Vancouver International Jazz Festival not very international in 2010 Less than exciting line-up makes this year’s event kind of blue By Jay Schreiber, Arts Editor ater this June will mark the 25" consecutive year since the Vancouver International Jazz Festival was established as a diverse gathering of musicians annually for a 10 day affair. This year, the festivities run from June 25 to July 4 and as expected, a variety of venues around town are taking part to display the true American art form. If you have any previous experience with the Jazz Festival, then taking a brief glance down this year’s roster will most likely leave you in dismay. It seems that the festival is quite disorganized this year and not very well thought out at all. While the template for what this festival has been in the past is still used by Costal Jazz and Blues, the content and physical aspects seem to be lacking in the quality department. In previous years, many countries have been involved in representing jazz from all nations, making this fest a fantastic affair and reflecting positively on the city of Vancouver. This time around the sun, however, the locals ended up getting most of the stage time with perhaps the fewest imported artists in this festival’s history. The big draws this year are pop singer Nikki Yanofsky (yes, that bitch from the opening ceremonies who ruined our national anthem with her stupid pop articulation) and legendary soul guitarist George Benson, who, along with Nikki, have both Saturdays booked at the Queen Elizabeth theatre. In previous years, names like Sonny Rollins and Dave Brubeck have held this stature during the Jazz Fest, but such high calibre performers are not featured in this year’s program. For a quick insight as to who to catch and where, here’s my top 5 picks for the festival. ° Chick Corea is a legendary 14 Grammy-winning musician (if that means anything), who is giving a solo piano concert on June 27 at the Center featuring the Terry Clarke Trio. Chick is one of the few underrated jazz icons that is still relevant today, and this opportunity shouldn’t be missed. * Celso Machado performs his unique style of voice, rhythm and other musical expressions at the Roundhouse Mews on Monday, June 28. Celso is a Canadian artist, and his performances are Chick Corea The Brad Turner Quartet is at Ironworks on July 3 at 8 p.m. I know I cheated, and 3 members of this group are also in Andre Lachance’s ensemble (including both Turner and Lachance), When the same jazz groups play at the same jazz venues and then play during the jazz festival, it lowers the public desire to hear local jazz, as well as the desire to get involved in the jazz scene never disappointing Catch Quatuor Andre Lachance at the Performance works for a matinee on June 30. Lachance is a stringed instrument nut who like bring urban beats to a traditional jazz setting. Cool stuff. Canada Day gets rounded off right when The Alan Matheson Septet plays performance works at 7:30 p.m. Alan is a trumpet instructor and a humble composer and arranger whose fantastically tuned ear for be-bop creates a pure jazz experience. Vancouver’s own Miles Davis, if you will. * Perhaps one of Vancouver’s most proud jazz foursomes, but the musical variations differ enough to justify this recommendation—check it out and see what I mean. One of the main issues with the Vancouver jazz scene is the availability of gigs, and the amount of people out there to get them. One of the major effects this festival has had in the past has been to open the city’s eyes to possibilities of jazz outside of Vancouver. When the same jazz groups play at the same jazz venues and then play during the jazz festival, it lowers the public desire to hear local jazz, as well as the desire to get involved in the jazz scene. On the honourable mention list for what could be more accurately called the “Vancouver Local Jazz Festival” are Ross Taggart, Sharon Minemoto, Chris Sigerson, Five Alarm Funk, Cory Weeds, Chris Davis, Van Django, and the list goes on. I’m not against the local music scene at all, I just question the “International” aspect of our jazz festival when most of the players are from Canada or the Northwest United States. I also question the “jazz” aspect of this year’s event when the headliner is pop singer Nikki Yanofsky, and Canadian indie/folk groups such as Brasstronaut and Buck 65 are also involved. The other major North American city to have a large scale Jazz festival is Montreal, who keep up their standards by focusing on international performers, in addition to Canadian jazzers. My guess is that the last few years went over budget to pump up Vancouver for the Olympics, and now this year the river of cash seems to be running a little dry. Well organized or not, there is still great music to be listened to so get out and enjoy some jazz, just please don’t judge based on the potential of this year’s festival.