cellar and released on the Cellar’s own label by Fall. Sitting in for the absent Brad Turner, drums; and Chris Nelson, bass were the always fab Paul Townsend, drums; and Steve Holy, bass.

Into the deep, darkness of the Performance Centre (it’s funny, I know people who are scared to go in there cause that’s where all the ‘out, heavy shit’ is.) Ya, it may be a little intimidating, but not on this day with this next group. The Eivind Aarset Trio slid into some low-gear grooves and fiddled with electronics to (here’s my fave word this fest) pleasantly trippy affect. Mellow stuff for some serious chillin’. Nice. (Aarset, guitar; Marius Reksjo, bass; Wetle Holte, drums & all used electronics.)

Back out to Festival Hall (aka the beer venue) for vibest Matthias Lupri’s Quintet, who cooked up some tasty, high-energy modern jazz that paid serious respect to tradition. Don’t get to hear too many vibraphonists, so this was a must-see, and the fact that Lupri’s a great, spunky player was the bonus. Lupri’s outgoing style combined with the slow, intense simmering and sighingly delicate-toned (in this setting, anyway) tenor saxist Mark Turner was an interesting opposites-attract vibe. This great group included Nate Radley, guitar; Thomas Kneeland, bass and Barry Romberg, drums.

Popped out to the park to hear a bit of Springer and Ducommun, who I’d long been thinking of as a very rootsy outfit, but who’d I’d recently been told had a lot more than that going on. Right they were, as I heard bits of funk and jazz in the mix. But alas, refueling called, so I had to leave the full-on S & D experience for another time. (Chris Springer, guitar; Craig Ducommun, keys; Dave Say, sax; Brad Ferguson, bass; Jamie Kaufmann, drums - though I don’t think it was actually Kaufmann in this day…)

There was only one way the evening was going to start, and that was with the eagerly-anticipated, fingers-crossed, ‘oh please, god’ excitement-generating performance of Sweden’s E.S.T. at the Vogue. This was the pick-me-up I needed and was hoping for. Expectations are a funny thing, and while they’re often disappointing, leaving you crushed on the other side, they’re worth having for those times when it clicks and the magic circles all around you, enveloping you in its perfection. What I’d heard of E.S.T. on disc and on-line made my ears go, ‘Oh oh oh, who is this?’ and placed the trio very high on my list of must-hear’s for 2002. I’m so high on this group and this concert I hardly know where to begin, and wouldn’t you know it, I’ve run out of time, and there’s music going on out there RIGHT NOW that must be heard, so until later… get out there!

Day 9 - Saturday, June 29, 2002 (Part 2)

Ok, so where was I? Right, where else is there? Sweden’s E.S.T. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio: Svensson, piano, percussion; Dan Berglund, bass, percussion; Magnus Oström, drums, percussion) at the Vogue. Three great players (and their own terrific sound guy: Ake Linton) who make one extraordinary whole: their synchronicity is breathtaking, as are their melodic compositions and intense focus. I didn’t realize what was missing from my festival experience during the previous few days until I heard these guys: a soul-involving, full-on passionate connection with music that could carry me away with it, that I could exist inside. I’d had snippets of it here and there, with Kenny Werner’s shows, Metalwood and Kate Hammett-Vaughan, but nothing prior to E.S.T. had literally taken me away. Not to mention, at those shows I had been concentrating on taking photos, while at E.S.T. I couldn’t shoot. It was like I didn’t even have a choice, I just stopped everything to listen, to dive into it for as long as possible. Now, how does one explain music that just makes you feel? This, my friends, is what I’ve been trying to do for years, and it’s so hard yet it’s so necessary because when you hear something that gets to you this much, you want everybody to feel that amazing thing. What a happier place the world would be if we could all live inside music that made us feel and think so much that we feel so completely alive in the moment.

Right, the music. On first look, E.S.T. appears to be a classic piano trio, but with the capability and desire to push beyond those limitations, they slipped around amongst haunting acoustic piano-driven melodies, and full-on drum and bass-heavy insistent electric groove unit, and an exploration of all kinds of possibilities in between and beyond. The aim is to have the best of both worlds, and to try to bring jazz to a younger audience, the band members told me when I interviewed them next day (interview coming soon to vancouverjazz.com). The trio has been together nine years and it shows in their intimate interaction and precision in producing this unsettling melodic music that gets under your skin and gets your thoughts crawling around inside you, forcing you to think and feel and, well, deal. There’s something about that edgy, unsettling aspect that entices and begs further exploration ­ I think it’s partly the so-called Northern European sound that comes from their culture and experiences living in that part of the world, it’s partly their use of improvisation techniques to obtain unusual sounds from their instruments, and it’s a depth that comes on an emotional level, and must reach the listener that way or not at all. Even now, listening to their fantastic record, "Somewhere Else Before" (Sony) I can feel the heaviness in my chest, the deep breathing in response to it ­ I’m amazed still. Need I say this was my best of fest show? That this was the pinnacle? I highly recommend picking up their disc, it’s not them live on this night, but it’s a good representation of what they’re all about. And check out their website. And while you’re at it, email the nice folks at Coastal Jazz & Blues with a request to bring them back during the year.

So what could possible follow that experience? I so did NOT want anything else entering my ears, my body, my heart after this - you know it comes along so rarely that you want it to last as long as humanly possible without it being ‘sullied’ by anything else? However, the jazz fest must go on and you must either go with it or get trampled underfoot. Hmmm, it would’ve actually been quite easy to be crushed under the enormity that is the 20-piece Vienna Art Orchestra. Loud, brassy, funny, creative and hard to pin-point cause they take off in so many directions with no notice, it was a wild ride that was at points thrilling, hilarious and exhausting. There were great musical moments, but there was a schizophrenic quality to the proceedings that didn’t allow any one thing to sink in because they were off on the next big thing. It was fun for a while, but became something of an onslaught and there came a point which simply required my absence from the theatre.

Tried (twice that night, in fact) to catch the expectedly cool Nils Petter Molvaer at the Commodore, but was thwarted at each try. First time, opening act was just going on, second time, it was around 11:15 and they were still changing the stage over. I just couldn’t sit still without music for what felt like an eternity, so the only thing left to do was head for Studio 16 for the daily late-night chill out beer, and the show with Paul Plimley (piano); Carla Kihlstedt (viola) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums, percussion) cause though I didn’t know Kihlstedt, Plimley and van der Schyff were a sure thing. It’s such a lovely feeling to be right and to get not only what you expected, but to get more, and this intimate trio was making connections with each other and graciously letting the audience in on their little circle to enjoy it, too. Plimley and van der Schyff’s legendary open, big ears that seek the high of musical connectedness seemed to have found a kindred spirit in the terrific Kihlstedt, whose focus and ease made her seem as though she’d been playing with these guys forever. It was a beautiful session I’m grateful to have heard, and a sweet finish to an intense evening I couldn’t have predicted, but one I’d hoped for.

Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

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Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

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Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender and Coda Magazine.

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