2004 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary
Morgan Childs Trio - Granville Island Market Stage
Started the day as I ended the night last night - with tenor saxist Mike Allen on stage. And what a great place for him to be - and for me to hear. The ease with which he takes to any stage is a testament to his maturity as a musician and player. He appeared just as comfortable outside amongst the flock of tourists on the Granville Island Market Stage, as he was at O'Doul's last night hosting the Jam Session, and as he seemed at his 2002 Vogue Theatre appearance. He's truly one of our jazz treasures who we're lucky to see on a year-round basis. So today he was appearing in the Morgan Childs Trio (Childs - drums; Adam Thomas - bass) and they tore into it from the get-go. You wouldn't have known Allen was hosting the jam at O'Doul's until 1:30 by his playing this set. There's kind of a neat balance of personalities going on in their triangle: Childs is the boisterous, enthusiastic (could he be anything else?) energy driving things forward, Thomas is the subtle, steadiness keeping it all together; and Allen is the colour and experience out front. The trio's penchant for perpetual swing was briefly and beautiful interrupted for an unexpected and very lovely take on Duke Ellington's "Angelica". When you cook with a steam-rising-off-them energy like these guys do, it makes sense to go with it, but I have to say it was a real treat to hear them take it down and explore some softer territory, too. Great fun and it was nice to see it so well received by an audience who may not have even been expecting to hear great jazz that afternoon during their trip to Granville Island.
Sekoya
- Gastown
Ah Sekoya. Massive, in-your-face powerhouse funky, soulful jazzed-up good times. As usual, vocalist Amalia Townsend charged the audience and scooped 'em up into her palm where they happily stayed for the entire set, whilst sneaking peeks at the dueling solos of trumpeter Kent Wallace and saxist Alvin Cornista and the rollicking goings-on behind of the kickin' Chris Gestrin on keys; Jack Duncan on percussion; Nino Dipasquale on drums; and Dan Kearley, programming. A wicked band that gets more so each time I hear them, they have a growing confidence and a force that's quite impressive. It subsides ever somewhat when Townsend leaves the stage for instrumental interludes, but certainly not due to any deficiency on the part of the great musicians. It's only because she's such a powerful and commanding presence, whether she's got her mouth to the mic or is dancing with wild abandon to the hot music engulfing and fueling her to take it up yet another notch. Nice they leave themselves lots of solo room - Cornista has always impressed, but it was Wallace who laid on the heat perfect under the summer sun this afternoon.
Crash w/ Dr. Lonnie Smith - Gastown
Had such a great time hearing these old faves plus the Good Doctor at
Thursday's launch party, hanging around Gastown for this gig was a no-brainer.
They hammered another homer with their new brand of funk that combines
guest organist Dr. Lonnie Smith's legendary gritty sound, his charismatic
warmth with Crash's rapport built up during at least five years of gettin'
funky. Co-leaders Cory Weeds (alto sax) and Jerry Cook (tenor sax) should
be very proud of the joy this collaboration has brought to so many ears
during this festival. The band (also includes David Sikula, guitar; and
Bernie Arai, drums) seems to be having the time of its life and it's a
very inviting vibe to be around. I'm betting there will be a number of
people walking around singing "Your Mama's Got a Complex" for
weeks to come. I'll certainly be one of them.
Smoke Rings - Western Front
One of the joys of the festival is the quick switch of gears necessary to maximize your festival experience, i.e. take in as much as possible without your head exploding. It was so great to head to the Front for the first time this fest, and to hear a couple of players I used to hear much more frequently. What I can't decide on is whether they disappeared or did I? At any rate, it was great to hear Masa J. Anzai (alto sax) and Joel Lower (drums) again this night, and in such an inspiring group, which is lead by electric bassist Shanto Bhattachrya and rounded out by tenor saxist/clarinetist Jeremy Page (ok, where'd he come from? Has he been here this whole time? I think I'd have noticed this great player on the scene…) The hour-long first set consisted of two pieces; one an approximately 40-minute ride of constantly escalating and subsiding intensities that managed to remain mysterious and surprising, keeping the listener guessing at their next move and bookended by some serious grooves. It was a pleasure to give in to its power and let it lead the way. The second piece was a relatively brief and pensive (bordering on disturbed) piece called "Bender Odyssey" that started with a hypnotic and melodic bass solo of about 10 minutes that could easily and pleasurably have gone on for much longer. Well-received by a good-sized audience, I highly recommend finding their next gig and then readying yourself for adventure.
The Bad Plus - Commodore Ballroom
Raced back downtown to try to catch some of Downtown NYC's finest and was lucky to catch the last piece, the group's catchy "Keep the Bugs Off Your Glass & the Bears Off Your Ass", a charged-down semi-ominous piece of contagiousness that broke my heart. If only I'd gotten there sooner to hear more! Will try to catch more Sunday night, despite my major scheduling conflict w/ Mr. Douglas.
Jaga Jazzist - Commodore Ballroom
It sounded good on paper. What it was live on stage is something I'm still not sure of. Felt something like a balloon deflating after The Bad Plus, and sounded something like nouveau hippie new age prog pop. There was a moment in the first piece where it felt like something was building and the release (and relief) from nowheresville would come, but alas, no. Onward.
Crash
w/ Dr. Lonnie Smith - The Cellar
Hard to pass up a great thing when you know it's going on across town, and such a good time was had at the two previous gigs that there was no hesitation whatsoever in flying across the bridge. Knowing also it was their last gig here before heading out on the road around B.C. clinched it. Enough cannot be said about the positive vibes emanating off the Doctor. You just want to be near him, to bask in the glow of his warmth and stock up on good karma. Wicked player and funny guy: At the end of the set (after a long day of FOUR sets of music), hilarity ensued when Dr. Smith and the band were choosing a final number. Dr. Smith said he couldn't remember the tune - although it was one of his. The band started explaining the tune and he laughed, saying he'd written the tune before they were born and here they were teaching it to him. "That's deep," he said. An absolute delight and a perfect end to a great day of music and friends.
"…She thinks she's hot, but hot she's not…"
Got your own opinion on what went down? Visit the Jazz Forum.
Day 2
Saturday, June 26, 2004
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Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender, Planet Jazz, and Coda Magazine.