2004 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary
Have spent much of the day thinking it's Monday. Cutting to the chase. Or there will be no Wednesday. Or is that Tuesday…
Torbjörn Zetterberg Hot Five - The Cultch
Well, not exactly the flooring I was expecting, but still a pretty
damned fine set of music that could've gone on longer. Deceptively laidback
- hey, it's hard work to make it look that easy; a kind of Euro
mixing of genres - jazz grooves, bluesy tempos, even 30's-40's big band
reminiscent clarinet/sax harmonies; and terrific stage presence laced
with language barrier humour (songs about ringworm, etc. make for good
times). Kickass drummer (Daniel Frederiksson) and bassist (the leader
Zetterberg) joined quite seemingly at the hip, musically speakin, to not
too shabby pianist Ludvig Berghe; sax/clarinetist Alberto Pinto (the lone
Italian amongst a group of Swedes); and alto/tenor saxist Jonas Kullhammar.
Terrific young players with a great vibe and, seemingly, energy to go
all night.
Kurt Rosenwinkel - The Cultch
After great performance two years ago w/ a group also featuring saxist
Mark Turner, was expecting much, and am sad to say things fell short of
the mark. Rosenwinkel's such a talented, skilled guitar player, which
he showed off to great effect, particularly on the second piece which
started with a lengthy guitar solo with probably the most notes ever played
by a human being in that maybe 5-7 minute span of time. It was quite incredible,
his manual dexterity and focus. Unfortunately it wore kinda thin kinda
quickly and the heat, which heightened the pleasure of the first act's
set, worked directly against the guitar whiz antics of Rosenwinkel - who,
by the way, was wearing a hat (a toque, really, truth be told), AND a
jacket over his shirt…! Forty minutes into the set it was pass out
or leave. I chose the latter and headed downtown.
Jam Session w/ Mike Allen Trio - O'Doul's
Another night another jam session. Well, not quite. They're always different
and tonight's was the smokingest yet. Started with tenor saxist Allen,
drummer Dave Robbins, guitarist Mike Rud and oh my god there was someone
on piano and I'm completely blanking right now… hey, was it Bob Murphy?
I think so. A nice line-up of players wanting in on the action developed
quickly and early, and it was the most diverse I've seen (or heard reported)
so far this Fest. Too many to mention (did I mention yet how late it now
is and how I had about 3.5 hours sleep last night?), but those I must
mention are some guys who I believe are possibly members of Al Green's
band, and/or members of Phat Hed -in for shows Wednesday night. Lots of
others (including Zetterberg Hot Five) in for the hang - have I mentioned
how cool it is that the bar gets so crowded that spillover happens upstairs,
and way into the 'back' of the restaurant? The other 355 days of the year,
it's us and them - fine diners upstairs and jazzers downstairs at the
bar. What a delight to have the whole joint taken over by people who want
to hear the music, play the music or just be in on the scene. Back to
the stage. Much was overshadowed by the remarkable talent of vocalist
Alita Dupray, who had stuck around for a bit after her concert earlier
that night at O'Doul's. I haven't heard Dupray in a while and had been
meaning to, so I lucked out. She delivered a traffic-stopping, mouth-gaping,
stunning, torch rendition of "Why Don't You Do Right" and a
hugely swinging, huge-voiced "All Of Me" that featured some
great interplay with the instrumentalists (Lisa Miller-piano; Bruce Nielsen-drums;
James Forrest-bass; and Nathaniel from Seattle (I did it again - last
name anyone?). Wow. I remember being impressed at her natural gift when
I first heard her a few years back, but man what she's doing with it now!
She's a knockout performer with a major gift. My head is still shaking
in disbelief at what I heard tonight. A hell of a way to end the night.
As I walked down the block on the short stumble home, I could hear the
sax ripping it up behind me and it made me smile. Exciting live jazz emanating
onto the streets late on a warm summer night - that's how it should be
all the time. In a perfect world.
Addendum
My faithful editor/publisher (you know, Nation) stuck around O'Doul's
til the bitter end last night (HE didn't have to go home to write this
piece) and beyond and shortly after I left, five or six or seven members
of Al Green's band took over the bandstand for a couple of tunes before
Alita joined them for a perfect and astounding (and he says) ass-pounding
rendition of the Green classic "Let's Stay Together" that had
the whole club transfixed, rocking, clapping and altogether on a higher
level of existence heretofore unknown west of Birdland, that lasted till
2am. Of course, he didn't call ME to tell me to run back from my home
TWO BLOCKS AWAY to hear this. But I'll forgive him. Someday.
Got your own opinion on what went down? Visit the Jazz Forum.
Day 5
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
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Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender, Planet Jazz, and Coda Magazine.