jazz for thinkers
 Lateef and the Belmondo gang were wonderful. It was a great treat to see and hear Yusef Lateef who at 86 or thereabouts is still mesmerizing, if not as mighty. Today Marc L'Esperance at Performance Works reminded me of the Lateef album, Jazz for Thinkers, which was the album that turned me on to him originally back around 61 or 62. (Remember that album, David?) It circulated amongst our little jazz gang back then, a great great album we all were crazy about. I've long since lost the original vinyl with the band standing in front of Rodin's Thinker on the cover. In fact the only image of the cover I could google is this puny, useless one. The version I now own is part of a Savoy double called Morning, the tune of the same name was the opener last night. Classic jazz beauty!As much . . . if not more . . . I enjoyed Jon Bentley's quintet, which opened the evening. All original music, as I recall, played beautifully. Can you imagine what guys like this could do if they got to play together more than once or twice a year? Scary! Bentley, Brad Turner, André Lachance, Chris Gestrin, and Dylan van der Schyff. I've them all several times in various contexts in the last five or however many days it's been and they are simply musicians of the highest order - and never disappoint. Which reminds me . . . the latest addition to the opening emcee blurbs is the reminder that jazz lives all year round here and that people should keep going out to dig our amazing resident players. I've been putting words to that effect on the vancouverjazz home page after every festival. It would be nice if they mentioned the site as the place to find out what's going on in town. Must take a meeting with the Coastal Jazz people before next year.  Met Barbara at Performance Works for the Chris Gestrin Trio's 3pm concert. So, Gestrin, Lachance, and Dylan van der Schyff again, but not in this trio setting before. You know, I can't get over it . . . not only fabulous musicians but so unbelievably versatile! Funk, blues, freeform, spaceage, bop . . . you name it. This particular configuration performed two stunning sets of lyrical, meditative at times, absolutely gorgeous music . . . sun pouring in through the wide sidedoors, a conference of birds chirping madly along, children's voices burbling . . . including Gestrin's and van der Schyff's children in the audience. The thing about Dylan, as you know, is that he can play anything and he'll try anything, including a nice dry white on the tom. Phil Nimmons and David Braid will be going on in about an hour. I was planning to attend this show, as much or more for Mike Allen and George McFetridge's opening duo set but it looks like I ain't gonna make it. A whole night of duos seems a little weird to me but that's not the reason I'm not going. I'm just taking the night off. Is it possible to hear too much jazz in one day? No, actually, it isn't. But it is possible to be taking busses and shit all over town too much in one day. I am sorry not to be making it because I'm dying to hear Mike and George in duo and Phil Nimmons I've never seen play. Phil Nimmons was among the earliest jazz players I heard as CBC played a lot of his Nimmons and Nine band when I was kid.Jazz Festival posts |