By Ken Pickering, Coastal Jazz's Artistic Director
Part One: Northsea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
September is just around the corner and that signals the impending conclusion of the international summer jazz festival season. Just a few more festivals left before the days get very short – Mulhouse (France), Saalfelden (Austria), Monterey (USA), Guelph (Canada) etc. – are among the best of those upcoming or are currently taking place.
The Canadian jazz festival season kicked off in June – bringing great music to communities in urban centers across the country. Without a doubt, our celebratory 25th annual VIJF was one of the most enjoyable, gratifying and memorable events ever; an amazing program of the most creative sounds on the planet – Globe Unity, Barry Guy / Michel Gagne, Joshua Redman, MOPDtK, Eric Boeren 4tet with Han Bennink, Schlippenbach Trio, Bill Frisell, Tomasz Stanko, Youn Sun Nah/Ulf Wakenius, Renee Rosnes/Bill Charlap, Harris Eisenstadt, Mario Pavone and so many more! It was a gas.
As much as we’d like to relax and savour the post festival experience heading into the warm summer months, the Coastal Jazz offices have been a beehive of activity and staff has been extremely busy in every department, as we take the opportunity to begin the process to strategize and re-imagine what the next 25 years might look like for the VIJF.
