Home | Coastal Jazz | Vancouver International Jazz Festival

FESTIVAL FLASHBACKS

SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC

Upcoming Shows

Bill Charlap

Frankies Jazz Club presents SOLO

Sunday, December 1, 2024Pyatt Hall6:00PM$40-$75

Jazz fest returns June 20 to 29, 2025

Sakina Abdou

Feven Kidane Sextet

Indigenous festival goers in 2023

From Our Blog

View All Posts

The Business of Branding a Festival

November 18, 2024Festival Memories News

A FEST FOR THE CURIOUS LISTENER

November 14, 2024Festival Memories

THE BIG DADDY OF WEST COAST FESTIVALS

November 7, 2024Festival Memories

#coastaljazz

View On Instagram

Nov 15

27 1

🎸FESTIVAL FLASHBACK 1994🎸
This week’s flashback takes us to 1994, a year that goes down in the annals of history as a pretty darn eventful one. It was the year NAFTA was established. The year a massive earthquake shook parts of Los Angeles to the ground. Woodstock turned 25 and the World Series was cancelled. In June 1994, O.J. Simpson surrendered to police after a televised freeway chase that captivated the world, while Jeff Bezos was only weeks away from launching a little website he would call Amazon.

By the time the 9th annual du Maurier International Jazz Festival began on June 24, 1994, the city was still reeling from the riots that broke out after Vancouver’s Stanley Cup defeat to the New York Rangers. The riots wreaked havoc across downtown causing over a $1 million in damages. It was a wild year.

Meanwhile, the “Big Daddy of West Coast Festivals” was on top of the world, according to Downbeat Magazine, “Having grown quickly since 1985 into one of North America’s most ambitious and exciting events (arguably the continent’s best all-purpose fest), Vancouver offers something for everyone.”

Hit the 🔗 in bio to read the rest of this story and other festival flashbacks on our blog.

About the images:
🎷 1994 Grid
🎸 1994 Guide Cover
🎺 Gastown Jazz + Jazz in the Plaza
🏔️ Vancouver in 1994

Nov 7

37 3

🎤 FESTIVAL FLASHBACK 1993 🎤
Eight years in, the du Maurier International Jazz Festival was widely regarded as one of the best throughout North America, “an achievement which contributes to the outside perception that this is an exciting musical place with a lot of talented jazz musicians living in a really stimulating environment.” (Where Vancouver) And it was, thanks to year round jazz programming Coastal Jazz produced, in addition to the annual festival.

With the increased awareness, programmers knew they could use the festival as a way to elevate homegrown talents. Co-founder John Orysik explained at the time, “What we’re doing… especially for this year’s festival, is setting up special projects where Vancouver musicians will be playing with other musicians from the States, from Europe.” (Coastal continues to curate collaborative performances between local and international festival musicians today.)

That year featured living legends tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and jazz vocalist Betty Carter, as well as John Scofield Quartet, Charlie Haden and his Quartet West, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, Hard Rubber Orchestra, Paul Plimley, and more including a young Diana Krall, who played a free show on the streets of Gastown. One name visibly absent from the calendar in 1993 was Vancouver jazz legend Fraser MacPherson, who died a few months later…

Hit the 🔗 in bio to read the rest of this story and other festival flashbacks on our blog.

About the images:
🎸 1993 Guide Cover
🎺 1993 Grid
🎷 Fraser MacPherson
🎹 Jazz at the Plaza
🥁 Gastown Jazz

Nov 4

45 0

A hearty thank you to everyone who came out for IronFest V! We are grateful for the opportunity to present such incredible artists and to once again partner with the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival. There’s still another week of @dtesheartofthecityfestival events! Go check it out.

cc:
@a_razmy
@saina.khaledi
@kentonloewen
@jessica_ackerley
@wawasonstin
@aaron.edgcomb
@kromaindrums
@nikkowhitworth
@johnnicholsonsaxophone
@thehabeshaman
@west.brodie
@nickfraserthedrummer
@taniajgill
@vancouverjazz

Nov 1

35 1

Saxophonist Brodie West is bringing his Quintet on a Western Canadian tour, making a stop at IronFest V on November 2nd 🎷The music could potentially be considered “rhythmic polytonality with a lot of heart” ❤️‍🔥 Don’t miss this Toronto-based Quintet featuring Nick Fraser and Evan Cartwright on drums, Tania Gill on piano, Josh Cole on bass, and Brodie West on sax.
🎟️ Hit the 🔗 in bio to get tickets for IronFest V: Night Two 🎟️
@west.brodie
@nickfraserthedrummer
@taniajgill

Nov 1

31 2

Tar player and vocalist Ali Razmi is performing with the Asrar Quartet at IronFest V on November 1st 🎤 The Asrar Quartet will bend Persian musical tradition with Kenton Loewen on drums, Saina Khaledi on santour and vocals and Ali Sajjadi oud/vocals, and Ali Razmi on tar and vocals.
🎟️ Hit the 🔗 in bio to get tickets for IronFest V: Night Two 🎟️
@a_razmy
@saina.khaledi
@kentonloewen

Oct 30

134 0

Guitarist Jessica Ackerley returns to Vancouver with their trio featuring Walter Stinson on upright bass and Aaron Edgcomb on drums on an exciting double bill with Ali Razmi’s Asrar Quartet 🎸 They’ll perform songs from their recently released album, All Of the Colors Are Singing, this Friday, November 1st at The Ironworks.
🎟️ Hit the 🔗 in bio to get tickets for IronFest V: Night One 🎟️
@jessica_ackerley
@wawasonstin
@aaron.edgcomb

Subscribe

Get our E-Newsletter

Subscribe to our weekly E-Newsletter - Stay in the loop about upcoming shows.

We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.

Don't miss out. Subscribe today.

×

×