Artistic Director – Ken Pickering’s
Festival picks: Part three
June 22, 2011
Artistic Director – Ken Pickering’s
Festival picks: Part three
The count down’s on for the festival with (and this seems crazy) only two days to go until kick off. My last posting ended with The Thing and Peter Brötzmann at the Roundhouse. I was going to include this swell (very young) Brötz photo that I’ve had for years – it was originally a part of German jazz calendar from the 70’s that included Mingus, Earl Hines, Duke etc! It’s followed me around for over 30 years so here it is.
The picks included here are by no means definitive – and there’s sure to be a few gigs that I’ve overlooked but really, the intention here is to provide a bit of a general survey that should whet the appetite and get the listening party started.
This year’s Innovation Series is stylistically diverse and there’s much to be excited about. The last three days will be killing. Among my faves – is anything surrounding the Atomic axis; this Norwegian / Swedish quintet is one of the great contemporary jazz bands performing today and they just keep growing. Every time I hear these guys I’m blown away and I was very lucky to hear both The Thing and Atomic in Lulea, Sweden a couple of months ago.
(two shows at 7 and 9pm)
Don’t miss their daytime spinoffs on July 2nd. Mercurial trumpeter Magnus Broo duets with Paal Nilssen-Love (see their disc Game on PNL), pianist Havard Wik and Vancouver clarinet master Francois Houle (they’ll be in the studio recording the day before for Songlines) will reprise their duo that was founded at the festival in 2008.
Gord Grdina – what to say? This guy has been globetrotting for months if not years and it’s no surprise that his reputation is growing in leaps and bounds. Touring with Mats at the moment – Gord will perform twice as a leader – with the specially assembled Nordic Sextet “The Listening” and his middle eastern flavoured “Haram”. Gord Grdina ROCKS!
(two shows at 7 and 9pm)
Two more great guitarists are Toronto’s Kevin Breit (Sisters Euclid) (a serious master – just love his Neil Young covers) and Oslo’s Evind Aarset. Both of these guys have serious cred. Kevin has worked with countless great artists – Cassandra Wilson, Cyro Baptista, Molly Johnson, Norah Jones and the list goes on and on.
Eivind was with Nils Petter Molvaer for years – his atmospheric textures are grounded in Hendrix soundscapes and he can turn on the after burner when necessary. Heard him tear it up at the Northsea Festival in the Netherlands last July on the same night as the World Cup (Netherlands/Spain) was on. Good soundtrack.
(two shows 8 and 10:30pm
(two shows 7 and 9pm)
http://www.coastaljazz.ca/concert/dan_berglund´s_tonbruket
(2 shows 8 and 10:30pm)
Norwegian trio “In the Country” replaces Mederic Collignon (cancelled for health reasons) at the RH on Saturday night; with pianist / keyboard maestro Morten Qvenild (here last year with Susanna and the Magical Orchestra and has been a member of the Shining, Jaga Jazzist and Solveig Slettahjell’s groups) at the helm and Roger Arntzen (bass), Pal Hausken (drums). We’re very lucky that they were in Seattle the previous evening, so to have these guys on our doorstep kind of saved the day (and that's a whole story in and of itself). They’ve released 3 albums on Rune Grammofon to critical acclaim and their live concerts mesmerize; melodic and sensitive explorations that combine contemporary jazz and prog rock. We’ve heard them live on numerous occasions in Norway; they’ve also been to the festival once previously – to our ears their shows are gorgeous (not too twee) magical events.
(2 shows 7 and 9pm)
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