Number 142002 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary
Day 11 - Monday, July 1, 2002
Well, here’s a first. Day 11. Man, what a great idea! Takes the bitter out of the bittersweet tone that always accompanies the closing bash at Studio 16. Thanks! I needed that. I’m sure lots of others did, too.
Insanity was the order of the day at Granville Island on Canada Day, unless your idea of a peaceful, calm national holiday involves thousands of people on a tiny land mass swarming like a couple of armies of ants on one little ant hill. Yikes. One just had to brace oneself and plunge into the sea of bodies covered in red and white - wearing black, of course, it’s jazz, baby!
Eased into the music day with two beautiful sets by the duo of guitarist Ron Samworth and Chicago bassist Jason Roebke doing some standards at the Tap Room at Granville Island Brewery. Lucky enough to get a seat down front for maximum enjoyment factor through optimal visual and aural stimulation (and thus avoiding much of the huge crowd quaffing and yakking - talking, that is - in the back of the room near the door. Samworth’s soft lead guitar and Roebke’s gentle bass maneuvers combined nicely to become the perfect accompaniment to a day filled with hangovers, hot sun, cold beer, good friends and ye olde post-last-night-of-fest bash blues. Very sweet, very swinging and just, well, awfully swell. Vancouver trumpeter Bill Clark joined in for a couple of tunes, and the trio picked up the pace for a bit with fresh energy added, most memorably delivering a very peppy version of ‘If I Were a Bell’.
Stopped into François Carrier Trio with Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson expecting low key and found instead a charged energy emanating from the stage in the form of some heavy, relentless jazz. Wish I’d heard more, but couldn’t bring myself to leave previous gig, so caught only last 10 or 15 minutes.
Then it was onto Bruno Hubert Trio back at the Tap Room at G.I. Brewery, where things were just getting outta hand crowd-wise. No, they weren’t rowdy, just plentiful. Great for the band to have so many ears to fill with their funky, grooving jazz; if not so good for room to breathe for bodies attached to ears. Still, it was fun to see everyone digging Hubert’s highly diggable energetic tunes and wondering, ‘Who are these cats?’
Was convinced lotsa peeps would depart the island by dinnertime, but the combination of a holiday, the hot sun, and great music aplenty musta been too hard to resist, so the crowds persisted until late, late. Started getting claustrophic at G.I. Brewery, so back to a packed Performance Works for a bit of Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs Quartet, which I’d heard day before and not been at all wowed. I love second chances, especially when they work out, and mine with Gunnlaugs’ Quartet came out stunningly! Was so happy to find them seeming much livelier and more driving than previous day’s performance at the Roundhouse Festival Hall, and yet still easy to relax to and enjoy effortlessly. Tenor saxist Quinsin Nachoff in particular sounded absolutely terrific, with a mature and beautifully soft sound most pleasing to the ears. Always amazing how one day a group doesn’t reach you at all, and the next it all comes together and they’re having a great gig and impress beyond belief. Nice work also from bassist Matt Pavolka and drummer Scott McLemore in a quartet whose members looked awfully young to be playing with such maturity.
Next up was the improv session guaranteed to be exciting and most likely over-the-top with drummer Han Bennink; violinist/violist Mary Oliver; guitarist Ron Samworth; tenor saxist Rob Armus; trumpeter Bill Clark; and bassist Jason Roebke. It’s always fun to watch a new audience’s reaction to Bennink, and quite surprisingly, he kept it fairly low-key and let the music speak more. This large group was a good balance of more up-front and lower-key musicians, with Bennink, Oliver, Armus and Clark frequently stepping out to turn things up a notch here and there, and Samworth and Roebke laying back a bit, maybe letting things take their natural course. The sextet broke down into smaller groups, with players joining and leaving as necessary, covering all kinds of improvisational ground: a guitar-viola duo of light scratches and bowings that evolved slowly into a rolling bluesy swing as drums and bass joined, then into a full-scale brash tarted-up finish once the horns reappeared. It was a great show all around, with some highly enjoyable music that was adventurous and interesting, yet accessible for audiences both experienced with and new to improvised music.
Have I mentioned lately just what a fantastic venue Performance Works is? This has to be my favourite place to have heard music this festival - the sound was consistently great, the room has a warm, inviting vibe to it despite its fairly big size, and the stage is big but not cavernous and perfectly situated and well-lit. But it’s mostly the vibe and the sound - it just feels good in there. Wish this was a year-round music venue, but the fact that it’s used for dance and theatre, etc., is also a good thing.
