By Tim Reinert
This year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival looks a little different than previous iterations but the festival’s commitment to free music hasn’t wavered. There’s over 50 free shows this year. Here are some of the ones I’m most excited about that are taking place in the second half of the festival.
William Chernoff Trio
Ocean Artworks
June 28, 4PM
If you’ve been to a jazz show in Vancouver in the last two years, chances are that you found out about it because of bassist and local writer Will Chernoff. His Rhythm Changes blog has been invaluable to local audiences, but his true talent is on the bandstand, as shown by recent appearances at Tyrant Studios, Tangent, and Frankie’s After Dark. This long-running trio has a carefully vibrant approach to Will’s original music.
Bruce Freedman’s Collage
Revue Stage
June 28, 5PM
I think the very first time I heard Bruce play would have been at the old Glass Slipper, around 1992 or so. I’ve been a fan of his incredible tenor playing ever since. His new Collage project features local favourites Josh Zubot, Jared Burrows, Clyde Reed and Kenton Loewen and has been thrilling Vancouver audiences over the last year at venues like 8East and the General Strike Coffee Workshop. This year’s Jazz Festival guidebook refers to Bruce’s sound as “controlled chaos”, and I can’t think of a better way to describe it than that.
Jessica Ackerley + KneeJerk
Revue Stage
June 29, 5PM
I first learned about this wonderful guitarist after hearing their gorgeous solo album Morning/mourning, released in 2021. As far as I’m concerned they have one of the most intriguing guitar sounds on the international free jazz scene right now, and this will be their first Vancouver performance. Jessica will be playing a double bill with Vancouver’s hottest new improvising trio, KneeJerk.
Speaking of which…KneeJerk is a new (ish) trio that straddles the line between minimalism and chaos. Although they’ve only played a handful of Vancouver dates since their debut this spring, Brian Horswill, Karlis Silins and Kenton Loewen have been working on this project behind the scenes for years. They just put out their first album Blind Painter, which was released on Infidels Jazz. That’s right… I love these guys so much, I signed them to my record label!
Laura Crema & Bill Coon
Ocean Artworks
July 01, 4PM
Having Laura Crema on vocals and Bill Coon on guitar is enough to sell out pretty much any jazz club in town. This long-time collaboration resulted in a great album last year called StringSongs, and for this special performance they’ll be joined by album collaborators Jon Bentley on tenor sax and Peggy Lee on cello, plus David Sikula on guitar. If exquisitely subtle artistry is your bag, this is your show.
Chris Gestrin Trio
Performance Works
July 01, 2PM
Chris Gestrin, Andre Lachance & Dylan van der Schyff can swing with the best piano trios in the world, and can hang in the free jazz/improv scene just as easily. They have been one of the most interesting trios on the Vancouver scene for over 25 years but haven’t played in town since their Frankie’s After Dark performance last summer. This is a rare opportunity to hear this night-legendary group.
Listen to more on this topic from The Infidels Jazz Show on Mixcloud.
