Coastal Jazz | Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Raincity Blue
2018-06-29 20:00 - 23:00 (America/Vancouver) | Ouisi Bistro, 3014 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Raincity Blue crosses vintage aesthetics with contemporary sounds, blending together powerful vocals, sultry saxophone, and feel-good rhythms. Based in Vancouver, BC, the five-piece ensemble integrates influences from funk, soul, jazz, and R&B.

Keith Bennett & Miles Black Pay Tribute to Toots, Stevie, and Beyond
2018-06-29 20:00 - 23:00 | Presentation House Theatre
A quartet of esteemed jazz musicians—Joel Fountain drums, Andre Lachance bass, Miles Black piano, and Keith Bennett harmonica—fête Stevie Wonder and Toots Thielemans with a harmonica-heavy homage.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters
2018-06-29 20:00 - 23:00 | Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5N6, Canada
Though Robert Plant has returned to the Welsh borders, he retains the sensibility—and the soul—of an itinerant troubadour. His diverse musical points of reference stand out like pins on a map, from Austin, Texas to Timbuktu, Mali. Plant treasures transience.
On his second Nonesuch album, Carry Fire, Plant reflects on the experiences, the emotions and the sounds of where he’s been, and he ruminates on where he—and our world—might be headed. Bittersweet songs of love remembered and of time passing, are juxtaposed against cautionary tales, of people and nations that have failed to learn the familiar lessons of history.
“I’ve filled many British passports,” says Plant. “It’s like I’m just moving through the spheres. I feel like a mariner who has spent so much time in so many different ports of call, experiencing so many different adventures and scenarios. So perhaps this collection is more ‘pictures at twelve’ rather than ‘pictures at eleven’.”
“May Queen” starts the album on an upbeat note, percussive psychedelic folk, with Plant’s vocal alternating between seductive and yearning. “Carry Fire,” on the other hand, is a kind of haunted desert blues, bolstered by a pulsing rhythm, ghostly backing voices, and a viola chasing the melody of an electric oud. The anthemic rock beat of “New World” visits the everlasting story of immigration, expansion and the disastrous effects on existing cultures. “Carving Up The World Again” is a more contemporary glimpse of “trouble at the border” and the futile palisades and walls. The sole cover is a pounding, trip hop-style take on Ersel Hickey’s 1957 sweet and simple rockabilly hit, “Bluebirds Over The Mountain,” reconceived as an otherworldly duet for Plant and the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, two iconic voices that intertwine beautifully.
Once again Plant collaborates with the Sensational Space Shifters, his well-matched band of brilliant, eclectic players with whom he’s been touring, on and off, since 2002: longtime guitarist Justin Adams, keyboardist-programmer John Baggott, bassist Billy Fuller, drummer Dave Smith, and guitarist Liam “Skin” Tyson. Collectively, the group—which evolved out of an earlier Plant backing combo, Strange Sensation—has its roots in folk and world music, and the still-influential Bristol Sound of Massive Attack and Portishead, propelled by the juggernaut Howling Wolf/Led Zep legacy.
Even before they’d developed a repertoire of their own, Plant and the Space Shifters had a unique live sound, a heady mix of American roots music, Celtic folk, reverberating trip hop, and hypnotic Middle Eastern and African grooves. They employed this sonic arsenal to reinterpret old blues standards, Led Zeppelin classics, and Plant’s earlier solo work at festivals and on concert tours. That exploratory approach became the foundation for Plant’s acclaimed 2014 Nonesuch debut, lullaby…. and the Ceaseless Roar, his first album of original compositions since 2005.
