It’s been almost a month since the annual Saskatchewan Jazz Festival in Saskatoon, but I’m only now getting a chance to post my review. I know I really need to get on this writing thing more often, but in my defence, I caught another brutal cold right after jazz fest and…well, it’s tough to sit at a computer typing when your nose won’t stop running! So, after much delay, here’s my adventures in Jazz Fest Land!
Before I begin though, I need a quick moment to vent. Seriously, WTF Saskatchewan Jazz Festival?! For the second year in a row, the Toon Town Big Band was not in the festival…again! We’re a well know band in the city who always packed the free stage when we played and yet, we were excluded again! The excuse is always that there are too many applications each year, but that still doesn’t explain leaving out a band like ours. Clearly, there’s something fishy going on and organisers better shape up because you can only piss off so many musicians before they start their own festival!
Alright! Now that I have that off my chest, I can start! I was unavailable for opening weekend. I had planned to shoot pictures at the Pride Parade, but my attempt to do so was met with a complete and utter lack of parking. I was also set up to go to Field Day (an annual HAM radio event). A migraine prevented me from working any of the radios, but it’s always nice to hang out with other geeks. So it wasn’t until Monday when I got to my first show which was one of the free noon hour shows downtown. The Lost Keys had a wonderful spot at City Hall. I hope the festival uses this spot again because there was plenty of room for people to sit and dance. The area needs more trees, but it was still a nice and cozy place for a stage and the band did a wonderful set!
Tuesday night was Dee Dee Bridgewater. I have to admit that I had never heard of her before. When I saw her name on the line up though, I headed straight to Youtube and was not disappointed. I headed to McNally Robinson shortly after to pick up her latest album ‘Memphis…Yes, I’m Ready’, but I was still not ready for her show. This classy, little, 68 year old woman is one of the most amazing performers I have ever seen. An absolute powerhouse of a performer. It’s true that some bits seemed a bit forced, but in addition to winning 3 Grammy awards, she’s also a Tony award winner…how can she not incorporate a little theatrics in her show? This is one show I was sorry that so many people missed. Next year, I want her on the main stage!
On Thursday, I dragged my mom and Bella back downtown for another noon hour free show. I saw in the festival guide that a group called Big Calico Cat was playing and I had to check it out. A singer/piano duo, they were set up next to the Sheraton Hotel playing wonderful jazzy tunes. Bella did very well at her first concert!
Later that evening, I headed back to Broadway Theatre for the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. This was a weird show. Local Latin party band 3M2C opened the show and did a great job of warming up the crowd. But I felt uncomfortable when the Spanish Harlem Orchestra took the stage. It’s clear that these are all amazing musicians, but something felt forced about their performance. Like they were just going through the motions. This became especially evident when their piano player told the dancers to move to the side because they were taking away from their performance. Now, I fully admit that dancers can be very annoying. Both as a performer and an audience member, dancers can be very distracting. But there was no mention at the onset of the performance that people shouldn’t dance and the manner in which the piano player spoke was off putting to say the least. And worse, later in the show he made an additional jab at them in a way that made me quite angry. I make fun of this one horse town all the time, but we are an enthusiastic crowd who love music and paid for a wold class show. I left feeling insulted. Insulted by the best, but insulted none the less.
Friday night, I headed to the main stage at the Bess Gardens. I was pleasantly surprised by the opener, Begonia who seems to be rapidly making a name for herself.
But the big draw was Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite. I love Charlie Musselwhite having listed to some of his solo recordings. I didn’t know what to expect from this collaboration, but I was not disappointed! I’m always in awe of many of the older jazz and blues musicians. Their performances always seem so effortless. How do you move a person’s soul with such grace and simplicity? I guess that’s why we call these folks ‘legends’. But alas, I’m not as young and healthy as I once was so, when I began feeling a bit overwhelmed, I left the front to stand at the back of the gardens to finish watching the show.
Saturday night’s show was the one I had been waiting for. I first heard about Moon Hooch when my brother sent me a link to their episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series. As a saxophonist, how could I not love these guys?! The jazz festival organisers have a lot of work to do with their Groove Series though. Amigos is not an acceptable place for musicians of this calibre. Their sound system is ridiculously bad. No wonder the opener had so much trouble with their sound check! (I’m completely blanking on the name of the opening band which is super embarrassing because they were absolutely amazing!) The 10:30 pm start time is also unacceptable. More music venues are realising the value of starting shows earlier and when some shows are midweek, it’s silly to start so late and exclude a number of fans. I have a lot of trouble going to these kind of venues on my own, but I was lucky to have some of the other saxes from my section there too. It was an amazing show and I really feel like a beginner after hearing them! I left a bit early though as a migraine set in. Unsurprising since they inexplicably had bright lights shining into the audience.
And this is where my jazz fest-ing ends. I really hoped to get out on the last day with a friend to the free stage to hear one of our guys in another band he plays with. The weather was sketchy all day, but the bigger problem was my migraine which did not leave me alone for the next few days. Which is also about the time that I got sick. I should have seen it coming. Before jazz fest, I would go to work and come home; always too exhausted to do anything or go anywhere. But when jazz festival came along, I may have over done things a bit. But I’m glad I did!