Coastal Jazz | Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Dream Baby Dream (short film)
2026-07-01 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Vancouver) | Revue Stage, 1601 Johnston Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6H3R7, Canada
Dream Baby Dream is a 20-minute experimental film produced by Jazzfest Berlin that explores the intersection of music, collective memory, and trauma through movement. Directed by a ten-person creative collective, the project was filmed at iconic Berlin locations like the Gropius Bau and the former Tegel Airport with the participation of sixty community members. The film serves as a visual and poetic journey, blending avant-garde performance with the “inner and outer landscapes” of its diverse cast.
This show will also feature a performance by Immix.

Immix
2026-07-01 17:00 - 19:00
With a sound world that embraces the magnetism of bodies, the emotions of late-capitalist hearts, and the dreams of ghosts and angels, Immix’s songs dance between the vulnerability of the human voice and the potential of an emergent vocabulary hidden within the glitch and grain of synthesized voice.
The burgeoning solo project of Robyn Jacob–a composer, performer and educator who has worked with Grammy-winning ensembles Third Coast Percussion and Sō Percussion, Chor Leoni, and others–Immix sees Jacob exploring voice and harmonizer alongside Olive Shakur double bass, Nico Whitworth double bass, Haley Bird oboe, and Liam Hockley bass clarinet.
This event will also be screening the short film Dream Baby Dream.

Talking Pictures with Fredrik Ljungkvist
2026-07-01 21:00 - 23:00
“Treading the blurry line between new music and jazz, Talking Pictures excels in juxtaposing sonic textures.” – Ottawa Citizen
Formed in 1993 by guitarist/composer Ron Samworth (NOW Orchestra, DarkBlueWorld), the wide-ranging sonic palette and ecstatic, empathic interplay of Talking Pictures has had a massive influence on Vancouver’s creative music community. They’ve also played a vital role as West Coast cultural ambassadors through their extensive touring and collaborations with the likes of Robin Holcomb, Achim Kaufmann and Wayne Horvitz.
Featuring Peggy Lee cello, Bill Clark trumpet/EWI, and Dylan van der Schyff drums/percussion alongside Samworth, Talking Pictures will be joined by Fredrik Ljungkvist, the innovative Swedish saxophonist/clarinettist whose “playing can be fiery and expressive, but also fragile and poetic” (All About Jazz). A member of LSB Trio and Atomic, Ljungkvist has worked with international heavyweights like Ken Vandermark, Kris Davis, Mats Gustafsson, and many others.

Steve Gunn "Music for Writers”
2026-07-02 17:00 - 18:00
“Peaceful, empathic, atmospheric. Gunn paints aural pictures to wander through.” – The Big Takeover
Steve Gunn is a New York-based guitarist and songwriter who has been at the vanguard of American experimental and guitar-oriented rock music for over a decade, and close listening reveals the influence of blues, folk, ecstatic free jazz, and psych in his continually unfolding output. In 2025, Gunn released Music for Writers, his first official solo instrumental album, on Three Lobed Recordings. The release highlights his ongoing exploration of tone, atmosphere, and composition, and as Pitchfork said, it “aims to inspire creativity and reflection, to ignite synapses, to spur you along in whatever writerly endeavor you might be undertaking. It’s meant to exist somewhere between atmospheric and meditative.”

Patrick Shiroishi and Nick Yacyshyn with Lee Hutzulak (live visuals)
2026-07-02 21:00 - 23:00
Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Patrick Shiroishi’s discography is as dizzying as it is diverse, including solo work, collaborative releases, and guest appearances with Chelsea Wolfe, Dirty Projectors, Che Chen and claire rousay. Of the many configurations Patrick works in, sax+drums is his favourite, and for this VIJF show, he’s excited to be playing with his dear friend Nick Yacyshyn in a duo setting for the first time.
Vancouver-based drummer Nick Yacyshyn is best known as part of experimental metal group SUMAC, whose rare mixture of brutal heaviness and free jazz-inspired fluidity has included collaborations with Keiji Haino, Caspar Brötzmann, and Moor Mother. Although rooted in extreme music subgenres, Nick’s dynamic approach brings a common thread of deep musicality and curiosity to each of his chosen projects.

They’ll be joined by Lee Hutzulak, who utilizes live cameras, misfit lenses, a fishtank, spray bottle, lenticular plastic, broken bits of mirror, crystals, and an assortment of light sources to create compelling, shape-shifting projections. When not making experimental projections, Hutzulak is a noted musician who leads Dixie’s Death Pool, improvises in a variety of combinations, and provided the beautiful artwork for this year’s Festival.

