Home | Coastal Jazz | Vancouver International Jazz Festival

ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN

SUPPORT US

2024 FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL FLASHBACKS

Upcoming Shows

IronFest V: Night One – Asrar Quartet + Jessica Ackerley Trio

IronFest V

Friday, November 1, 2024The Ironworks8:30PM$35 plus fees

IronFest V: Night Two – Kevin Romain’s Salience Network + Brodie West Quintet

IronFest V

Saturday, November 2, 2024The Ironworks8:30PM$35 plus fees

Eric Reed

Frankies Jazz Club presents SOLO

Sunday, November 10, 2024Pyatt Hall6:00PM$40-$75

Bill Charlap

Frankies Jazz Club presents SOLO

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

See you in June 2025 for our 40th Festival

Feven Kidane Sextet

Veronica Swift

Crowd shot Festival 2024

Garret T. Willie

From Our Blog

COASTAL CREATES A MUSICAL UNIVERSE

October 1, 2024Festival Memories News

PROGRAMMING THE FESTIVAL WITH PURPOSE

September 25, 2024Festival Memories

GETTING THE KEYS TO THE CITY

September 18, 2024Festival Memories News

#coastaljazz

View On Instagram

Oct 3

40 1

🎺 FESTIVAL FLASHBACK 1989 🎺
By 1989, Coastal Jazz had four jazz festivals under their belt – three with du Maurier sponsorship – and had made an indelible mark on Vancouver’s cultural scene. Vancouver Magazine wrote, “In just five years, they have brought the music out from its bohemian shadows and into the big time, with an annual jazz festival that is one of the most adventurous in North America…”

Last week we shared how the festival’s early intentions to program a wide variety of jazz, blues and creative music were, in fact, intentional. The Vancouver Sun wrote, “one look at the program can have a dedicated listener swooning,” but still, the calendar was accessible to the less initiated. In fact, the options were abundant, with 400+ artists featured over ten days. The Commodore hosted shows nine of those nights…

Read the rest of the story on our Festival Memories blog which you can find at the 🔗 in bio!

About the images:
🎺 1989 Guide Cover
🎸 1989 Grid
🪐 Sun Ra who performed at the 1989 Festival photo 1989 by Chris Cameron
🎹 Wayne Horvitz who performed at the 1989 Festival AND the 2024 Festival photo by Matt Taylor

Oct 2

37 3

“The arts are a joyous pursuit of the impossible - to bring our imaginations into the physical, and to shape the world around us into a representation of ourselves and our thoughts.”

With the upcoming election, it’s a good time to address the current state of government funding for the arts. Since the pandemic, a quarter of Canada’s arts organizations have closed their doors, and many more are struggling to remain operational. Ticket revenues, corporate sponsorships, and individual giving have all declined, while operational costs continue to rise.

That leaves government funding as a critical lifeline to sustain arts organizations like Coastal Jazz.

Despite these challenges, the demand for the arts has not diminished. In fact, they are more necessary than ever. Free and accessible events like the Vancouver International Jazz Festival are vital to fostering community, supporting local artists, and maintaining cultural traditions, while also driving home the economic benefits of a thriving arts sector.

Add your voice to the conversation. Do you believe government funding for the arts is crucial for our community’s cultural development? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a 🎸❤️‍🔥 below and hit the 🔗 in bio to join our letter writing campaign and have your voice heard!

Sep 26

27 2

🎷 FESTIVAL FLASHBACK 1988 🎷
Imagine, it’s June 1988…
❄️ Calgary just hosted the Winter Olympics in February.
⚒️ The Soviet Union had just collapsed.
🔥 The movie Die Hard was not yet considered a Christmas movie. In fact, it was still weeks away from dominating the summer box office.

And from June 24 to July 3, Coastal Jazz embarked on its third annual du Maurier International Jazz Festival with a lineup that included “a little that’s obvious and a lot that’s valuable.” (The Globe and Mail). Over 350 artists were featured from France, Senegal, Brazil, Switzerland, England, Germany, Australia, US and across Canada. Today, we can easily take for granted how special it was then to see obscure acts from the other side of the world, such as headliner Youssou N’Dour of Senegal, who had recently collaborated with Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, and would go on to work with every big name under the sun.

Only a few years in, the festival had already gained a reputation for its adventurous, obscure programming, and that was very much on purpose…

Read the rest of the story on our Festival Memories blog which you can find at the 🔗 in bio!

