Home : Plato's Words : September 2006

September 2006

My words this month take the form of interview questions I posed to fellow Canadian jazz vocalists Kate Hammett-Vaughan and Denzal Sinclaire in July. I was asked to interview both singers about our annual Vancouver Jazz Festival for a website called www.jazzfestfever.com and I decided to include the interviews here on my own site as well.

Karin Plato: The Vancouver Jazz Festival Experience plus thoughts from Kate Hammett-Vaughan and Denzal Sinclaire

Jazz Festival season is here and as always I feel an excitement as I anticipate the new musical surprises I will discover again this year. Getting a chance to hear an artist live for the first time brings a special level of appreciation as you experience music “in the moment” and possibly (and hopefully) it will different than any other previous performance the artist has given. 10 days of Christmas in June and July is what we have here in Vancouver. Surely it seems like Christmas to me: All of those musical offerings are like specially wrapped gifts. Certain days there might be a handful of gifts to open since during the festival there are concert performances and workshops all day long and well into the night. Remaining with the gift analogy for a moment: Some gifts as you open them you know what they are going to be and the pleasure is immediate and satisfying. Other gifts you have no idea what to expect, perhaps not even once all the wrapping paper has been removed. “What is this strange thing? I don’t recognize this but I am intrigued by it and curious about what it really might be”. OR…”This is exactly what I been wishing for all year long. It’s everything and more that I expected it to be.” These have been my experiences as I have attended various concerts and workshops presented by our Vancouver jazz festival over the years. Certain concerts have taken me to that special place some call a “natural high”, that feeling of elation you get as you witness some magic being created and it fuels you with excitement. Some have been almost mind boggling  to me leaving me in a state of restlessness where perhaps certain aspects were puzzling (that is not a bad thing) and sometimes I simply felt challenged to listen more deeply and to remain open to everything before me. Some of those concerts stimulate me in a completely different way than I expected. There are the festival concerts that I will never forget: Betty Carter, Bill Frisell, and Dave Holland (more than one occasion of memorable and wonderful playing with his incredible band) Seeing the late Bob Berg (wonderful saxophonist) dig in with such intensity that I could barely sit still in my seat as the excitement built within me. Getting to see Miles Davis. What could be better than that? Discovering artists that I would never have heard of perhaps. Groups like Wibutee, a wonderful young Norwegian Group of modern-improvisers who are bridging traditional jazz improvisation with the future or rather present time which, includes computers and loops and other modern persuasions. Wibutee certainly opened my eyes and my ears to all the new possibilities existing within this umbrella we call jazz. There are the many wonderful workshops where you are able to get “up close and personal” with artists as they share some insight into their particular style or form of music.  Often those workshop experiences invigorate and inspire you to dig deeper into the world of improvisation and creativity. You may have some favorite flavors in mind but it is always good to taste something new that you have never before “tasted”. Who knows; you might like it?

Since I caught a serious “jazz bug” around 1996 I have been lucky enough to be living in a city that has one of the world’s finest jazz festivals. How can I say this since I have only been to a few other Canadian jazz festivals and so far haven’t been able to attend others around the world? Well…it is commonly known that we here in Vancouver have a very eclectic festival that presents a diverse array of music; from mainstream jazz to world music to folk and blues to avant-garde free jazz; we truly do have it all covered it seems. There is definitely something for every taste. Music critics do list our festival as one of the very best in the world and people come from all over to take in our annual event. Our beautiful city with its mountains and greenery and ocean-side as a picturesque backdrop seems to be the perfect place where art and nature meet. There are several outdoor performances and for those new to the city, people can take in the visual beauty of the city by day and follow that up with concerts of every imaginable variety by night. It’s an inspiring city to live in, most certainly and I am sure that performing artists visiting our city feed on that inspiration as well.

This year’s Vancouver jazz festival has a special focus on jazz vocalists. Here below are some questions I had for two fellow Canadian jazz vocalists; two of the very best to be sure: Kate Hammett-Vaughan and Denzal Sinclaire. So here follows a type of dialogue with two artists who have performed in festivals around the world.

