2004 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary
Ok. It's really late and I'm really tired. Thank god I had to work today and saw a mere three shows that I now have to write about. Ok. Ready.
Stacey Kent - The Centre
The write-up in the program got me on this one. There's a quote there
likening her style to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald and it's cruel
to imagine anyone throwing those names around lately. Anyway, it got me,
so off I went. My initial reaction was "WOW". Her voice is astonishingly
rich, sultry, playful, textured, full, strong - you don't come across
a voice like that real often, it's true. There's a kind of 'gee whiz'
quality to her sound that's evocative of the '40s or '50s, kind of timeless,
but the kind from about 50 years ago. Her first number was "The Best
Is Yet To Come". And the girl can swing - and she very apparently
loves to swing. Talk about heart on her sleeve. Kent had a very charming
stage presence, an infectious good nature and an obvious love of singing.
All there seemed left was to wait for a ballad - I was dying to see what
she could do with a torch song. And then came "Say It Isn't So".
How much more perfect could it have been? It was breathy, with her voice
gently breaking, and very sadly sweet with her little vibrato. So there
I sat mesmerized for a couple of songs before a bit of reality snuck in.
Just a bit, though. I couldn't help but think as she swung hard through
most of her set with a couple more ballads thrown in that she was only
using a couple of gears. She has this huge gift of quite a unique voice,
and it felt like she was underutilizing it in her choice of material.
All fun songs that I love ("Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love",
"Too Darn Hot", etc.), don't get me wrong, but I'd love to hear
her do more challenging material. (That said, I haven't heard any of her
many award-winning discs, so I will have to check them out.) The other
thing that I couldn't get out of my head was just how much she sounded
like Liesl from "The Sound of Music". You know, "I am 16
going on 17…" It's uncanny. Anyway, I of all people certainly
can't fault anyone for liking upbeat music and being positive. She has
a beautiful, interesting voice that I look forward to hearing in future
ways.
Kevin Elaschuk Trio - O'Doul's
The sure thing. God it's good to have those in this uncertain world. Trumpeter
Elaschuk's gigs are always nourishment for the soul because he's an honest
and heartfelt player - you can see him feeling every bit of what he's
playing and it's all going into his horn and coming out beauty. I love
hearing him in this setting because it showcases those strengths, along
with his gifts for melody and open communication with his fellow musicians.
I arrived as they (Kevin, Paul Rushka - bass, Chris Sigerson - piano)
were heading in to their sweet, lilting take on "Lover Man"
with its expressive heart-thumping beauty and all that ailed vanished
instantly. I guess it was all about the ballad tonight, cause "I
Fall In Love Too Easily" struck a similar chord, and featured subtle
interplay amongst the musicians, particularly Sigerson and Elaschuk. Very
sweet. Oh, and it was a most pleasant surprise to find Sigerson at the
piano tonight. As someone said to me tonight, he's one of the most underrated
pianists around - and I certainly don't get to hear him enough. Post-Fest
watch for his solo piano nights on the O'Doul's regular rotation.
Jam Session w/ Mike Allen Trio - O'Doul's
I would've been content for the night to finish following the above show,
but as I started my jazz day late I was not yet ready to call it quits.
Besides, there was a jam session about to start. Allen's Trio tonight
was Adam Thomas - bass and Joel Fountain - drums plus Chris Sigerson -
piano. Jams can be kind of a weird proceeding because you really never
know what you're going to get. That can also be exciting - guess it depends
on your perspective. This night not much to worry about as a number of
players - some visiting, some recently returned to the Vancouver fold
- signed up for a slot. Notable among them were tenor monster Rob Scheps
(whose seeming enthusiasm for playing resulted in perhaps a bit much on
the volume side - I could barely hear the drummer nevermind the pianist
or bassist); the very hard-swinging drummer Morgan Childs; and a visiting
drummer named Kevin something (can't read writing to decipher last name
- anyone? Help?) who is/was at North Texas. The highlight of the set was
a tenor duel between Allen and Scheps that fired up the room and both
players, it would seem, driving them each on a mission to outdo the other.
Sometimes a little competition can be a really good thing - it's good
to be challenged. (Hmmm, maybe that's why I keep going back to 'try to
get' Lovano and the like… self-imposed challenge. Maybe.) Anyway,
the other fun part of a jam is observing how incredible it is to watch
musicians intensely watching what others who play the same instrument
do on-stage: bassists watching bassists; drummers watching drummers; saxophonists
watching saxists… etc. At any rate, it takes balls to get up there
and pretty much wing it, so I sit in admiration at them all. And goodnight.
PS Tomorrow back to crazy racing around. I've heard that Torbjörn Zetterberg Hot Five was AMAZING, so that double bill at the Cultch w/ guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel should be the place to be. But the intensely focused vocalist Kurt Elling is at The Centre and his high-velocity shows never disappoint. Then there's the "world that tumbles between depths of stark intensity and heights of giddy exhilaration" promised by Intakto at Performance Works. It hurts to have so much choice…
And… I have noticed an inordinate amount of musicians wearing ball caps on-stage. And sometimes even sports-related shirts. It's getting so you can't tell the musicians from the regular people.
Got your own opinion on what went down? Visit the Jazz Forum.
Day 4
Monday, June 28, 2004
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Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender, Planet Jazz, and Coda Magazine.