For a full-throttle jazz experience, it’s hard to beat Texada Island’s Jazz on the Rocks festival (July 23 – 24, various venues).
Friday evening, the festival kicks off with a special (and very intimate) preview performance by the Joani Taylor Quartet.at the casually elegant Tree Frog Bistro. Enjoying great music, a gourmet dinner and the sunset over the waters of Gillies Bay and Strait of Georgia – what a great opening to this tiny perfect festival! Tickets for the Tree Frog Bistro dinner performance are $50 + GST and available ONLY from the Bistro. Reserve early at 604-486-0030.
Folks arriving on Saturday get brassed off as soon as the North Island Princess heads out of Powell River. The saxophone/trumpet duo of Bill Campbell and Travis McDonough provide Jazz on the Water aboard the 9.55 and 11.15 am sailings.
A short drive from Blubber Bay harbour, the JazzMine site hosts five terrific acts between noon and 6 pm. The acoustics are as spectacular as the setting, in this former limestone quarry with its gem-like freshwater lake.
The “sassy and classy” four-woman jazz ensemble Mother of Pearl has played to rave reviews from Ucluelet to Halifax (and most recently brought down the house at The Club in Gibson’s Landing.) The CBC’s Paul Grant raves about the “great chops and intelligent writing” of this stylish and eclectic ensemble: Brenda Baird on piano, flute and keyboard; Karen Graves on sax, flute and vocals; Wendy Solloway on bass and Lauri Lyster on drums. The group is particularly celebrated for their outstanding “sheBOP!” repertoire of tunes by Canadian female composers – spanning almost a hundred years. They’ve been known to sprinkle their own distinctive arrangements and original compositions into this for a fascinating and rich salute to our foremothers.
The Joani Taylor Quartet teams the Juno and National Jazz Award nominee balladeer with Ross Taggart on piano, Ken Lister on double bass and Buff Allen on drums for a uniquely of-the-moment performance.
Anna Lyman is described as “close to a perfect singer and song stylist.” With the “Tropical Trio” of pianist Josh Gellman, bassist Ken Lister and drummer Chad Schroter-Gillespie, Lyman does full justice to the picante Cuban and Brazilian rhythms of Latin jazz standards and originals, and throws some traditional jazz into the mix for seasoning.
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Walter Martella is one of BC’s pre-eminent jazz performers, composers and arrangers. A resident of Powell River, he teaches jazz trumpet, choir and piano at the Powell River Academy of Music. Coincidentally, he also played trumpet and piano on Anna Lyman’s 2002 CD, It’s Lush.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ron Campbell and bassman/vocalist Roy Carson recently teamed up to deliver a fresh new sound. Carson’s vocal harmonies add a new dimension to Campbell’s original tunes and a nice selection of jazz, country, folk, pop and blues standards. Campbell is a Powell River native, and has performed all over BC (most recently at the Pender Harbour Blues Festival.)
The music doesn’t stop! After the JazzMine performance winds down, somewhere around 6 pm, grab your dancing shoes and boogie over to Blubber Bay’s park-like Jazz Lovers’ Lounge between the tennis courts and Holtenwood Gallery. There, the high energy five-piece alternative band Zoot Suit Riot offer the cool rhythms of R&B, swing, rock and jive with energetic, danceable music. This is a very entertaining group to watch, producing terrific, danceable music.
Musicians have a unique opportunity to join Mother of Pearl in a jazz workshop Sunday morning (11am – 2pm, includes lunch). Seating is limited; call Shelley at 604-486-7485 or Mike at 604-486-7692 to register.
Finish the weekend with a Blues Brunch buffet (11 am – 1 pm) at the Texada Island Inn while Ron Campbell and Roy Carson provide “joyful blues” with a spectacular view of Malaspina Strait and the mountains as backdrop. Does it get any better than this?
Tickets are available online at www.texada.org/jazz/tickets (and may be picked up at the gate of the event) for the JazzMine ($20), Jazz Lovers’ Lounge ($5), and the Blues Brunch ($20, includes buffet). Advance tickets for the JazzMine and Jazz Lovers’ Lounge are also available at Powell River Credit Union, Small Planet Whole Foods (Powell River), Holtenwood Gallery (Texada Island) or the Texada Island Inn.
Tickets are also available at the gate for the JazzMine ($25) and Jazz Lounge ($5), and may be available at the door for the Blues Brunch ($25).
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