On Carry Fire, Plant and the Space Shifters make what Plant calls “a mélange a trois”: “It’s a very British thing, the Bristol thing and then the element of North African and West African drum rhythms brought together with plaintive melodies.” Plant added a new voice to this polyglot sound by inviting fiddle and viola player Seth Lakeman, a luminary of the British folk scene, as a guest star on these sessions, much as he did with Gambian musician Juldeh Camara, on lullaby.
While Plant wrote the words, the group collectively brainstormed the basic tracks, encouraged by Plant to bring the same sense of fearlessness and spontaneity they display on stage. As guitarist Justin Adams told the New York Times, Plant “can create an atmosphere where suddenly lightning is more likely to strike. In collaborative music, it’s often not a question of careful writing and composition and all these sorts of things. It’s more the spirit of the moment when things come together in a flash. And he’s an expert on that.”
“Some things were really spontaneous.” Plant corroborates. “I’d been singing ‘Bluebirds’ live with the band for a while. I approached Chrissie because I wanted a female voice. It’s such a retro-esque part for her, a 1957 rockabilly song… and now we’ve screwed it to the ground and put it through the Bristol sonic mill. That one came straight away. And ‘Carry Fire’ was very immediate. Justin has a beautiful electric oud line from which it developed. I’m inspired by the rhythmic grooves we create. We specialize in hypnotic moments of atmosphere and sounds. And of course there’s the bendir”—a North African hand drum—“underneath many of these rhythms”.
Plant produced the album himself with contributions from all the musicians, with the help of engineer Tim Oliver, who was also on board for lullaby. With Oliver, Plant assembled layers of backing vocal tracks. They provide a lushness to the otherwise brooding “A Way With Words,” enhance the dreamy sensuality of “Season’s Song,” and help to dial up the romantic drama of “Dance With You Tonight.” Plant even uses some unlikely pop harmonies to serve as counterpoint to the main voice on “New World.”
“We recorded it in a studio next to Peter Gabriel’s ‘Real World,’ not far from Bristol and Bath in the West Country. It’s a real hive of industry there. Working alongside the main studios, we’d encounter many artists from around the world. It’s an inspiring atmosphere. You meet Welsh singers, African players from Niger, and American Bluegrass goddesses passing through. It’s a creative place”.
Plant has never been an artist to rest on his laurels. He’s a multiple Grammy Award winner, most recently for Raising Sand, his collaboration with Alison Krauss; as a member of Led Zeppelin, he’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; and, in a 2011 Rolling Stone poll, readers named him the top rock vocalist of all time. On the closing track, “Heaven Sent”—a song he calls “the anthem of my being”—he describes a restless, journeying spirit: “All that’s worth the doing is seldom easy done/All that’s worth the winning is seldom easy won…”
“It’s about intention,” said Plant of his latter-day career and his current work. “I rejoice in my previous work but must continue the journey to new worlds, after all there are so many songs that are yet to be written. The whole impetus of the band has shifted, moved on its axis somewhat to allow more air and light to come in. Ultimately that makes for more exciting, and interesting landscapes of mood, melody and instrumentation.
–Michael Hill

