By 2004 jazz music was having a major crossover moment into the mainstream. Ken Burns’ deep dive documentary Jazz came out in 2001. Norah Jones had cleaned up at the 2003 Grammy Awards with her album Come Away With Me that would go on to sell 27 million copies. UK artist Jamie Cullum’s allbum Twentysomething was released in North America in May 2004. And electronic jazzy club music was gaining traction everywhere. Call it electro-jazz, jazztronica, chill music — it all pointed to the good news of bringing in a younger demographic to a never-ending world of jazz.
In fact, youth was a big theme that year. As a Harvard sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates launched “TheFacebook” for his fellow college students, and we know what happened next. Closer to home, TD Canada Trust premiered as the Festival’s new title sponsor. Talk about a mouthful, try fitting TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival onto a sign! Without du Maurier’s cigarette money, Coastal Jazz could offer school-based programs and it wasted no time rolling out the first high school jazz intensive program, a precursor to today’s Vancouver Youth Jazz Orchestra.
The rest of 2004’s festival program was considered to be one of the strongest in years featuring artists involved in swing, bebop and post-bop, experimental music, big band, blues, hip hop, soul, rhythm and blues, and electronica. The overall attendance clocked in at 460,000 with 26 sellout shows.
“In what has become the true kickoff to summer in the city…Vancouver Jazz Festival’s 10-day event sees No Fun City turn into, well, Fun City.” (The Province)
Headliners included an icon of Canadian jazz, Oscar Peterson, in his first appearance in 19 years of the festival, as well as American heavyweights Al Green and the Aaron Neville Quintet, all at the Orpheum. Legend has it there was much to be said about the Al Green performance. “Al Green’s show caused some rare controversy at this usually chummy festival with diverging opinions on what went down. Some reported he played 50 minutes, barely sang, spent the set handing out roses to ladies in the audience and bolted for his limo the minute he put the mic down, not even stopping to consider an encore; and others reported a high-energy set that delivered the goods, and so what if it wasn’t a full hour or longer?” (All About Jazz)
Back to Oscar Peterson’s performance… friend of the Festival Jen Hodge (NY-based bassist) shared this memory on our blog back in 2020. “Oscar had with him on bass Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHØP), who 18-year-old-jazz-bass-student-Jen REALLY looked up to…. After the show was over, I scurried from my balcony seat all the way down to the edge of the stage, against the wishes of the ushers I’m sure. To my delight, NHØP actually wandered back out, and I was able to get his attention. He graciously chatted with me, and helped me climb up onto the stage to have my picture taken with him. He passed away less than a year after that concert, and I am so very grateful that I was able to hear him live (with Oscar, no less!) and tell him how much I admired his bass playing and musicianship.”
Trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas was another 2004 highlight, performing a new project called Mountain Passages and with Iron Giant Project, where he teamed up with Dylan van der Schyff for a show featuring other Vancouver musicians Chris Gerstein, keyboards/piano, Ron Samworth guitar, Torsten Müller bass, Jesse Zubot violin, Jon Bentley saxophone and Peggy Lee cello.
The Centre for the Performing Arts featured acts like Joey DeFrancesco Trio with the Charles McPherson Quartet, John Pizzarelli Quintet, Keb’ Mo’ Band with Jacksoul (who headlined at David Lam Park, above) and the Pat Martino Quintet. The Commodore hosted the Urban Grooves Series featuring artists like Jaga Jazzist with The Bad Plus (who would go on to become a Festival favourite, performing as recently as 2023) and Norwegian band Beady Belle, a techno act led by singer Beate Lech and bassist Marius Reksjo. While Performance Works hosted the New Groove Series, featuring everyone from The Bad Plus to Matt Dusk to Norwegian tenor/soprano saxophonist Hakon Kornstad’s latest project Wibutee.
Head to our Instagram or Facebook to view the entire 2004 Festival schedule.
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