Shadbolt Jazz Walk aims to get Burnaby swinging
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2019 19:00:19 +0000
When: Dec. 12, 11:30 a.m. – 10:15 p.m.
Where: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby
Tickets and info: From $30, tickets.shadboltcentre.com
Jazz saxophonist Cory Weeds has always demonstrated advanced capabilities when it come to bringing traditional and mainstream jazz music to new audiences.
From his tenure at the now defunct Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club to the music lovers dream N.Y. with Cory Weeds tours and running the Cellar Live label, Weeds has always pursued his musical passions.
Now he’s taking some of his favourite musicians over to Burnaby’s Shadbolt Centre for the Arts for the first Shadbolt Jazz Walk.
Featuring 11 groups, the daylong event takes place on the beautiful grounds and theatres of the Deer Lake facility with a cast of talent ranging from bandleaders Jill Townsend and Brad Turner and name headliners organist Chris Hazelton and drummer Roy McCurdy to tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart.
It’s a full roster of swinging good sounds that suit the whole family, and includes not only music sets but some other special events as well.
Weeds chatted about the event with Postmedia News.
Q: So jazz is swinging in Burnaby?
A: I grew up in Burnaby, live here and my kids are going to graduate from the same school I went I graduated from. About four years ago, I was contacted by Cory Philley about running a jazz session at the Shadbolt Centre to take place on the last Tuesday of every month from six to eight, and I almost burst out laughing. I really didn’t think it would last two months top. From the very first one, we’ve had on average 110 people and 10-12 jammers, which is totally respectable and I’ve booked about five or six shows there since that began.
Q: OK, so how did the idea of the Shadbolt Jazz Walk come about?
A: I had participated in a number of jazz walks in Washington, where you take a neighbourhood and plow jazz into all of these unfamiliar places from cafes to headlining halls. You get a wristband, wander about and enjoy jazz in your area and I thought the concept was really cool.
I was at the Shadbolt one day and realized it was perfect for a jazz walk as you’ve got the black box room where we do the jam, the James Cowan theatre that seats about 285, and a host of other rooms and a beautiful setting. They said ‘yes.’
Q: So you’re in and now comes the planning part?
A: Indeed, and I decided that it may as well be a retail-related event in that all the artists could be ones who have recorded, or who will record, on the Cellar Live label. So there is a really nice mix of local groups as well as the headlining Jill Townsend Big Band being joined by a great Kansas City organist named Chris Hazelton. They’ll be doing a selection of classics as well as delving into Jimmy Smith’s Christmas Cookin’ album, as we are heading into December.
Q: So it’s a jazz festival in one day?
A: Exactly, and we have music ranging from Dawn Pemberton singing Etta Jones to Cannonball Adderley’s drummer Roy McCurdy coming up for a set, as well as familiar names like the Brad Turner Quintet and Dave Robbins Sextet, and so on. Also, because jazz can be a little scary to some, we have two Jazz 101 sessions with Alan Matheson, L.A.-based archival producer Zev Feldman, Chris Wong talking about an upcoming book on Vancouver jazz musicians ,and more. It’s a really full, varied day of music and music talk.
Q: How many albums a year are you releasing on Cellar Live?
A: I’m guessing it’s around 15 this year. Things changed when we got a FACTOR grant under the comprehensive music program targeting Canadian releases and that has been a real game-changer, allowing us to focus on a few Canadian jazz releases without breaking the bank. Because it’s still a very hard sell to move Canadian jazz, no matter how great the music may be.
• The next archival release on Cellar Live is a duet album from the legendary Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis recorded live in Seattle.
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