Tag: vancouver

Help Us Preserve Vancouver’s Cultural Jazz Legacy

By Nina Horvath

Opening Night audience Vancouver Jazz Festival 2023 By Matt Taylor June 23rd 215-DSC04968

Today is Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving and unity. It’s a day where we come together to support causes we believe in.

I’ve been with Coastal Jazz for just over two years now as the Executive Director and I’m still just as excited about what we do as when I first applied. For me, Coastal Jazz is unique for the amount of accessible world class music it presents, and the intentional community building and support of local talent it provides.

For over 38 years, Coastal Jazz has been a cornerstone of Vancouver’s cultural and musical landscape, fostering community, inclusivity, and artistic excellence. Each year we welcome approximately 300,000 audience members to over 200 free and ticketed performances of jazz, blues and beyond. But did you know that Coastal Jazz is a nonprofit? We rely on the generous support of individuals like you to continue our mission.

That mission, of course, is in its fullest expression at our annual Jazz Festival, where this year we presented 162 shows over 10 days and 19 venues. Fifty of those shows were free to the public.

We demonstrated our commitment to presenting diverse artists with 51% of shows led by female or non-binary artists and 45% by self-identified IBPOC artists. The overall estimated economic impact of the festival this year was $20 million, a significant driver in the Vancouver arts and culture scene. We supported several successful partnerships with organizations such as Full Circle, Queer Arts, Vancouver New Music, The Western Front, NOW Society, VIFF, Capilano University and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation. 

Our commitment to education continued with the return of the High School Jazz Intensive, where students auditioned for a spot in an afternoon big band show at Performance Works. We welcomed our latest Artist in Residence Pura Fé along with many others who participated in our artist-led workshops at Tom Lee and Western Front.

We rely on the generous support of individuals like you to continue our mission. Would you be willing to donate $10, $25, or even $50 to support our work? 

By supporting Coastal Jazz, you’re preserving the cultural jazz legacy of Vancouver, celebrating its artistic diversity, and ensuring that our music scene remains vibrant for generations to come.

Artist Interview: Itamar Erez

To celebrate his live-to-tape Frankie’s Jazz Club performance, we spoke with Itamar Erez about about touring, the best musical advice he’s ever received, and teaching on Zoom!

Itamar-Erez-Quartet-02-23-2020
What has music-making looked like for you during the pandemic? Has anything changed about your personal practice?

Since the pandemic I’ve been more active online. Apart from the Vancouver Jazz Fest live streaming I did recently with my trio (thanks to everyone at Coastal for this!), I also played a live streaming duet show from my studio (with Kevin Romain on drums) for the TD Niagara Falls Festival, and even did one ‘real’ gig with my quartet at the Firehall Arts Centre in September which was a lot of fun!

I have just completed writing a piece for ‘Sound Of Dragon Ensemble’ (which I’m also part of) and I’m very curious to hear how it sounds. It’s written for 8 instruments, including traditional Chinese instruments such as the Erhu, Ruan, Dizi, ad well as flute, guitar, cello and percussion.

Teaching has been interesting—online teaching on Zoom now opened up the possibility of teaching students from around the world, which has been very gratifying.

What have you been listening to lately?

Most recently I have been listening to different interpretations of one of my favourite songs, ‘Answer Me, My Love’. I have known Joni Mitchell’s version of it from the ‘Both Sides Now’ album, with the incredible orchestral arrangements of Vince Mendoza. But I just discovered Keith Jarrett’s version of that song  from the newly released album ‘Live from Budapest’. Keith’s version is especially heartbreaking in light of the news of his stroke and the fact that he may never play the piano again…

Also discovering the music of Dan Tepfer (watching his live Facebook performances) has been great, as well as the music of NYC based saxophonist and composer Mark Turner.

Other than music, is there anything you’ve been doing in your day-to-day life during the pandemic that’s been fulfilling to you?

Being with my family has been really special as well as talking to my family abroad on Zoom during this intense time. I have also started practicing Movement Flow which is a unique movement practice here in Vancouver.

Who are some of your favourite BC musicians?

First of all the musicians I collaborate with regularly here in Vancouver—I’ve been lucky to play with such amazingly creative and open minded people as François Houle, James Meger, Kevin Romain and Jeff Gammon.

Apart from that, I am a big fan of Peggy Lee’s music, and of musicians such as (Peggy’s husband) Dylan Van der Schyff and Tony Wilson. There are so many good musicians here!

When the pandemic is over, what’s the venue you’re most excited to return to playing in?

I’m excited to go back to touring, playing in Europe again would be amazing! I toured there exactly a year ago and it feels like such a long time ago. I’m being hopeful… Also playing last year at Performance Works during the jazz festival—would love to play there again!

What’s the best musical advice you’ve ever been given?

Practice slow!!!!

This special pre-recorded live performance was available for two weeks after its stream date. It is now available to donors above $50 as part of our performance archive. If you are interested in seeing it and have the means to support us through this difficult period, please make a donation.

Artist Interview: Malleus Trio

In advance of the premiere of their live-to-tape performance, we spoke with Malleus Trio about silver linings, staying safe, and magical moments of music.

Malleus Trio. Left to right: Geordie Hart, Ben Brown, and Dominic Conway.
What has music-making looked like for you this year? What, if anything, has anything shifted in your personal practice?

Like everyone, we’ve been trying to adapt and stay safe so writing sessions and rehearsals have been some combination of outdoors/masked/distanced. We’ve put in more time to sifting and sorting through previously accumulated demos and sketches. There’s gold in them hills!

Who are some of your favourite BC musicians?

That very, very long list definitely includes Peggy Lee, Hugh Fraser and Bruno Hubert.

Can you share one of your favourite musical memories?

We released our latest album, Play Nice, at The Cultch last summer. We all grew up going to shows there and it’s been the site of many a formative musical memory. To be on that stage, playing our music for a full house was beautifully surreal.

Is there anything you’re working on this fall/winter/into next year? If so, can you tell us about it?

We’re currently constructing our third album and that will be the focus for us in the next stretch.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when the pandemic is over?

Go dancing.

Do you think the pandemic has brought about any positive change for music/musicians in general or for you as musicians personally?

It’s tough to see any at the moment. So we’ll answer instead with the positive change we hope and believe could come out of all this: a reappraisal and renaissance of live music in society.

Lastly, what was your favourite moment of the Frankie’s set?

There’s a section during “Half Full” that is meant to start as an open duet. At one point, the sax and drums hit the same figure at the exact same time, completely unplanned. After 13 years together, these moments between the three of us aren’t uncommon but that doesn’t preclude a few goosebumps on stage.

This special pre-recorded live performance was available for two weeks after its stream date. It is now available to donors above $50 as part of our performance archive. If you are interested in seeing it and have the means to support us through this difficult period, please make a donation.