In 2005 the Jazz Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary, its second year with TD as the title sponsor. There was much to be proud of as Artistic Director, Ken Pickering, noted in the program guide. “Jazz connoisseurs often say this Festival has one of the most adventurous, balanced programs in the world.”
As he explained, it wasn’t just that Coastal Jazz had managed to attract big names like Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Oscar Peterson, Steve Lacy or Miles Davis. Over two decades, the Festival had witnessed the rise of important Vancouver musicians – Peggy Lee, Dylan van der Schyff, Brad Turner, John Korsud and the NOW Orchestra to name just a few.
“For 10 days every year, the city burrows down into the music’s marrow, lavishing attention on every little brand of whatever we call jazz today – from the modern mainstream to the avant-garde, from experiments with electronics to world music. The festival has given Vancouver’s improvised music community cachet worldwide.” (Vancouver Sun)
That mixing of local musicians with international artists for one-of-a-kind, collaborative performances was coined “scrambled eggs,“ a term written about by the Vancouver Sun’s Greg Buium. It was a concept that started from the early days the festival. Festival programmers created musical blind dates where artists were mixed and matched up into unexpected, totally improvised collaborations. These match-ups often led to long standing relationships, which led to more match-ups and more collaborations.
Your best bet to find “scrambled eggs” in 2005 would be Francois Houle’s Festival Chamber Orchestra, an hour-long composition specially commissioned for the Festival and featuring a slate of Canadian and international talents. Scandinavian sounds always went over well with Vancouver crowds who were treated to some of the hottest artists from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland – the Swedish/Norwegian quintet Atomic, Scorch Trio and Bugge Wesseltoft.
The British Invasion included London’s Dedication Orchestra at The Cultch. The 18-person group featured British heavy weights like saxophonist Evan Parker, trombonist Paul Rutherford and vocalist Phil Minton paying tribute to exiles from apartheid South Africa the Blue Notes. For the dance crowd, England’s DJ Bonobo appeared on a double bill with Diplo at the Commodore.
Diana Krall headlined opening weekend with back to back shows at The Orpheum – a long way from her early days playing a free stage in Gastown. The Brad Turner Trio opened for Krall on Friday; Laila Biali Trio with Phil Dwyer played Saturday. Cesaria Evora also played The Orpheum with opening act Madeleine Peyroux.
The lineup at the Centre for Performing Arts featured pianist Bill Charlap Trio playing “Music of Leonard Bernstein,” Dave Holland Quintent, Dianne Reeves, Bill Frisell Band, Daniel Lanois, and Mavis Staples, who’d appeared at the festival in 1992 with the legendary Staples Singers. The Commodore’s Urban Groove Series included The Bad Plus, nine-piece groove U.K. outfit The Herbaliser, and Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, who also headlined the David Lam Park stage.
The 20th anniversary festival drew an estimated 510,000 people in attendance, with 31 shows on the calendar selling out. The Ironworks premiered as new late night venue, taking over from previous late-night spot Studio 16, and became an instant audience favourite.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary, Coastal Jazz commissioned an artwork by Eric Metcalfe, as seen on the cover of the official program guide (above). A well-known visual artist and jazz aficionado, Metcalfe referenced his lifelong involvement with the ‘form’ of jazz improvisation as well shared regional symbols and icons such as birds, fish, forests and Native art. Metcalfe was also one of the eight original founders of the Western Front, a longtime partner of the Jazz Festival.
Head to our Instagram or Facebook to view the entire 2005 Festival schedule.
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Mark your calendars for the 40th anniversary Vancouver International Jazz Festival this June 20 – 29, 2025. Catch up on all our festival flashbacks here. Do you have a memorable festival memory? Share your story with us to win a 2025 Jazz Fest experience.
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