Like most of the venues at this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Pyatt Hall’s 2022 line-up is a diverse and varied bunch. We’ve got everything from jazz legends to young Juno winners, and they’ll all be playing at one of the best-sounding rooms in the city, hidden in the middle of downtown Vancouver. There are two performances per night, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
For almost three decades, the Brad Turner Quartet has been thrilling audiences at large and small venues across Canada. On June 24, they’ll be joined by original drummer Dylan van der Schyff for the first time in several years, as well as Canadian saxophone legend Mike Murley.
Winnipeg’s own Jocelyn Gould wowed Burnaby residents in February when she performed at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts — clearly demonstrating to the all in attendance why she won a Juno in 2021. She’s making her TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival debut on June 25, with her own band full of Canadian heavy hitters.
Has anybody made more of a splash on the international jazz scene in the past few years than saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins? He has released two staggeringly good albums on Blue Note, received press from the New York Times and NPR, and is now leading a great band of up-and-comers in concerts all over the world. You won’t want to miss his show at Pyatt Hall on June 27.
Peggy Lee playing cello is a wonderful thing. Peggy Lee playing her own compositions on cello, backed up by some of Vancouver’s best, is an even better thing. For both of her June 28 shows, she’ll be performing her devastatingly beautiful original music, accompanied by Ron Samworth, Tony Wilson, Dylan van der Schyff, Brad Turner, Jeremy Berkman, Jon Bentley, and André Lachance.
Carl Allen made every drummer in Vancouver weep with jealousy when he recorded and performed here last fall with bassist John Lee. For his shows on July 2, he’ll be joining a large ensemble conducted by Jill Townsend, and filled with some of Vancouver’s very best, including Steve Kaldestad, James Danderfer, and Dave Say on saxophone, Brad Turner and Julian Borkowski on trumpet, Brian Harding and Brad Shigeta on trombone, Chris Gestrin on piano, and John Lee on bass.
Pianist Cat Toren hasn’t been able to travel from her home in Brooklyn to play Vancouver much lately, for obvious reasons. For her shows on July 3, she’ll be joined by some of her old Vancouver colleagues for the first HUMAN KIND performance here in several years, and she’ll be showing us why she was a cornerstone of the local scene for so long.
Eight performances are offered as part of the Jazz at Pyatt Hall series (843 Seymour Street, Vancouver), the festival’s home of all things straight-ahead, bebop, and modern jazz. All shows feature an early 7:30 pm start followed by a 9:30 pm late show. All tickets are $42.00, including service charges at www.coastaljazz.ca.
— by Tim Reinert
Listen along to The Infidels podcast to hear samples of music from artists playing at this year’s festival.
