The annual Sunday concerts at the Pender Harbour Jazz Festival, four acts for four hours for $20, is as good value as it gets. Sadly, it was raining on Sunday morning, Sept. 18, and I was sitting in a darkened community hall instead of outside in the sunshine. The wet weather tends to discourage jazz-loving visitors.
Artistic director Carole Rubin noted that the numbers were a little down this year especially for the paid events.
"We offer so many free events that folks don't realize the very few ticketed events need their supportto keep the Festival a goin'," Rubin said. "It's something we will be looking atin 2012."
Out of the 29 performances at the 15th annual festival, only four were ticketed; the rest were free to the public, supported by a host of local businesses. To move all 91 musicians across the water to the Coast, plus provide vans for their instruments, can become expensive. This year, musicians arranged their own transportation, but Rubin said they are still well taken care of.
Despite the weather, the hall was full for the first act on Sunday, Santa Lucia.
This Afro Cuban jazz group has two percussionists and a rhythm pounding underneath the sax and guitar that you can't miss, even if you were up late dancing to the Juno award-winning Toronto band Fathead, in the same community hall the night before.
Santa Lucia was followed by something a bit more mellow, Monik Nordine.
It's no coincidence that her band is named Departure, featuring the excellent keyboard of Brent Jarvis, because the music transports. When Nordine blows sax, it makes you feel like flying, resting on a wave of sound.
"The closest I can come to describing the style is 'spirit jazz'," Rubin said.
Nordine pauses to tell the audience that she remembers performing with a big band in this hall back in the 1990s in the early days of the festival, and it's a reminder that the festival has matured, yet has not changed that much. Rubin's goal for the festival is simple.
"By ensuring as many different styles as possible are offered each year, we want to draw inthe ears and hearts of people who never believed they liked jazz," she said.
The accomplished Oscar Hicks Sextet is nightclub quality and romantic - the kind of music that should find me slow dancing with my sweetie. But the aroma of a barbecue organized by Off the Hook Seafoods interferes with the music. It smells delightful: choice of salmon, scallops, oysters with Japanese salad and corn on the cob - a big step up from the usual grilled burgers and fried onions.
Van Django, the gypsy jazz band, is on stage next with tunes written by Django Reinhardt as well as the group's own compositions. The acoustic string ensemble is made up of four of Canada's talented musicians: violinist Cameron Wilson, guitarist Budge Schachte, guitarist/cellist Finn Manniche and bassist Brent Gubbels. They're technically terrific and hugely entertaining. The mood evokes nights in Paris and the 1930s Hot Club of France. More smoochy music. It makes me wonder about intimate venues for dancing. Perhaps the restaurants would offer that.
Festival events are also held at the Painted Boat Resort, the Pender Harbour Golf Club and the Garden Bay Dining Room. The Grasshopper has a well-used dance floor in its restaurant, and the festival acts that play there tend to be on the lively side. That night, the Grasshopper featured Santa Lucia and accompanied the music with the pub's free chicken barbecue.
Sunday's acts were difficult to follow, but a five-minute trip on the Slo-Cat passenger ferry across the harbour to the Garden Bay Pub is my best bet.
Coast musician Gaetan is a regular on Sundays at the pub, and last Sunday he hosted a jam joined by various festival musicians. The place was packed, and it stayed packed through the guitar and vocal duo of Bradley/McGillivray in the dining room and for the wrap-up party that night with traditional popular guest Doc Fingers on keyboard.
This year, the festival tried a new fundraising idea by offering a Kool Kat sponsorship status. Fifteen local people supported the arts by buying in to some first-in-line perks and a chance to own a limited edition print donated by Garden Bay artist Motoko. Bruce Milne was the winner of the artwork. Keep in touch with the jazz festival's next line-up on www.phjazz.ca.
