Artistic Director speaks!

By Ken Pickering – February 28, 2011

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One question that I’m frequently asked seems to go something like, “so how did you get to be an artistic director for such an important jazz festival”. It’s a strange but interesting question and admittedly one that I find a little difficult to give a short and succinct answer to, although that’s my proclivity as most of my friends and colleagues well know. Openness to new ideas, natural curiosity, generosity, deep knowledge, a lifelong passion coupled with a profound love of the music (not just jazz and improvised music but all kinds of music) are just some of the prerequisites that I’ve always believed necessary to do this gig well.

That brings me to some initial thoughts and reminiscences on how this life came to be. In some of my future blog postings I hope to occasionally talk about some of the memorable characters, occurrences and watershed moments that have populated my life along the way. At the risk of incoherence what we have here are some flashbacks capped off with present day reality.

Maybe because I’m reaching a milestone in my own life I now find myself looking backwards and forwards simultaneously. Approaching 60 years of age is by definition uncharted territory for this man; and I finding that it’s time for reflection and well, maybe these are even acceptable moments to indulge in a little nostalgia for the 60’s – a decade that represents my youth and my first encounters with jazz in particular (and also lots of other music) and the counter culture that shaped much of our generation’s world view in those days and what it all meant to a young lad trying to break out of a isolated situation as defined by a working class family on the east side of Vancouver.

Looking back over the years always seems a bit of a blur, but one thing is clearly evident – and that’s how my own journey parallels the stories of so many creative people; yet in fact it’s a story about a guy that was lucky enough to identify his calling at an early age. For that blessing I’m incredibly thankful. Not to say that I decided at 4 years of age – damn, I think I want to program a jazz festival when I grow up! Still, it must be said that getting to this place has been a lifelong journey. The stage was set in early childhood by memories of my late father (in the 50’s) playing his beloved Jimmy Rogers “The Singing Brakeman” Bluebird 78’s and then singing them (while playing his Guild guitar – inherited by Ray Piper when my father passed in 1991) back to my mother and I and any friends that had happened to drop by our kitchen table. This was the music of my youth and these songs and much of the best country and bluegrass music still resonate in a way that feels like home to me. These are the memories that represent the beginnings of my journey and my love of music.

It wasn’t long after our move to Renfrew Street that I met my lifelong friend and colleague, John Orysik (just in time for grade two) – so many adventures to recall. From the late 60’s onward it’s been all about jazz and creative music in all genres for John and myself. My love of classical music can be attributed to John’s influence and I believe his love of jazz to mine. There are so many other great friends and colleagues that have played an important role in my development as an aficionado of “the music” along the way. Although it’s impossible to recognize them all in this space – a short list might include Bob Smith, Fraser Nicholson, Rod Heinz, Brian Nation, Tim Keenliside, Jack Schuller, Bob Bell, Bill Hook, Gavin Walker, Bill Smith, Eric Metcalfe, Herb Levy, Paul Plimley / Lisle Ellis and everyone in the New Orchestra Workshop scene, all the Black Swan alumni and we haven’t even exited the 70’s yet. It wasn’t until the 80’s that (co-founder of the festival) Robert Kerr came on the scene at CJAZZ where he first met John and not too long afterwards John made the fortuitous introduction that brought us together. The rest is history and that’s another story for another time.

So let’s wrap the flashback portion of this rambling story right about here – otherwise there won’t be any room to fast forward to the present day! How many stories have we got in this Terminal City? Plenty and over time I hope to share some of them with you.

So let’s jump to recent times. The year 2010 marked the 25th anniversary of the jazz festival and an important milestone to be celebrated. Many special projects came and went – projects that had been years in the making – Anthony Braxton’s Sonic Genome, Barry Guy / Michel Gagne “Fixed Fragmented Fluid”, Globe Unity Orchestra, Han Bennink, a multitude of collaborations and so much more.

It was an absolutely amazing year, yet not without it’s challenges (budget cuts, less than anticipated ticket sales, staff changes etc). We’re not exempt from the many economic pressures that arts groups are collectively facing in BC and specifically in Vancouver. In fact I’m hearing similar stories from colleagues in various locales around the world, but here in BC the pressures remain acute with decreasing government support at every level (lowest per capita provincial support of arts and culture in Canada) and serious issues with BC Lotteries funding (as in disappearing).

But then again it’s not all doom and gloom; we’re moving forward with a fantastic group of great people that share a positive attitude and mutual respect for each other, a team that shares a belief in the core artistic vision and the powerful force that this music represents and above all a team that exhibits a strong commitment to the hard work necessary that will ultimately sustain us as we move through this transitional period that marks the beginning of our next 25 years!
The upcoming 2011 festival will look a little different from previous editions (and will continue to showcase the creative music scene – a focus that has become a large part our tradition), more streamlined for sure, but our heart and soul remain intact. Any changes to the festival model are being executed with thoughtfulness and sensitivity; a reverence for the music remains uppermost in our decision making process. In fact, these are exciting times of renewal at Coastal Jazz. As we begin to roll out the various series from now through the spring, it will become clear that the festival is more accessible to more people at an incredible price point. It’s going to be amazing and we think you’ll like it!

More to come!