Chad Makela Quartet
2018-06-29 20:30 | Tangent Cafe, 2095 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Two shows: 8:30 & 9:30 PM

Drip Audio Night feat. Fond of Tigers
2018-06-29 21:00 | The Imperial, 319 Main St, Vancouver, BC, Canada
With
(in order of appearance)
SICK BOSS
Ken Vandermark & Jesse Zubot
Peregrine Falls
Fond of Tigers

Ken Vandermark & Jesse Zubot
2018-06-29 21:00 - 23:00 | The Imperial, 319 Main St, Vancouver, BC, Canada
With SICK BOSS, Peregrine Falls, and Fond of Tigers
Virtuoso Chicago multi-reedist Ken Vandermark is an ardent sound explorer, who has worked with creative music giants Peter Brötzmann, Kris Davis, and Hamid Drake. BC violinist and Drip Audio label head Jesse Zubot has been honing his improvisational voice for over two decades. His singular creativity can be heard with Tanya Tagaq, Fond of Tigers, and on cutting-edge film scores.

SICK BOSS
2018-06-29 21:00 - 23:00 | The Imperial, 319 Main St, Vancouver, BC, Canada
With Ken Vandermark & Jesse Zubot, Peregrine Falls, and Fond of Tigers
“SICK BOSS consistently delves deep beyond musical boundaries, blurring borders between genres, and scenes.”– Discorder Magazine
Drawing from creative improvisation, folk, and Hendrix, guitarist Cole Schmidt’s sweeping, cerebral originals are taken to unexpected places by Vancouver sonic all-stars Peggy Lee cello, JP Carter trumpet/FX, James Meger bass/FX, Dan Gaucher drums/FX, and Jeremy Page sax.

Peregrine Falls
2018-06-29 21:00 - 23:00 | The Imperial, 319 Main St, Vancouver, BC, Canada
With Ken Vandermark & Jesse Zubot, SICK BOSS, and Fond of Tigers
“Modern jazz for metalheads” – The Georgia Straight
JUNO-nominated Peregrine Falls is the uncannily symbiotic duo of genre-busting Vancouver guitarist Gord Grdina and ferocious drummer Kenton Loewen. Call it post-jazz. Or free-punk. Or just let it take you on a fretboard-igniting, drum demolishing thrill ride through serpentine back roads, blindfolded.

Fond of Tigers
2018-06-29 21:00 - 23:00 | The Imperial, 319 Main St, Vancouver, BC, Canada
With Ken Vandermark & Jesse Zubot, SICKBOSS, and Peregrine Falls
The Georgia Straight named Fond of Tigers’ JUNO Award-winning third album one of the “50 albums that shaped Vancouver”, while DownBeat put the seven-piece’s latest album on its Best of 2017, giving it 5-star “masterpiece” status while praising its “brilliant and beautifully intense” symbiosis of art-rock, interstellar sonics, complex rhythms, and idiosyncratic melody. With two drum kits, guitar, bass, keys, and wildly effected violin and trumpet, Fond of Tigers is a sonic phenomenon; “descriptions of their sound are next to impossible and essentially pointless” (Herohill).

Samuel Blaser Trio featuring Marc Ducret and Peter Bruun
2018-06-29 21:30 | The Ironworks, 235 Alexander St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6A 1C2, Canada
“More than just excellent” –Concerto Magazine
To witness Swiss-born, Berlin-based trombonist Samuel Blaser’s multi-national trio is to be in the presence of forward-thinking masters of extended technique, engaged and uncompromising free jazz, and ambient abstraction. A highly innovative free player, Blaser is “one of the most globally recognized performers on his instrument” (Berliner Zeitung). With Danish drummer Peter Bruun (Django Bates), and expressive French guitarist and longtime Tim Berne collaborator, Marc Ducret, Blaser creates chamber jazz compositions with all the adventure and unexpectedness of free improv.
Thanks to Pro Helvetia.

Aram Bajakian & Julia Ulehla
2018-06-29 23:00 - 23:55 | The China Cloud, 524 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Guitarist Aram Bajakian and vocalist Julia Ulehla pay homage to traditional Moravian folk music with fragments of poetry and verse transcribed over 100 years ago by Ulehla’s great-grandfather, a biologist and legendary ethnomusicologist. An experiment in how traditional songs grow when transplanted to new lands and new times.
Late Night Shows at The China Cloud, 524 Main Street, 2nd Floor, 11pm, $15 at door only. No Minors.

Ken Vandermark, Kenton Loewen, James Meger
2018-06-29 23:50 - 2018-06-30 01:00 | The Ironworks, 235 Alexander St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6A 1C2, Canada
Renowned composer, improviser, and MacArthur Fellowship (aka “Genius Grant”) recipient Ken Vandermark has a “room-filling, spectrum-cramming, mountain-moving tonal presence” (NOW) on his arsenal of woodwinds. With formidable chops, Vandermark is a modern master. The Chicagoan is joined by JUNO-winner Kenton Loewen, who is one half of daring punk-jazz duo Peregrine Falls, one tenth of avant-Arabic ensemble Haram, and one hell of a drummer! James Meger is an in-demand bassist and intuitive collaborator in projects such as SICK BOSS, The Bruno Hubert Trio, and The NOW Ensemble.

