By Tim Reinert
There’s an old adage that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This might be true, but thanks to our friends at Coastal Jazz, there is such a thing as a free Jazz concert. In fact, at this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival, there are literally dozens of them.
Artist Talks at Western Front
The Western Front has been home to some of my favourite Jazz Festival moments over the years, especially in the late 1990s. The Jazz Festival is back this year, with a series of Artist Talks that are absolutely free to the public. In addition to talks by artists-in-residence Sakina Abdou and Shahzad Ismaily, there will be conversations with Hand to Earth and DK O Show. Come find out what makes some of your favourite musicians tick!
New Improviser’s Studio at Western Front
One of the cooler things about this year’s Jazz Festival is the New Improviser’s Studio, a week-long educational initiative for 12 young musicians ages 17 to 24 from any musical background. This year the Studio will be led by artist-in-residence Shahzad Ismaily, with special guests Sakina Abdou, Matthew Ariaratnam, Meredith Bates, Claire Devlin, Aviva Endean, Mili Hong, Sunny Kim, and Peggy Lee. And it all wraps up on June 28th, with a special Improvised performance at Western Front featuring this year’s students.
Free Workshops at Tom Lee Music Hall
The first Jazz Festival workshop I can remember going to was at the old Tom Lee Music Hall on Granville Street in 1996, and it featured guitarist Russel Malone. Though I wasn’t (and still am not) a guitarist, the chance to get to see up close how a great musician like Malone does what he does felt so special to me. Coastal Jazz has been hosting workshops like this at every Jazz Festival since, and this year artists like Mary Ancheta, Tyson Naylor, DJ O Show, Sam Wilson, and David Stackenas will be in attendance at Tom Lee, showing us how the proverbial sausage is made.
Sounds of Youth Stage
One of the highlights of the Jazz Festival’s free programming in the last decade or so has been the two-day Sounds of Youth initiative, held on Robson Street during the first weekend of the Jazz Festival. Like previous years, both days are full of performances by some of the province’s best high school Big Bands, as well as a special show by the UBC Jazz Ensemble. This is a great way to get a sneak peak at the musicians who will be playing Frankie’s and Tyrant Studios in the future.
For more on Tim’s picks, check out this Infidels Jazz podcast episode.