Tony Wilson Flowers for Albert
2026-07-03 17:00 - 18:00
“Trane was the father, Pharoah was the son, and I am the Holy Ghost.” – Albert Ayer
Albert Ayler was one of the most influential and polarizing innovators of 1960s free jazz. Although he died in 1970, at just 34 years old, his unbridled playing style, “ungovernable sounds”, and emotional searching inspired subsequent waves of jazz improvisers, while “his boundless approach to creativity and the parameters of sound would also resonate with those in noise, hardcore punk, and other experimental circles” (All Music).
Guitarist Tony Wilson has been inventing and reinventing on the West Coast creative music scene since the 1980s, and his playing has spiritual kinship with Ayler’s transcendent melodicism and ecstatic eruption. Wilson started Flowers for Albert back in 1992, and over the years the project has featured a Who’s Who of great Canadian and international players. The 2026 Vancouver International Jazz Festival sees Wilson debuting a brand-new configuration featuring James Meger bass, Kenton Loewen drums, Feven Kidane trumpet, and Ruthie Ha saxophones.

Wendy Eisenberg Viewfinder
2026-07-03 21:00 - 23:00
Brooklyn-based guitarist, vocalist, composer, and 2026 Coastal Jazz Artist in Residence Wendy Eisenberg’s Viewfinder is a sprawling and sublime creative response to her laser eye surgery procedure and new visual life. An elusive song cycle that encompasses free jazz, post-rock, beauty, fallibility, questioning, seeing anew, and the unseen, “what’s most striking about Viewfinder is Eisenberg’s ability to crystallize their complex, nuanced thoughts about the limits of perception without creating new dogma in the process” (Pitchfork).
Recorded at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 with a lineup that featured rising NYC artists Tyrone Allen II, Zekereyya el-Magharbel, Andrew Links, Carmen Q. Rothwell, Booker Stardrum, and Chris Williams, for this special VIJF performance Eisenberg will be joined by West Coast creative lights Dan Gaucher drums and electronics, JP Carter trumpet and electronics, and Nebyu Yohannes trombone, as well as former Vancouverites Sean Cronin bass and Cat Toren piano.
“What’s notable is that Eisenberg, who has in the past proven to be more than capable of shredding, doesn’t necessarily step out in front of the band; their intricate, textural guitar playing acts more as a canvas for the group to fully colour in.” – The Quietus

TIME FLIES
2026-07-03 23:30 - 2026-07-04 00:00
Coastal Jazz co-founder Ken Pickering started the TIME FLIES series back in 1988. In 2001, German bassist Torsten Müller had moved to Vancouver and began co-curating TIME FLIES as “company-style” improvising ensembles of local and visiting artists playing in various configurations through the evening—duos, trios, and whatever combinations sparked interest. While Derek Bailey’s renowned company approach was about instigating intriguing conflicts, Torsten’s focus is on assembling complementary players and cultivating connection. A “summit meeting” of improvisers, TIME FLIES calls on acclaimed adventurers from around town and around the globe, mixing emerging artists with veterans of the jazz, avant-garde, and creative improvisation communities.

The 2026 edition will feature Müller as well as Coastal Jazz Artist in Residence Patrick Shiroishi saxophone; Toronto-based saxophonist Karen Ng; Lina Nyberg, one of Sweden’s most creative and innovative jazz vocalists; vanguard Brooklyn-based guitarist Steve Gunn; Australian accordionist Anthony Schulz, who has performed with Barre Phillips, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and more; Aysha Dulong, who works with acoustic and electronic instruments in a hybridized model to explore how sound can embody lived experiences; and JUNO Award-winning West Coast violinist Meredith Bates (Gentle Party).

Spirits Rejoice: The Music of Louis Moholo-Moholo
2026-07-04 17:00 - 18:00
Returning to Vancouver after several years in Berlin, pianist Tyson Naylor leads a ritualistic, high voltage tribute to Louis Moholo-Moholo, the legendary drummer, composer, and pillar of South African Jazz. Though primarily associated with the creative music scenes of Vancouver and Toronto, the group’s members have strong ties to European free jazz and improv, and approach Louis Moholo-Moholo’s music as living repertoire: porous, political, and joyous. With acclaimed, Toronto-based alto saxophonist Karen Ng, JP Carter trumpet, Dan Gaucher drums, and James Meger bass, Naylor traces lines between South African liberation music, European free jazz, and Canada’s creative music scenes, while favouring collective risk, ensemble sound, and urgent, celebratory energy.