David Lam Park Jazz Weekend
2018-06-30 | David Lam Park Main Stage, Pacific Bouevard & Drake Street, Vancouver, Canada
Join us for a free weekend of jazz! Music of the world in Yaletown’s back yard. Indoor and outdoor stages, kids activities, food trucks, licensed bars, and more.
DAVID LAM PARK MAIN STAGE:
Saturday, June 30
12PM – Only A Visitor
1:45PM – Cory Weeds – Let’s Groove: The Music of Earth Wind & Fire
3:30PM – Ilhan Ersahin, Dave Harrington & Kenny Wollesen Trio
5:15PM – Queer as Funk
7:00PM – Tanga
8:45PM – Raashan Ahmad
Sunday, July 1
12PM – TD High School Jazz Intensive Band
1:45PM – Aerialists
3:30PM – Angles 7
5:15PM – Sr. Mandril
7:00PM – Bend Sinister
8:45PM – Red Baraat
For information on the full David Lam Park lineup, including Roundhouse performances and workshops, please download the schedule below.
DOWNLOAD FULL SCHEDULE
Thanks to our partners at EasyPark. Heading to David Lam Park? Lot 22 at 1180 Mainland in the alley off Davie Street has added stalls, and is basically total secret! Download the EasyPark map here.
DOWNLOAD MAP

Riding your bike? The Bicycle Valet will hook you up with FREE, safe bicycle parking – valet style of course! Find this amazing service on the grassy knoll off Drake Street, thanks to TransLink.

Only A Visitor
2018-06-30 12:00 - 13:00 | David Lam Park Main Stage, Pacific Bouevard & Drake Street, Vancouver, Canada
Vocalist/pianist Robyn Jacob’s eclectic avant-pop compositions and adventurous vocal arrangements evoke Bjork and Dirty Projectors. With drummer Kevin Romain, bassist Jeff Gammon, and singers Emma Postl and Celina Kurz, Only A Visitor is “one of the most fascinating and singular musical projects to come out of Vancouver in recent memory” (Discorder Magazine).

The Underdogs
2018-06-30 12:00 - 14:00 | Granville Island Public Market, 1669 Johnston Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6H3R9, Canada
Burning electric bebop from Vancouver sextet The Underdogs. With a double-guitar, double-sax attack and a smoking rhythm section, The Underdogs pay tribute to the heavy sound of Paul Motian and the Electric Bebop Band, with a nod to the iconic style of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

Ben Henriques Quintet
2018-06-30 12:00 - 14:00 | Roundhouse – Volvo Exhibition Hall, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
Saxophonist Ben Henriques has been making a name for himself in the jazz scenes of Montreal and Vancouver. His clear, emotive tone leads a lively and daring band through swing, bebop, and some surprising rock-tinged escapades. An adventurous thrill ride with Tristan Paxton guitar, Conrad Good bass, Dan Reynolds piano, and Omar Amlani drums.

Coco Jafro
2018-06-30 13:00 | Civic Plaza (North Vancouver), 126 14th St W, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7M 2M9, Canada
The 2017 CBC Searchlight Top 10 Finalist and 2016 WCMA Urban Artist of the Year nominees’ “main goal is to play infectious grooves that get you to dance” (Victoria News).