About the images:
🎷 1988 Guide Cover
🎹 1988 Grid
🏔️ Vancouver Circa 1988
🎸 1988 Artist pictures from a news article
🎺 J.J. Johnson was on the 1988 Lineup

Sep 24

54 0

⚒️ Announcing IronFest V ⚒️
We are thrilled to be bringing back IronFest this year on November 1 & 2 at The Ironworks! It’s our annual tribute to improvisational music, in collaboration with the Downtown Eastside @heartofthecityfestival. This year’s lineup features a selection of musical luminaries, mystic poets, avant-garde improvisers and veteran Vancouver players with back-to-back double bills at The Ironworks. Tickets are $35 per night plus fees OR you can purchase our bundle ticket which will save you $10 and get you into both nights 🎉 Tickets are now available for donors, and will be available to the public this Thursday, September 26. Hit the 🔗 in bio for more, and scroll down for lineup info!

⚒️ IronFest V: Night One – Nov 1 | Asrar Quartet + Jessica Ackerley Trio ⚒️
The Asrar Quartet are Iranian folk and classical music luminaries. Ali Razmi (tar/setar/vocals), Saina Khaledi (santour/vocals), and Ali Sajjadi (oud/vocals) bend Persian musical tradition with the addition of veteran Vancouver drummer Kenton Loewen.
@a_razmy @saina.khaledi @kentonloewen

Jessica Ackerley is a Canadian guitarist, improviser, and composer currently on tour promoting their latest release All Of the Colors Are Singing. The trio features Jessica Ackerley on electric guitar, Walter Stinson on upright bass, and Aaron Edgcomb on drums. @jessica_ackerley

⚒️ IronFest V: Night Two – Nov 2 | Kevin Romain’s Salience Network + Brodie West Quintet ⚒️
Salience Network is a modern jazz ensemble led by drummer/composer Kevin Romain. Dramatic, spontaneous creation and razor-sharp precision come together on stage with Romain’s longtime collaborators Jeff Gammon on bass, John Nicholson on tenor and soprano saxophones, and Feven Kidane on trumpet.
@kromaindrums

Brodie West is a Toronto-based saxophonist and composer and a tireless creative force—both within jazz spheres and well beyond them. West’s quintet features two drummers – Nick Fraser and Evan Cartwright – along with pianist Tania Gill and Josh Cole on bass.
@west.brodie

Sep 19

75 4

By 1987, Coastal Jazz and Blues Society had set the standard for the presentation of jazz and blues music in the Pacific Northwest. The City of Vancouver officially commemorated the week of June 26th "du Maurier International Jazz Festival Week,” citing the commitment of Coastal Jazz & Blues Society to the "promotion, growth, development, dissemination, and enjoyment of jazz and blues music in Vancouver."

Meanwhile…

🌈 The US had just approved AZT to be used in the treatments of AIDS
☕️ Starbucks opened their first international location in Vancouver
🎩 The Loonie made its debut, making it easier for Canadians to tip their local busker

It was a good year for Coastal Jazz financially speaking, too. With du Maurier as the title sponsor, and contributing about $300,000 in cash and promotional support, not to mention other cash and in-kind sponsors, they were feeling flush. Then the federal government kicked in…

Read the rest of the story on our Festival Memories blog which you can find at the 🔗 in bio!

Sep 12

77 6

Last week we initiated the first in a series of jazz festival flashbacks, highlighting the inaugural event in 1985. Let’s roll forward a year, shall we?

Top Gun was the summer’s hottest movie. 🎬 The band Boney M released The Best of 10 Years album, while a boy group called New Kids on the Block were birthed in a recording studio. 🎼 But the biggest news was that Vancouver was hosting the World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, aka Expo 86. 🚇 The city had spent millions transforming itself with new buildings and pavilions, not to mention the new SkyTrain, in preparation for millions of visitors.

After a successful prototype the year before, the newly founded Coastal Jazz and Blues Society had secured major funding (more on that later) to make good on their promise to host an annual music festival. The event was rebranded with the main sponsor’s name in the title - du Maurier International Jazz Festival.

The lineup was fierce. Over 120 performances topped by headliners Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis and Ornette Coleman. There was a birthday tribute to Benny Goodman led by Canadian vibraphonist Peter Appleyard. Other performers included Tito Puente, South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, Bobby McFerrin, the Cedar Walton Trio, Bill Frisell, and even…

Head to the 🔗 in bio to read the rest of the 1986 Festival Flashback on our blog.

About the images:
🎷 1986 du Maurier International Jazz Festival cover and grid
🎺 1986 Festival lineup including Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Tito Puente, and Bobby McFerrin
🎤 1986 Festival Lineup including Birthday Tribute to Benny Goodman, Ornette Coleman and Prime Time, Ganeline Trio, and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters
🚆 Princess Diana checking out the new Skytrain at the 1986 Expo

Have a favourite Festival memory? Join the conversation on Instagram, Facebook or X @coastaljazz or DM us if you have an amazing story/photos from past festivals that you want us to share! ❤️

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.

×

×