The 15th annual Gibsons Landing Jazz Festival got off to an early start a week prior with a few well-attended events at local restaurants. But Saturday's big day did not see the expected crowds turn out to Dougall Park.
Festival organizer Linda Williams guessed that fans chose to work in their gardens after the belated appearance of good weather. The ticket gate also noticed a slight bump up after the World Cup game between England and the U.S. was over in the afternoon.
Nonetheless, the organizing team put on another super festival that flowed with a huge variety of music. Williams planned the program, Graham Walker was once again the "go to" man, Michael Maser acted as MC, Joy Craddock co-ordinated volunteers, and Carol Stewart organized the jazz week.
Both Saturday evening dances sold out with the Idlers performing in Roberts Creek and the Creek Big Band reportedly playing one of their most fabulous gigs ever at the former The Club site in Gibsons.
The buzz on the street was humming about vocalist Pat Collier's debut performance of beloved jazz standards at the Heritage Playhouse on Friday evening. Where was she from? Who had heard of her? Collier told the audience that she was living her dream by gathering terrific musicians around her. They were the much sought after accompanist/arranger Michael Creber on piano, the Juno nominated and award-winning Bill Coon on guitar, Boyd Norman on bass and John Rule on drums - truly a dream team. There was not an ounce of diva ego about Collier; she modestly allowed many shining moments to the musicians.
Also a visual artist, Collier's desire to sing surfaced about ten years ago as part of her life-long process of discoveryof her joy and passion for life. One of her musical partners is the accomplished jazz guitarist Steve Giltrow who performed at last Sunday's Jazz Festival brunch at Leo's with Karin Plato.
Saturday's day of jazz took off with the local Group of Seven jazz men hitting a high note and continued with the PK3 Jazz Trio. Star pianist Paul Miyai gyrated wildly as he strove to create fluid jazz along with Coast drummer Kristian Braathen and bassist Karlis Silins. You could feel the Oscar Peterson influence coming to life.
Fans last saw Deanna Knight and the Hot Club of Mars at the Grasshopper Pub during the Pender Harbour Jazz Festival. If anyone can fill the house, it's this vivacious vocalist and her band of gypsy jazz musicians.
To celebrate Django Rein-hardt's 100th anniversary, the band, using no less than three guitars, resurrected some old tunes with surprisingly contemporary lyrics: "Bankers and misfits stocks are falling" Knight shone on the 1910 song Shine.
The Brad Turner Trio was a chance to sample more keyboard magic. Friday night's pianist Michael Creber would be my choice for speed and virtuosity, Miyai for eccentric style and Juno award-winning Turner for impassioned, technical performance. You couldn't find three more different pianists. That's the joy of this festival.
While the young fiddlers from Bad to the Bow played a brief set, the final act, Swarm, set up.
"I like to throw in something that no one has ever seen before," Williams said.
The three Vancouver men, who were dressed in kilts for no apparent reason, caused jaws to drop in the audience. Swarmer Bill Wallace had built all the unusual instruments from scratch using discarded parts. Some looked like decorated oil drums, others bore more resemblance to R2D2 of Star Wars fame than drums, and all three men gathered around a demented-looking xylophone at one point to produce a range of percussive sound that involved leaping about the stage. Was it jazz? Perhaps not, although it was an energetic exercise in percussion. They clearly flummoxed some, including this reviewer, and delighted others.
At Sunday's free show, the crowds lazed in Winegarden Park and instrumentalist Celso Machado joked that he had brought the sun with him from Europe in his baggage. He was followed by a mellow set from Walter Martella, the Powell River musician, along with Coast performers Graham Ord, Paul Steenhuis, Barry Taylor and two guests. The popular Rakish Angles closed the Festival in style.
