DonB次元官网网址檛 let the name fool you.
As the lineup for this yearB次元官网网址檚 35th TD Victoria International Jazz Festival will attest, the cityB次元官网网址檚 largest annual celebration of music has long since past the days of being a purely jazz event.
B次元官网网址淚 wish we werenB次元官网网址檛 stuck with the label of being just a jazz festival,B次元官网网址� says founder and festival director Darryl Mar. B次元官网网址淣early 100 per cent of the artists the first couple of years were just jazz artists, but weB次元官网网址檝e diversified into blues, soul, world music and more. ItB次元官网网址檚 basically allowed our festival to expand our audiences. If we were strictly a true mainstream jazz festival, it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be as large.B次元官网网址�
One of this yearB次元官网网址檚 headliners, Grammy Award winner Macy Gray (June 27, Royal Theatre), is one of those unique artists who can seamlessly move between genres. Her roots are in jazz, but she has achieved success in the R&B and soul categories. Fronting her own band in this second visit to Jazzfest, she will perform various original compositions intertwined with jazz standards.
Mar is also excited about the first Jazzfest appearance of Dee Dee Bridgewater, a jazz scene veteran and Grammy and Tony Award winner who for this tour is teaming up with the Memphis Soulphony for an opening night show June 22 at the Royal.
B次元官网网址淭his is a tribute to her hometown of Memphis, itB次元官网网址檚 an R&B soul performance with a nine-member band,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淔or me that is definitely going to be one of the highlights of this yearB次元官网网址檚 jazz festival.B次元官网网址�
Other Victoria B次元官网网址渃oupsB次元官网网址� for 2018 include a first appearance for Alabama soul band St. Paul and the Broken Bones (June 28, Royal), as well as multiple Grammy-winning bluegrass dobro and resonator guitar player Jerry Douglas (June 29, McPherson Playhouse), B次元官网网址渙ne of the most in-demand session musicians in NashvilleB次元官网网址� and a regular in the Alison Krauss band.
Pure jazz players are by no means left out of the 10-day Jazzfest roster B次元官网网址� Oak Bay HighB次元官网网址檚 Dave Dunnett Theatre hosts legendary figures Ranee Lee from Montreal and alto saxophonist supreme Vincent Herring and his quartet, as well as the virtuosic Julian Lage Trio.
But the diverse nature of performers continues with the likes of EnglandB次元官网网址檚 Go Go Penguin, a contemporary electronic act, and two dance-oriented nights in Centennial Square with Indian bhangra rock outfit Red Baraat, and Ghost Note, a spinoff band from the jam collective Snarky Puppy.
Another point Mar noted was that no less than nine bands playing ticketed performances at this yearB次元官网网址檚 festival are led by female artists, the highest ever to his memory.
While the main audience market for Jazzfest continues to be South Vancouver Island B次元官网网址� between 75 and 80 per cent, Mar says B次元官网网址� a solid 20 per cent attend from B次元官网网址渙ffshore,B次元官网网址� which could be anywhere from the Lower Mainland to Europe.
B次元官网网址淲e get a lot of people asking us, early in the year or late in the year previous to the festival, if we have our lineup announced yet,B次元官网网址� he says, noting that doesnB次元官网网址檛 usually happen until mid-March. B次元官网网址淏ut people do look at the content of our festival so they can plan their holidays around it.B次元官网网址�
Find a full schedule of concerts both free and ticketed at jazzvictoria.ca/jazz-fest/lineup.