Karin: Kate, you moved here from the East Coast many years ago now. Do you recall what year that you performed in Vancouver’s jazz festival for the first time? Do you remember whom you were performing with?

Kate: My quintet, made up at that time of pianist Stuart Young, saxophonist Michael Blake, bassist Ken Lister, and drummer Craig Scott, played the opening gig at the Town Pump on Water Street for the very first Vancouver jazz festival in 1985. I have performed at every festival since.

Karin: Before performing at Vancouver jazz festival for the first time do recall some of the other jazz festivals that you had performed at in Canada?

Kate: That was my very first jazz festival performance anywhere!

Karin: Several people are aware that you “wear several hats” and that you are much more than a recording artist and performing jazz vocalist. You are directly involved in working at Coastal Jazz Blues in helping them put together our festival each year. You help lead workshops that are presented during the festival, you introduce artists at particular concerts and you help book artists for various venues used during the festival. What do you think some of CJBS greatest challenges are in launching the festival each year?

Kate: The festival grows larger every year, and it’s been wonderful to watch how the festival manages the growth. The challenges are huge — from reviewing thousands of applications, programming the festival, writing and publishing the festival guide, promoting the festival, managing the growing number of venues and artists, contracts, payroll, visas, hotels, transportation and other artist logistics, organizing volunteers, finding room for all the festival staff in the small office, and many more. The festival is blessed to have a great core staff that really knows the inner workings of the fest itself, and to have a returning ‘family’ of festival managers that have sort of grown up with the festival over the last 21 years. Many of our wonderful volunteers come back year after year as well, and there are always fresh faces wanting to help out.

Karin: Have you witnessed any great changes over the years with the type of festival that we now have in Vancouver?

Kate: I think the heart and soul of the festival have remained intact over the years. Of course it’s gotten bigger and more famous, but the ideas and ideals have stayed the same. The programming is still the most adventurous and inclusive of any jazz festival on the planet, with a huge contingent of free performances that feature local, national and international artists playing all kinds of music.

Karin: Are you able to draw some general comparisons between our festival and others that you have performed at?

Kate: I really tend to tour out of festival season so that I can be here for the Vancouver festival. I have played at festivals in Berlin, Lisbon,Chicago, Ottawa, and more, but I am on the road and not really able to get as much of the feel of the fest as I would like. I know that what I said earlier about the programming of our festival is true because I read festival programs from other places, and because top jazz and music writers from all over the globe come here every year to check out our program.

Karin: Kate, with regards to this years line up of jazz vocalists booked for the Vancouver jazz festival there certainly are some famous names in the world of jazz: Tony Bennett, Sheila Jordan, Andy Bey come to mind. There are several others that I am sure are interesting vocal artists to watch out for. Perhaps you can give us some incite into some of the vocalists that might not yet be house hold names as well as your impressions of the well known artists coming this year.

Kate: Singers you may never have heard of but should definitely hear? High on my list of jazz singers are Sweden’s Jeanette Lindström and Canada’s Tena Palmer. Great locally-based singers like yourself, Jennifer Scott, and Denzal Sinclaire, plus up-and-comers Carman J. Price, Bess Durey and Matthew Smith will be performing as well. And check out Danish singer/songwriter/accordionist Susi Hyldgaard. It’s not what everyone would call jazz, but it sure is cool. Other vocalists well worth hearing that inhabit the fringes of jazz are blues guitarist and singer Rory Block, Victoria-based singer/songwriter Anne Schaeffer, and Neko Case. The stars? Tony Bennett (I’ve been in love with him for years), Sheila Jordan (one of my personal heroes and jazz icons), and Andy Bey (a long-overlooked and fantastic singer who is finally getting his due).

Karin: Tell us about where we will be able to see you perform at this year’s Vancouver Jazz Festival and with whom you will be performing.

