Jazz at Presentation House Concludes 3rd Year

Jazz at Presentation House concluded its third season last week with Zapato Negro Trio.  It has been a great year of music for us as our unique little scene grows in what Al Johnston calls “Vancouver’s Jazz Church”.  Clyde and I have really enjoyed listening to all the creative music making, hanging out with wonderful musicians, and meeting all the cool new people who come to listen.

with Stan Taylor at PHS (Gord Montgomery photo)

Some nights we have had packed houses and sometimes just a small handful of die-hard music fans.   I have enjoyed every single night.   The intimacy and immediacy of improvised music has proven time and time again to be transformative and inspirational for all who attend (in both senses of the word).  I think some of my favorite experiences have involved people just walking in off the street when they hear music.  They are always pleasantly surprised to find such a beautiful, warm, and welcoming space and friendly people and allow the music, as Art Blakey said, “to wash away the dust of everyday life.”

We are going to take a little break for the summer now and will be back in September 2012 with more music.  Stay tuned to the Vancouverjazz.com calendar and to my blog for news of the upcoming series.  We extend heartfelt thanks for those who have supported us over the past three years and invite everyone to come and check out and support the scene in the Fall.

Jared's summer gig list!

Hi All

Here's a picture from the Dave Robbins Electric Band playing at the Kozmik Zoo a few weeks (photo by Tom Arntzen).  It was a great night of intense and energetic music with lots of musicians and students in attendance.  We'll be at the Cellar on Wednesday, May 30.

A pretty busy summer music season is getting started for me on Monday. Looking over the list of things coming up, I feel really blessed to be working with so many amazing musicians on such creative and original projects. Some of these bands are doing studio recordings during this period too so I'll be playing a lot for the next little while.  I hope to see some of my loyal blog readers and friends out at these gigs!

May 28
The Offering of Curtis Andrews @ Kozmik Zoo

8:30pm. 53 W. Broadway

Indo-Afro-Jazz-Rock music composed by drummer Curtis Andrews and performed by Curtis, Colin Maskell (tenor),  Chris Davis (trumpet),  Jared Burrows (guitar),  Tommy Babin (guitar), and Russel Shumsky (percussion).

May 30

Dave Robbins Electric Band @ Cellar Jazz Club

Rocking electric jazz fusion with Dave Robbins(drums/compositions), Brad Turner (keys), Jared Burrows (guitar), Evan Arntzen (tenor sax) and Kerry Galloway (bass).

June 7

Dave Robbins Electric Band @ El Barrio

9pm.  2270 E Hastings

Rocking electric jazz fusion with Dave Robbins(drums/compositions), Brad Turner (keys), Jared Burrows (guitar), Evan Arntzen (tenor sax) and Kerry Galloway (bass).

June 19

The Offering of Curtis Andrews @ Kozmik Zoo

8:30pm. 53 W. Broadway

Indo-Afro-Jazz-Rock music composed by drummer Curtis Andrews and performed by Curtis, Colin Maskell (tenor),  John Korsrud (trumpet),  Jared Burrows (guitar),  Tommy Babin (guitar), and Russel Shumsky (percussion).

June 23

Brad Muirhead Quartet @ 1067 

10pm.  1115b E Hastings (entrance is lower door on Glen)

Brad Muirhead (bass trombone), Jared Burrows (guitar), Bernie Arai (drums) and Tommy Babin (bass).  Brad's unique and original compositions played by a brand new band.

June 25
Len Aruliah Sextet @ Kozmik Zoo 

8:30pm. 53 W. Broadway

Len Aruliah (saxes), Jared Burrows (guitar), Joe Poole (drums), Colin Maskell (saxes), Lorne Kellett (piano), Brent Gubbels (drums). The sextet plays a concert of Len's original tunes while he is back in Vancouver again for a short visit. The music is very much inspired by the work of Kenny Wheeler and features intricate contrpuntal melodies and beautiful harmonies.

June 25-28

Words and Music @ The Prophouse

5-7pm daily. Venables at Commercial Drive

Poetry and music, improvised music, songs and stories.  A unique collection of poets and musicians from Vancouver, Portland and LA will gather for daily collaborations.  Watch Vancouverjazz.com for details to come.

June 29

Jared Burrows Trio @Vancouver International Jazz Festival

12-2pm at Canada Place stage.

Jared Burrows (guitar), Rob Kohler (bass), Stan Taylor (drums).  Orginal tunes, standards, and mprovised music from a trio that has been working together for over 10 years.

July 1

Len Aruliah Quartet @ El Barrio 

9pm.   2270 E Hastings.

Len Aruliah (saxes), Jared Burrows (guitar), Rob Kohler (bass), Stan Taylor (drums)

July 3-7  South Delta Jazz Festival

Noon-hour concerts every day at Lander Community Centre and other venues in Ladner and Tsawwassen.  Big evening facukty octet show July 6 and final student concert at Delta Hospital grounds on July 7.  Featuring an international cast of great musicians:  Len Aruliah (saxes), Brad Muirhead (bass trombone), Bill Clark (trumpet), Stan Taylor (drums), Rob Kohler (bass), Stephen Robb (clarinet/piano), plus students of the south Delta Jazz Workshop and special guests.

Audition time!

It is audition time again!
No, not for me.  I haven't auditioned for anything since about 1996.  And thank goodness for that, because it can be a very stressful and existentially disturbing experience.  I really feel for all the sweating and shaking hands and knitted brows that I see.  All the same, I really enjoy hearing auditions for our Jazz Studies program at Capilano University.  This year I am listening to four days worth of guitar and bass hopefuls with my colleague, Ihor Kukurudza.

There are several interesting aspects to this process.  The first is that Ihor used to be my guitar teacher 22 years ago and now we are on the same audition panel.  That lends a certain sense of nostalgia. The circle of six-string life continues! (wiping away little tear...) Connected to that feeling of continuity is the amazing experience of seeing fresh new musicians with a sense of wonder and excitement about their musical futures.   I have no idea what their careers in music might be like.  Everything about being employed as a musician has changed so much since I started and continues to change at an incredible pace.  Thinking about the changes since Ihor's student days really makes it clear that things will be radically different for these students.   That doesn't worry me much.  Humans are creating the change and so these humans will adapt and create new kinds of music and invent new careers of which I cannot conceive.

Something very encouraging to me is that a whole bunch of these new students actually like jazz and have jazz records and want to improvise solos and play in bands.  In some way, they must already recognize the beauty of the art form and perhaps sense the benefits of engaging with such a rich, complex, diverse and subtle musical tradition.  I have heard some who already show a real spark of creativity and originality, even in their green state.  I'm quite confident that by bending their roads through music school for a few years their minds will develop and grow and their musical skills and technical prowess will be honed in ways they can't imagine now.  It is fitting that we do the auditions in the spring when things are budding and sprouting.  I feel really blessed to be present close to the beginning of these beautiful musical lives.