The tunes may be old, but the mood was new.
Generations intermingled at the fifth annual Festival of Wind Music last weekend at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse, presented by the Sunshine Coast Music Society and B.C. Ferries.
Friday evening's entertainment opened with the Creek Big Band under the leadership of Blaine Dunaway. As the festival's master of ceremonies Sue Milne pointed out, last year the teenage Elphi Jazz Band included older musicians among their ranks. This year the senior Big Band included a few younger students who fit in easily: Tyson Doelker on guitar, Riley Van Luwen on trombone and Nathan Campbell on percussion. Alex Cloherty couldn't help but smile as she contributed to the bass section with Boyd Norman. After a couple of slow tempo tunes from yesteryear, such as Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo, the band caught their magic moment on a number that featured Val Anderson on vibes, guest performer Walter Martella on trumpet and some serious percussion.
Another guest performer, student Henri Wood, played saxophone with the Big Band then came on stage as a special guest of the next act, the duo of Anna Lumiere and Graham Ord known as Anagram.
Recently returned from Switzerland, the couple was obviously overjoyed to be back on the local stage and played a diverse program including a tune from local artist Celso Machado and the very lovely Abidan by John Zorn. Wood and Ord blew a duet on their saxophones to the eccentric jazz piece Tips by Steve Lacy.
On Saturday evening, the Suncoast Concert Band opened the show under the active baton of François Koh. Once again, guest students Kirsten Calder-Sutt and Karl Petersohn joined the band.
The performance seemed to rush through the program rather quickly without pausing to enjoy the highlights that included the resounding Grand March and a lovely arrangement of West Side Story tunes. It's a good thing there will be another chance to hear this band soon at Tutti, a community orchestra production April 16 and 17 along with two choirs. Koh will be performing again April 8 to 9 in a guitar and violin concert with Dominic Woo.
The Jazz Group of Seven got my vote for the best bundle of talent. Carl Montgomery with his tenor sax was sublime, first in Friday's Big Band concert, and again on Saturday with this group of proficient musicians. John Fredrickson, as spokesperson for the group, performed on trumpet along with Dunaway, on a Fredrickson original, Blues for Anna. Trombone was by the adept Bryan Airth, alto saxophone by popular performer Ken Grunenberg, excellent keyboards by Ken Dalgleish with percussion from Tim Enns.
Several of the tunes, notably a Miles Davis' tune, So What, were arranged by the group's bassist, John Parker Toulson. Whether because of Parker Toulson's arrangement, the mellow sax or the evening's mood, the romantic '50s tune The Real Thing by Gerry Mulligan and Mel Torme, became another magic moment that sent the audience into cheers of delight. As Milne commented later, the only part missing was the ballroom dancers.
On Sunday, the return of the ever-popular Little Mountain Brass Band, 35 musicians from the Lower Mainland, closed another successful festival.
