The 29th annual Vancouver International Jazz Festival began “with a musical equivalent of the Big Bang” as John Korsrud’s Hard Rubber Orchestra opened Performance Works with 20 musicians, followed by 17 musicians in Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society. It was one of many audible feasts available on the Festival’s opening night – Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood + Gordon Grdina Trio at the Vogue. Yamantaka//Sonic Titan at Fortune Sound Club. The 2014 headliner, Bobby McFerrin, wouldn’t play the Orpheum Theatre until later in the week.
The Chicago Tribune had once written, “There are essentially two categories of singers in the world: McFerrin and everybody else.” “There’s nobody in the world who can manipulate his or her voice, or create the kind of daringly beautiful music that Bobby can. There’s just nobody,” co-founder of the jazz festival, John Orysik, had told The Globe and Mail. Mr. McFerrin was a nod to the Festival’s long history too, as he was among the performers at the first full-scale fest in 1986. “What’s almost as entertaining is watching the faces of the people in the audience as they get drawn into what he’s doing. It’s incredible.”
The historic Vogue was stacked with a “who’s who” of all-star musicians: beyond Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood was pianist Hiromi, Jill Barber, Maceo Parker, and Cassandra Wilson. The legendary 96-year-old bandleader Dal Richards & His Orchestra brought memorable dance music and classic swing to the Georgia Stage at Downtown Jazz. What a treat it must have been to witness such a magical piece of Vancouver’s cultural history. Fortune Sound Club appeared on the Festival calendar for the first time, offering more indie-oriented fare like King Khan & the Shrines.
The Innovation Series at the Ironworks opened with Tony Wilson’s Reach for the Sky featuring Debra-Jean Creelman. Tony showed up again in Sun Ra’s Star System, a crop of Vancouver innovators who pay loving tribute to the interstellar imaginings of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Among the Ironworks’ other auspicious innovators were Nels Cline and Julian Lage. “Nels Cline’s sonic investigations take on a variety of forms, from the Grammy Award-winning sounds of Wilco to the Nels Cline Singers to Tim Berne and Lydia Lunch.” Guitar virtuoso Julian Lage had been recognized by All About Jazz as “a giant in the making,” and would go on to play the Festival again and again, most recently as our 2024 headliner.
More Ironworks fun included Distant Relatives led by Torsten Müeller, Peggy Lee’s Film in Music, and and Destroy Vancouver featuring Nate Wooley and DJ Olive. But there was one native Vancouverite (and Brooklyn resident) in particular that stood out in 2014, who would later be referred to as stealing the show – Darius Jones. Friend of the Festival Tim Reinert would later say, “I vividly remember so many of The Ironworks regulars having their jaws figuratively drop to the floor as they were exposed to this incredibly creative saxophonist for the very first time.”
Photos by Chris Cameron. Head to Instagram or Facebook to view the entire 2014 Festival schedule.
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Mark your calendars for the 40th anniversary Vancouver International Jazz Festival this June 20 – July 1, 2025. Catch up on all our festival flashbacks here. Do you have a great festival memory? Share your story with us.
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