Number 7 2002 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary
Day 2 - Saturday, June 22, 2002
Whoa, morning already. Forgot to set alarm. Up at 12:30. PM. Yikes. Fly down to where it’s at in Gastown to catch last 30 minutes of Fredrik Lundin Overdrive. Nice stuff, but with a band of that size (11 piece) was left waiting for the overdrive part to kick in. No waiting for the thrill of the ride down at the other end of Water Street where the Ornette Coleman tribute project To Be Ornette To Be played next. Brad Turner on pocket trumpet, Jon Bentley on alto sax, Darren Radtke on bass and Bernie Arai on drums and microphone were all in excellent form and put on a smashingly energetic show that was, without a doubt, the hit of the day in Gastown. Who’d a-thunk Ornette Coleman was so perfect for a hot, sunny afternoon in the great outdoors? This terrific foursome made it so. Awesome to hear Bentley (who’s studying in London) again after a year, especially sounding so ‘on’. TBOTB pumped me up for Atomic, and they delivered a solid kicker of a show on that funky new rocker of a stage at the east end of the street. They were, as they say in Winnacunnit, NH, “wicked good”, bordering on out-of-control furious energy. Huge and satisfying.
Heavy cats applying a lighter touch on some tunes down at the other end equaled the Mike Murley/Ian Froman Quartet, with Toronto trumpeter Kevin Turcotte and bassist André Lachance. Nice ballads and a couple of original tunes with a healthy dose of what we want from such talented players: solos! I like Turcotte’s playing more and more each time I hear him, he’s got beautiful tone and a strong lip to get him there.
The Western Front was calling and I obeyed cause it was Tony Wilson, and this is no slight to the musicians he plays with, but I’ll go hear that guy anytime anywhere no matter who else is involved, and the great part is, the who else involved usually involves other great players. (Phew.) Jesse Zubot, violin; François Houle, clarinet; Dave Say, tenor sax/flute in a balanced quartet of two strings, two winds, made for a beautifully matched group and sound. There’s a beautiful gentleness and a hopefulness that’s almost childlike weaving through Wilson’s melodic and often melancholic music that seeps into your very being. There’s soul in every note and these gifted and serious musicians are perfect conduits for that experience. Stunning in that sneak-up-on-you stealth bomber kind of way, silently, slowly, but always right on target.
Was going to race back to Gastown for the Mystery Groove Band which proved such a thrill last year (remember? Soulive funkin’ it up big time, then the wildness that rang through the crowd when Scofield stepped on stage to join them?), but refused to break the spell I was happily under until I really had to. So, what better than to continue under the magical vibe of beautiful soul music than the head-shakingly unbelievable Kenny Werner up at Capilano College? Hoped to catch Werner’s set with a very busy Brad Turner (trumpet), André Lachance and Dylan van der Schyff, but arrived in middle of his set accompanied by a put-together version of Cap College’s vocal group NiteCap. Must confess that I thought it would be nice, but nothing earth-shattering, and found myself most pleasantly surprised and even thrilled by how highly suited Werner’s gorgeous lullaby ballads and dreamy melodies were to the uplifting, almost spiritual voices of NiteCap. I’m talking goosebump-inducing performance here, people. Oh how you should wish you were there! And oh how glad I am that I was! And, of course, Werner’s performance was typically heartbreakingly stunning. There aren’t many players I wish would go on for days, but he’s one of them. He’s like a man possessed by gentle spirits who want not to haunt, but convey messages of love and beauty and peace – hmmm, the world could use more Kenny Werners.
Caught a few tunes of Werner with Turner, Lachance and van der Schyff, enough to know it was gonna go places with Turner sounding fantastic with great, clear ringing tone, but I had to go before I wasn’t able to tear myself away to check out some of Charlie Haden’s Nocturne. Walked into a very mellow, sleepytime concert at the Vogue, and was immediately knocked out by David Sanchez’ impossible control on the tenor sax. His beautiful, consistent tone at such a low volume simply blew my mind. About that violin, though… great player, but it felt like too much of a jolt amongst all the mellow mellowness of the dreamy musical proceedings.
Finished the night with Ab Baars Trio (Baars, saxes; Wilbert de Joode, bass; Martin van Duynhoven, drums, plus François Houle and cellist Peggy Lee at Studio 16. Arrived to a huge crowd (where was everyone the night before?) and needed to chill out with a beer. Could hear music in outer room (aka the bar) and it was heavy. Unfortunately, too heavy post-major-mellowness of the evening, so could only get it up to listen from the chair I arrived to and never left for the duration. Wish I’d had the energy to face it head-on, which is what it would’ve required, but, alas, didn’t have it in me. The sweaty, spent–looking peeps trickling out of the room confirmed the show lived up to its promise as a major knock-out. Feel a bit of regret for not going in, but you gotta go with the moment and the moment said, ‘No, sit, hang, catch up with friends. It’s all part of this amazing festival experience’.
Until next time, thanking my lucky musical stars!
Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
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Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender and Coda Magazine.