Amina Claudine Myers "Solace of the Mind"
2026-07-04 21:00 - 23:00
“This is a musical language distilled to its essence, with Myers conjuring whole worlds from just a few perfectly chosen notes.” – The Wire
Solace of the Mind is the latest release from pianist, organist, vocalist, and newly minted NEA Jazz Master Amina Claudine Myers. The extraordinary recording – a follow up to her acclaimed duo with Wadada Leo Smith, Central Park’s Mosaic of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens, released via Red Hook Records in 2024 – stands as a testament to the uncompromising vision of a seasoned leader in creative music who’s traced a remarkable path from her beginnings in Arkansas church choirs to the forefront of avant-garde jazz. The album made Best of 2025 lists in the New York Times, All About Jazz, Bandcamp Daily, Slate, All Music, and more.
Throughout her six-decade musical journey, Myers has consistently defied conventional boundaries while drawing from her rich roots in Baptist and Methodist church music, gospel, and rhythm and blues. Featuring Myers on piano, Hammond B3 organ, and voice, Solace of the Mind is a deeply personal exploration of musical evolution, and an exceptionally expressive dialogue between tradition and modernity.

Improv Karaoke
2026-07-04 23:30 - 2026-07-05 00:00
Improv Karaoke is a monthly artist-run community event where improvising musicians of all genres and experience levels drop in, sign up, and play in new ensembles created from a freshly-drawn pool of names. Coming from a shared love of improvised music-making, Andrea Wong and Spencer Schoening had wistful conversations and ideas of gatherings where musicians of all types played together with minimal curation or need for rehearsals, and in spaces that effortlessly fostered spontaneous and collaborative playing with full artistic freedom. With the enthusiasm of many musician-hosts, Improv Karaoke currently facilitates monthly musical gatherings at 8EAST in Vancouver’s Chinatown, and at the Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Burnaby, totaling 20 gathering opportunities every year for music lovers and explorers alike.
For this Vancouver International Jazz Festival event, Improv Karaoke comes to Granville Island, hosted by Andrea Wong piano, Matthew Ariaratnam guitar, Mike Allen saxophone, Mick Bryant guitar, Nicholas Marriott guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, and Spencer Schoening drums, with Brooklyn-based guitarist and Coastal Jazz Artist in Residence Wendy Eisenberg joining as a featured guest.

Ben Brown & Stefan Christoff
2026-07-05 17:00 - 18:00
There’s a wild expansiveness to the sound of percussionist Ben Brown and pianist Stefan Christoff, an unbound and inspired collaboration that invokes light, sky, and the endless ocean. Glimpses of stillness peer through the chaotic world, and profound spontaneity takes magnificent shape. Sun 13 said of their 2025 debut In Duet, that “in much the same way Chris Abrahams, Jim White, or Mick Turner ply their trades, some artists just have a distinct playing style and sound, and Christoff is one of them. Alongside Brown, the duo conjures up something evocative here. Rich and emotive in all its twists and turns, there’s barely a moment to catch your breath.”
JUNO Award winner Ben Brown approaches percussion as an interdisciplinary art, including sculptures, extended techniques, and, above all, expressiveness in his compositions. His fellow Montréaler Stefan Christoff moves between free improv, classical, and noise, in large part because of his continuous collaborations with artists of no fixed genre, including Jarrett Martineau, Lori Goldston, and Sam Shalabi.

Qalandar with guest Neelamjit Dhillon
2026-07-05 21:00 - 23:00
A contemporary Persian ensemble rooted in classical tradition while embracing improvisation and new compositional approaches, Qalandar formed out of a weekly residency in the early 2010s and solidified as a quintet in 2016. The group draws on the distinct musical lineages of its members to weave Persian and Arabic modal traditions together with contemporary composition and free improv, and their detailed deep-listening approach has been called “mesmerizing” (Ink 19), “deeply penetrating” (All About Jazz), and “exquisite” (Musica Jazz). Built on years of shared history, trust, and what The WholeNote described as a “thrilling ability to make notes seem to hang in the air,” Gordon Grdina oud, Hamin Honari tombak, daf, Kenton Loewen drums, Ali Razmi tar, voice, and Fathieh Honari voice, are joined by special guest Neelamjit Dhillon tabla.
Thanks to Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation.