It breaks my heart to get to the last band of the last day of the 2002 festival, but so it must be. I’m so glad it was the Bentley/Arai: Ugetsu Project and that they had the good fortune to be in the best venue (Performance Works, of course, but you knew that) in front of an amazingly great and large crowd despite a starting time of 10pm on a holiday before the start of the work week! What a great thing to have this wonderful Vancouver International Jazz Festival finish off with six of Vancouver’s most talented and interesting musicians playing some great classic jazz that just isn’t heard enough these days. And they did not disappoint - in fact, this group of excellent musicians (Bentley, saxes; Arai, drums; Ross Taggart, piano; Alan Matheson, trumpet; Rod Murray, trombone; André Lachance, bass) in their tribute to Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers got nowhere near disappointing. They bounded out of the gate with a punchy, swinger “Ping Pong” and never really let up through a set of eight tunes that flew by in what felt like 20 minutes. I think what is so remarkable about this group is that each player has the gift of talent, plus their own individual sound and style that they’ve worked hard to develop; and when you put them all together the effort goes toward the whole it’s not about the individual, but how the music dictates the group should sound. Remarkable. A personal highlight was “One By One” that featured some gorgeous lyrical and lilting tenor work that I’ve come to respect in and expect from Bentley - talk about setting a mood! Hadn’t heard Matheson (filling in for absent Brad Turner) in quite some time, and was reminded what a terrific player he is; with his crisp sound and assuredness he makes it look so easy. And Taggart on the piano is a pleasure that’s all too rare: lively, joyous fingers dancing over those keys - that man is the definition of swing. Lachance, who is indisputably a great bassist, is reaching new depths of emotion in his playing that are just so heavy and so moving to take in. Versatile trombonist Murray, a player I somehow don’t hear often enough though he’s from here and who can let ‘er rip with the best of them with the Hard Rubber Orchestra, displayed a full, soft, elegant tone perfectly suited to the proceedings.
In the hot seat of a band tributing the great drummer Blakey’s group, Arai never fails to deliver with his great sense for dynamics and flair for dramatic percussion work - dig that gong that is fast becoming a signature sound. He’s got such a powerful drumming style that I wonder if he has a secret desire to actually see if he can pound through his drums… I’m still shaking my head at what a terrifically thrilling gig this was to hear and see, and the astounding level of musicianship that we have here in Vancouver. Cannot wait for a recording from these guys and to see them in all their many projects that happen year-round in jazz city.
Again this night I was impressed at how graciously the audiences were reminded that there is constantly music to be had around here, while inviting them out to check things out in the clubs and to check services like vancouverjazz.com for info on what’s going on. That seems to me the smart way to do it: all the bitching and kvetching in the world about how jazz is hurting and requires help to survive is not going to make people come out, it’s depressing and is going to drive them away. Free events like the many at this festival, which introduce a lot of new music to new people, and promotions that make music approachable and accessible while keeping potential and current audiences aware of happenings, will encourage people to get out more and check out a greater variety of things. Dunno your story, but the festival and a great local scene (despite Vancouver’s size!) sure got my jazz mojo jonesing for more when my long-held, but formerly mild interest in jazz shot up five or six years ago.
Meantime, it has been an absolute blast attending the best festival in the world, and having the joy of finally fulfilling a desire several years’ in the making to do a day-by-day diary of one jazz fan’s musical experiences. A huge thanks to Master Brian Nation (that’s WEBmaster to you, man) for being a great partner-in-crime in this endeavour, for riding shotgun throughout the fest and for all the much-needed chill-out beers. Respect, appreciation and gratitude to the musicians who work their asses off 24/7-365 for making the music that makes life bearable and worth living. Molto grazie to all the lovely folks at Coastal Jazz & Blues and the thousand-strong volunteer army that devote themselves to making a huge and wonderful festival for US! Are they great or what? And are we lucky or what?
Ok, time to check the jazz calendar and see what’s going on this week. See ya out there! Oh, and feel free to watch for my festival pics coming soon to this site!
Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
Got your own opinion on what went down? Visit the Jazz Forum.
Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender and Coda Magazine.