Kate: I’ll be playing with the NOW Orchestra and Marilyn Crispell on Saturday the 24th at the VECC. Then my quintet performs on Monday the 26th at 8pm at Ironworks, and I’ll play a trio gig with Bill Coon and Adam Thomas on Friday the 30th at O’Doul’s

Karin: What would you say some of the unique aspects of our Vancouver festival are and what makes it such an exciting festival to attend each year?

Kate: There are a number of things that make it unique. First and foremost, the festival’s commitment to programming local and Canadian talent. Also, Ken Picerking, the artistic director, has a great sense for putting together fantastic double bills, and curates some of the most interesting improvisational meetings you could ever imagine. The festival’s commitment to local and national artists isn’t just lip-service either. They put us on stages with international stars and program us in ways that make Vancouver audiences see that our musicians truly are world-class. It’s the coolest jazz festival on the planet. Buy tickets to see great artists, or go out to Gastown Jazz, Jazz at the Roundhouse, and Canada day at Granville Island and hear a whole world of jazz for free!

Karin: Thanks Kate!

Karin: Denzal, you have performed in jazz festivals all over the world. Are you able to tell us how you believe our festival compares with other festivals that you have been involved in?

Denzal: Vancouver's festival is truly a world class festival with top artists from around the globe as well as very fine national and local talent.  It's not an easy task to organize a festival of any kind, but the Coastal Jazz & Blues Society have succeeded in creating a festival that  ranks among the top in the world!

Karin:  When did you get the so called “jazz bug” and realize that you were destined to be a jazz musician?

Denzal: During the end of my high school years I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in music. I had taken several years of classical piano lessons and was very much involved in the music program. When it came time to decide what I would focus on in University, music seemed the obvious choice. It was around this time that i also thought that I'd like to try my hand at jazz music. I had of course, had a little exposure to it at home with my dad's record collection and enjoyed it. However, it was a few of my high school friends and one of my music teachers who really into jazz at the time that inspired me pursue. My intention at the time though was to broaden my musical horizons for a few years studying jazz and then come back to a more pop influenced music. well needless to say the pop thing never happened although I  think it would be novel to record an album of the works or hits of all of the pop/rock artists who are now recording material from the American Popular Songbook.

Karin: Since Vancouver has been home to you for sometime now since you moved here from Montreal, does it in fact seem like home to you to perform in front of the Vancouver audience.

Denzal: I do get a special sense of being @ home when performing in Vancouver as it has been 11 years now this summer. However, I also try to create that same feeling wherever I am. 

Karin: By now you have surely performed in each and every one of our concert venues in Vancouver. Do you have a favorite concert venue in which to perform?

Denzal:  Well, each of the venues as you know, is unique and possesses a certain charm and I've had wonderful experiences in all of them. One of my favourites though is the CULTCH.

Karin: Do you recall the first time you performed at our Vancouver festival and whom it was you were performing with.

Denzal: Yes. I remember my first appearance at the Vancouver Festival quite well as it was also my first time in Vancouver 1995. I was with gutiarist/composer/arranger, Bill Coon and we performed at Performance Works and Anderson's Restaurant.

Karin: You are on tour during this festival season so it is probably quite a grueling schedule for you. Do you ever get the opportunity while you in various festival cities to hear other artists that are performing?

Denzal: Well, depending on how long you are staying at any one destination, you can usually hear some or all of one of the other artists' shows.  If you get there the day of and have to leave next morning, you might not be able to take in as much. Sometimes you don't want to hearany music at all.

Karin: Do you think that the world of jazz in all of its various forms is in a healthy state in Canada or do you find that European countries or the USA have larger audience support.

Denzal: That's an interesting question. I'm sure that jazz musicians across Canada would welcome more venues. However, that also requires an increase in audience support. Given the fact that both the European  and American  populations are several times the size of ours there is automatically the potential for greater audience support. Mind you there are probably that many more musicians as well.

Karin: Tell us about your upcoming appearance at Performance Works as part of this year’s Vancouver Jazz Festival.

Denzal: I'll be playing with Russ Botten on bass, Nino DiPasquale on drums and Mike Allen on tenor saxophone. The program will consist of many of the songs on my latest recording, which was released in January.

Karin: Thanks Denzal!