Jessica McMann
2018-06-30 13:30 - 14:30 | British Columbia
A Cree musician, contemporary dancer and choreographer, Coastal Jazz’s Indigenous Artist-in-residence Jessica McMann is also a classically trained flutist with a focus on contemporary music, jazz, and improvisation. Her recent compositions and soundscapes explore Indigenous identity and history. She has been dancing fancy shawl and hoop dance for 17 years, and her work, both traditional and contemporary, has been seen at festivals across Canada and Northern Europe. She works regularly with Elijah Wells, a Blackfoot animator, to bring the stories of Transgender, Two-Spirit, and Queer persons alive. She is a Laureate of the Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Awards. Thanks to the BC Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Wabi - Chris Gestrin & Bernie Arai
2018-06-30 13:30 - 14:30 | Roundhouse – Performance Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3, Canada
Celebrated Vancouver jazz masters Bernie Arai drums and Chris Gestrin piano explore shibusa, the Japanese aesthetic principle of simple, subtle, unobtrusive beauty. Longtime musical compatriots in numerous ensembles, Wabi strips bass from the traditional piano trio format to create duets that explore incompleteness, sparse quietude, and the beauty of imperfection.
Door entry: $10 cash only
Part of the Weekend Innovation Pass: Only $32 for all six concerts!

Jillian Lebeck Trio
2018-06-30 13:30 - 15:30 | Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R8, Canada
One of the most original and exciting voices on the Canadian jazz scene, Vancouver pianist/vocalist Jillian Lebeck is influenced by artists as diverse as Carla Bley, Bill Frisell, Elliott Smith, and Björk. She spins stunningly original instrumentals and artful vocal numbers with Paul Rushka bass, Julian MacDonough drums.

Cory Weeds - Let's Groove: The Music Of Earth Wind & Fire
2018-06-30 13:45 - 14:45 | David Lam Park Main Stage, Pacific Bouevard & Drake Street, Vancouver, Canada
This quintet swaps the sinuous vocals of Philip Bailey and the rollicking bass lines of Verdine White for Cory Weeds’ rich, poised alto saxophone and the low, soulful growl of Nick Peck’s Hammond B3 organ for a fresh West Coast take on the iconic music of Earth Wind & Fire.

Lindha & Fabian Kallerdahl
2018-06-30 15:00 - 16:00 | British Columbia
Lindha Kallerdahl’s voice is “like a little bit of every kind of sound that a person can make” (Vice). One of Sweden’s most groundbreaking jazz singers, Lindha has worked with William Parker, Sonic Youth, and performance artist Marina Abramovic. Jazz in Sweden award-winning pianist Fabian Kallerdahl is known for his intelligent, adventurous playing in MUSICMUSICMUSIC, and as founder of Sweden’s leading jazz/improv label, HOOB records.
Lindha and Fabian will give a one hour workshop around their artistic process.
You can see Lindha and Fabian perform on July 1, 1:30pm at the Roundhouse Performance Centre as part of our Innovation Series. MORE INFO
Thanks to Swedish Arts Grants Committee.

Waxwing
2018-06-30 15:00 - 17:00 | Roundhouse – Volvo Exhibition Hall, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
“…a gentle trip into the unknown.”—The WholeNote
Three pillars of the Vancouver creative music scene—guitarist Tony Wilson, cellist Peggy Lee and saxophonist Jon Bentley—in daring, conversational collaboration. Waxwing’s tonal elegance and fierce improvisations offer “a treasure-trove of melody, emotion, and masterful musicianship” (Georgia Straight).

Peter Van Huffel's GORILLA MASK
2018-06-30 15:15 - 16:15 | Roundhouse – Performance Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3, Canada
“GORILLA MASK has created the perfect gateway drug into jazz for Henry Rollins fans.”—Something Else
While their pummelling odd-time grooves, searing melodies, and explosive improvisations skirt the edge of total sonic chaos, hard-slamming Berlin rock/metal/free jazz trio GORILLA MASK somehow maintain full control of their beastly sound. All About Jazz calls Canadian ex-pat Van Huffel “one of the most intense performers” on the alto sax, and he brings visceral and intellectual fire to the gritty avant power trio’s heavy rhythms. With Roland Fidezius bass/effects and Rudi Fischerlehner drums, Peter Van Huffel’s GORILLA MASK is divergent, subversive brilliance.
Thanks to Goethe-Institut, Canada Council for the Arts.

Door entry: $10 cash only
Part of the Weekend Innovation Pass: Only $32 for all six concerts!

