Jazz - the look & the feel

Jumbo jazz choir readies for first performances

BY ANDY RICE

Paul Cummings isn’t trying to break a Guinness World Record for the largest jazz choir, although it would be forgivable for you to think so.

Why else would he be spearheading a vocal ensemble that involves 120 students from Grades 1 to 12?

“Because it’s often difficult to find the time and the circumstances that pull our School District together musically,” said Paul. “This is a chance for me and the other music teachers to work together on a common project, and also for kids of all ages to sing together and inspire one another.”

Fellow educators Roy Carson and Megan Skidmore have been rehearsing groups at Kelly Creek, Westview and Edgehill Elementary Schools since December and will soon join forces with Paul’s ensembles from Brooks.

“We’re going to have a dry run at the Powell River Festival of Performing Arts at the beginning of March and then really cut everyone loose at the Townsite Jazz Festival next month,” he said.

There, the SD47 Mass Choir will open for Fifth Street, a quintet of rising stars from Victoria, on April 5 at the Max Cameron Theatre. They will also appear the following night at Dwight Hall in support of Tanga, an energetic Latin fusion ensemble based in Vancouver. Past attendees will recall that this was where the Brooks/Max Alumni Jazz Band made its much-much-anticipated debut last year. Paul said he may involve alumni in future iterations of the festival but ultimately wanted to shake things up for 2019 and create a larger opportunity for current students in the community.

“As both artistic director of the Townsite Jazz Festival and head of the Brooks Music Department I’m so lucky to have my hat in both rings,” said Paul. “Our students can get a whole other level of experience out of this, being able to perform for what I’m sure will be a packed house, twice, and open for some amazing musicians.”

Although their set won’t be a long one, the SD47 Mass Jazz Choir will cover an impressive variety of musical ground – everything from a dixieland-steeped rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In to Hugh Masakela’s famous anti-apartheid anthem, Mandela.

“Harmonically it’s a very simple piece, but there are some really interesting things that happen,” said Paul. “The hope is that the older students will be like big brothers and sisters to the younger kids as they rehearse and perform this music together.”

Vocal parts will vary in difficulty according to the age level of the students, and plenty of hand signals have been devised in order to ensure that everyone is moving in the right direction. “I’ll be there sort of directing traffic as we improvise between each of the different parts,” said Paul.

Because baritone singers are rather hard to come by at the primary level, members of the Brooks Jazz Choir will be using microphones to keep the balance in check. And, as if the on-stage numbers aren’t already impressive enough, the SD47 Mass Jazz Choir will be joined by an additional 50 instrumentalists for their Townsite Jazz Festival performances, bringing the total to 170 or more.

Guinness, are you listening?

Look jazzy • feel jazzier

These Townsite Jazz Festival super-fans will be going the extra mile this April, cruising from concert to concert in their finest vintage garb. Not only have Michelle Zutz, Romeo Styles, Steve and Tanya Brooks bought four of only 20 festival passes available this year, but they’ve also begun putting together a series of outfits that harken back to the golden era of swing.

“I just like to look the part,” said Romeo. “I think it sets the tone for the festival and pays homage to the artists as well. I think they like to

see people dressed up, coming to these kind of speakeasy concerts in the Townsite.”

Romeo has put out a challenge to others in the community who might also like to suit up for the occasion, even going as far as suggesting a few of his favourite haberdashers. “Just go online and check out Opposuits or The Bay, or Unique Vintage for the ladies,” he said.

Even if the result has you looking more like Don Cherry than Humphrey Bogart, Romeo insists it’s the effort that counts. As the old saying goes: 80 per cent of life is showing up.

…Or maybe it’s dressing up.

Townsite Jazz Fest

April 4 to 6

Intimate venues will play host to everything from Latin fusion to straight-ahead swing during the second annual Townsite Jazz Festival. Legendary vocalist Dee Daniels and a cappella quintet Fifth Street have recently been added to the lineup after Seattle-based ensemble Last Call bowed out of the event for travel reasons.

Tickets ($20/concert) are available at Townsite Brewing, Rockit Music and online at townsitejazz.com.

Schedule

Thursday, April 4

6 pm • Tina Jones Quartet (Rainbow Room) 8 pm • Dee Daniels Quartet (Max Cameron Theatre) 10 pm • Tina Jones Quartet (Townsite Brewing) SOLD OUT!

Friday, April 5

6 pm • Oliver Gannon Quartet (Rainbow Room)8 pm • Fifth Street (Max Cameron Theatre)10 pm • Tanga (McKinney’s Pub)

Saturday, April 6

12 pm • Ash Avenue Amble (Multiple Venues)

Choose your own adventure with an afternoon of 12 simultaneous concerts at Townsite Brewing, the Patricia Theatre, Dwight Hall and the Rodmay Heritage Hotel. This year’s Ash Avenue Amble will be bigger and better than ever with the addition of an outdoor main stage and a who’s who of local vendors. From noon until 5 pm, attendees can sample highlights from the festival’s 2019 lineup for only $20 per person (kids 12 and under come free!) A full schedule will be announced later this month, but organizers promise sets from the Brooks, Wellington and Gleneagle Secondary jazz bands, a special children’s concert featuring Tina Jones (formerly of the Kerplunks) and music from local favourite Walter Martella.

6 pm • Oliver Gannon Quartet with special guest Phil Dwyer (Rainbow Room)

8 pm • Latin Dance featuring Tanga (Dwight Hall)10 pm • Festival Jam (McKinney’s Pub)

DIG OUT YOUR DANCING SHOES: Based in Vancouver, “fusion mob” Tanga layers East African marimba, Colombian cumbia and Cuban jazz.

THE VOICE: Dee Daniels’ four-octave powerhouse fronts Ken Lister (bass), Hans Verhoeven (drums) and Walter Martella (piano).