Hopper Pass 2012
(by Ken Pickering / Artistic Director)
The Hopper
Pass is back for 2012. With a limited number of passes available for the
festival until June 15th at $175 + S/C, (click here) this ticketing
option still represents the best value for the hard core fan that absolutely needs
to check out as much music as possible during the festival. Giving rabid
listeners access to 6 venues including the Vogue, Performance Works, Venue, The
Ironworks, Roundhouse Exhibition Hall and Electric Owl the pass is really the only
way to go to get the full festival experience without spending a fortune. It's also a wonderful opportunity for more of the casual listeners to get a sampling of the festivals full breadth. To
get a sense of the value, the total cost to individual shows at The Ironworks
alone comes to $230 and that’s before you factor in all of the other venues.
The
diversity of programming throughout these venues perfectly encapsulates the
festival ethos. With iconic jazz musicians such as guitarists Bill Frisell
(with his amazing John Lennon project) or Norway’s longtime ECM recording
artist Terje Rypdal’s Crime Scene with the Bergen Big Band, to legendary
saxophonist Wayne Shorter or the star studded cast of the amazing hard bop band
The Cookers (Billy Hart, George Cables, Billy Harper etc), the sacred steel of
Robert Randolph and the fiery latin grooves of Venezuela’s Los Amigos Invisibles
we’re just getting the festival party started.
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Some of
the great voices in jazz, such as Dianne Reeves and singer / pianist Eliane
Elias plus the awesome Canadian singer / songwriter Jill Barber are all in the
Hopper mix. In another zone turntablist Kid Koala unveils his Space Cadet
Headphone Experience over 3 shows at Performance Works. So you wanna get down -
soulful rapper Kyprios & the Chaperones serve up a slammin’ party vibe.
If the
outer reaches of jazz is your thing; there’s a wonderful cross section of
musicians from Europe, plus a Late Night Series of Vancouver’s creative
musicians: you can catch some of the world’s best. Mathias Eick (Norway),
Angelika Niescier (Germany), Francois Houle 5 + 1, Hexen Trio (with Paul
Plimley, Barry Guy and Lucas Niggli) or Torsten Muller’s Distant Relatives with
Ab Baars and Xu Fengxia.
There’s
an awful lot to experience in this festival and with a Hopper Pass your only
concern will be keeping the energy up so that you don’t miss the next amazing
show. If you go for it, I can guarantee that you’ll be utterly transformed by
the end of the festival run. And that’s a good thing. Please join us for 10
days of incredible music and fun filled times that many of us consider to be
the highlight of our year!
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