What: 35th Annual TD Victoria International Jazz Festival
When: June 22 through July 1
Where: Various venues, including the Royal Theatre, McPherson Playhouse, and Dave Dunnet Theatre
Tickets: Available at the Victoria Jazz Society, Lyle's Place, the Royal McPherson box office and
Not only do good things come to those who wait 鈥� they also come to well-run festivals.
The TD Victoria International Jazz Festival enters its 35th year this week, a run of success equalled by few of its ilk in sa国际传媒. The non-profit festival is reportedly the third-longest continuously running jazz festival in the country, after jazz festivals in Montreal and Ottawa. 鈥淲e beat Vancouver by one year,鈥� Darryl Mar, the festival鈥檚 founder and executive producer, said with a laugh. Mar 鈥� as humble as they come 鈥� credits his staff and team of 250 volunteers with much of his success.
鈥淭hey have made it easy for me.鈥�
The festival is back in business for 2018 with another 80 performances spread over 10 days. Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony (June 22), the Spanish Harlem Orchestra (June 26), Macy Gray (June 27), and St. Paul and the Broken Bones (June 28) occupy the headlining slots at the Royal Theatre, with dozens more at nine secondary venues. The programming is a mixture of blues, funk and bluegrass, with an over-arching adherence to jazz.
鈥淚 always make a point of including over 50 per cent traditional jazz elements in our festival,鈥� Mar said. 鈥淚t seems to be a bit of a trend in the last three or four few years, where festivals are staying away from mainstream jazz, looking for more commercial acts. I understand those acts pay for the bills, but we like the integrity of our jazz festival.鈥�
The names that draw attention 鈥� Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, for example 鈥� are quite often booked because they can sell tickets, which gives producers like Mar the opportunity to be creative in other areas. Funk freaks Ghost-Note (who play Centennial Square on Sunday) and former guitar prodigy Julian Lage (Dave Dunnet Theatre, June 27) are two acts he expects to turn some heads with their radical sets.
Mar has always had a preference for booking some artists based not on what they draw today, but what they can draw in the future. That is the case with Macy Gray, who appeared at the festival in 2013, when she was putting her formerly successful career back together, in a limited showcase capacity (Gray had also struggled with mental health issues, and her show with David Murray was reportedly staged as a baby-step in her recovery). Mar liked what he saw, and has made several concerted efforts to bring Gray back to the fold in the years since.
He tried to book her as a headliner for the 2017 festival, but she wasn鈥檛 available. His luck came through this year: Gray will headline the Royal Theatre on June 27, a performance that is just 30 tickets shy of being sold out.
Johnny O鈥橬eal is another 鈥渁rtist with an interesting story,鈥� according to Mar. The pianist, who performs at The Rubber Boot Club on June 29, was a rising star in New York during the early 鈥�80s, and drew comparisons with everyone from Art Tatum to Oscar Peterson. Openly bisexual, O鈥橬eal was mugged outside his Harlem apartment in 1986, which prompted him to leave New York for 20 years. He contracted HIV in 1998, according to The New York Times, which nearly killed him.
When he returned to performing, he did so with a verve that began earning him strong notices from critics.
Mar said he could see the gifted singer-pianist 鈥� or someone like him 鈥� become the new leaders at jazz festivals across the country. The mantle needs stocking. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenge,鈥� Mar said of his willingness to book mainstream jazz. 鈥淭he legends of jazz, performers who were prolific in the 鈥�50s and 鈥�60s, they are dying off. It鈥檚 a challenge to get jazz artists who are household names now. Who鈥檚 left?鈥�
Best of the Fest 鈥� Five must-see acts
1. Ghost-Note. This intergalactic funk group from Texas winds down its quartet of Canadian jazz festival dates with a must-see outdoor appearance this weekend. With help from bass virtuoso MonoNeon, fans looking for a wild dance party will find one at Ghost-Note鈥檚 junction of futuristic funk and fun. (June 24, Centennial Square).
2. Morgan James/Jamison Ross. These two young stars of the jazz scene make for an appealing twin bill. Both are steeped in jazz, but James (who rose to fame with the pop-leaning Postmodern Jukebox) and Ross (who is known primarily for his groundbreaking drumming) reach their destinations via alternate routes. (June 25, McPherson Playhouse).
3. St. Paul and the Broken Bones. The big buzz act of the festival will not disappoint; not only is the Alabama band鈥檚 throwback sound positively authentic, frontman Paul Janeway will have Otis Redding diehards hearing double. The Rolling Stones once hand-picked the group as their opening act, which tells you all you need to know. (June 28, Royal Theatre).
4. The Jerry Douglas Band. Nashville鈥檚 dobro king entered the mainstream in 2000 with the rest of his compadres on the
O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, but Douglas was no rookie. The 14-time Grammy Award winner has put in decades of high-calibre country and bluegrass work. He鈥檒l shine brightly next week. (June 29, McPherson Playhouse).
5. Johnny O鈥橬eal Trio. A talented singer and pianist who has played with Art Blakey, Ike Turner, and Stan Getz, the
61-year-old Detroit native has a story fit for the silver screen (self-taught, he became the darling of 1980s New York, before disappearing for 20 years). He鈥檚 back in the spotlight, and will undoubtedly wow audience seeing on the Island him for the first time. (June 29, The Rubber Boot Club).