Ilhan Ersahin, Dave Harrington and Kenny Wollesen Trio
2018-06-30 15:30 - 16:30 | David Lam Park Main Stage, Pacific Bouevard & Drake Street, Vancouver, Canada
With drummer Kenny Wollesen (Tom Waits, John Zorn, Norah Jones) and Dave Harrington (of electronic duo Darkside) guitar/bass/electronics, New York-based Swedish/Turkish saxophonist and impresario Ilhan Ersahin captures the vibe of impromptu, cross-pollinating, and heavily grooving late-night jam sessions at Nublu, his “East Village Club where everything goes” (New York Times).
Thanks to Consulat général de France à Vancouver, Bureau Export and La Sacem-Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs, et Éditeurs de Musique.

Eric Revis
2018-06-30 16:30 - 17:30 | British Columbia
2017 DownBeat Rising Star Eric Revis is one of the most innovative and in-demand bassists of his generation. Working with Branford Marsalis’s hard-hitting quartet since 1997, he’s lent his deep, woody tone and agile melodicism to collaborations with Andrew Cyrille, Darius Jones, and Nasheet Waits, in addition to recording seven brilliant albums as a leader.
Eric will give a one hour workshop about his craft.
You can see Eric perform with his quartet on June 30, 9:30pm at The Ironworks as part of our Innovation Series. The group also features multi-reedist and tireless explorer of advanced methods of improvisation Ken Vandermark (Peter Brötzmann, Hamid Drake), DownBeat rising Star pianist Kris Davis (Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson) and Chicago Underground co-founding drummer Chad Taylor (Derek Bailey, Marc Ribot). MORE INFO
This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Joshua Zubot, Valentin Ceccaldi, Sylvain Darrifourcq
2018-06-30 17:00 - 18:00 | Roundhouse – Performance Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3, Canada
Before relocating to Vancouver in 2017, violinist/violist Joshua Zubot was a fixture in Montreal’s music community working with Ratchet Orchestra, Sam Shalabi, and The Barr Brothers. He’s now made himself at home in the genre-defying West Coast improv scene, where he explores jazz, classical, folk, and beyond. Alternating between knotty plucking and fire starter bowing, French cellist Valentin Ceccaldi lays down grooves rivalling the heaviest of bassists, while the pointillist and playful Sylvain Darrifourcq’s abstract drumming keeps audiences in thrilling suspense.
Thanks to SPEDIDAM France.
Door entry: $10 cash only
Part of the Weekend Innovation Pass: Only $32 for all six concerts!

Queer As Funk
2018-06-30 17:15 - 18:15 | David Lam Park Main Stage, Pacific Bouevard & Drake Street, Vancouver, Canada
Hot horns, a super tight rhythm section, and killer vocals! Queer As Funk brings together some of Vancouver’s best (and best-dressed!) musicians for an explosive, high-energy dance party. Their wildly popular and super fun performances are jam packed with classic Motown, funk, and soul, plus phenomenal takes on contemporary favourites.

Eli Davidovici's Shapes
2018-06-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Roundhouse – Volvo Exhibition Hall, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
Moving from repetitive, trance-like grooves to shimmering, amorphous textures, emerging Vancouver bassist/composer Eli Davidovici’s Shapes embraces the vast creative potential of constant flux. Featuring Mili Hong drums, Mike Bjella sax, Dan Reynolds piano, and guitarist Tristan Paxton, Eli Davidovici’s Shapes moves listeners through ever-shifting environments and sweeping moods.

Tanga
2018-06-30 19:00 - 20:00 | David Lam Park Main Stage, Pacific Bouevard & Drake Street, Vancouver, Canada
“The most relevant, most refreshingly contemporary expression of Latin groove music, not just in the Pacific Northwest but in the scope of the global genre.”—WorldBeat International
From old Havana to modern Vancouver, this West Coast collective blends Latin funk, electronica, hip hop, and salsa to create the hottest grooves around.
