Edmonton Jazz Festival Society

Kicking off Jazz Appreciation Month with a throwback to one of our fan favourites! In 2013, the legendary Herbie Hancock headlined the Winspear as part of the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival - marking the last time he performed in Edmonton and his first visit back since touring with Wayne Shorter in the 1990s. Featuring Lionel Loueke on guitar, it was a night to remember and one we continue to talk about! Check out this great shot captured by local photographer Frank Gasparik, who for many years captured artists on our jazz festival stages. #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ

#tbt In 2015, master jazz pianist Fred Hersch brought his trio to the Yardbird Suite during the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival. Ahead of the performance, he spoke with Edmonton Journal writer Roger Levesque and had this to say about his influences: 'My listening is pretty broad and deep, including the writing of Thad Jones and Gil Evans, and people outside of the jazz world. Two of my biggest influences are Canadians, Glenn Gould and Joni Mitchell. I’ve got my own style and sound, a trio that’s unique, that has been playing for six years. For me it’s a magical combination, capable of being very precise but also open and loose.' : @repost @boulezsaal #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ

DISCOVER MYRIAD THREE This self-proclaimed ‘accidental’ trio is based out of Toronto and has spent the last decade touring venues and jazz festivals across Canada, the US, and Europe. The band is a true collective - each member acts simultaneously as a leader and as a sideman. Their original music features different aspects of jazz improvisation, ensemble performance and contemporary composition - which we witnessed live during the 2017 TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival! Check out their video for 'der Trockner’, just added to our #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ. YouTube playlist: https://bit.ly/3ehZtav

DISCOVER...CAMILLE THURMAN As a composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and unique interpreter of the jazz tradition, Camille Thurman is quickly becoming one of the standard-bearers for the form, making a considerable and dynamic contribution to the legacy of jazz while paying tribute to its heroes. Fluid and powerful on the tenor saxophone and highly inventive as a vocalist, Thurman also performs on bass clarinet, flute and piccolo. Her rich sax sound has been compared t...o Joe Henderson and Dexter Gordon, while her vocal approach including an impressive scatting ability has been classified alongside those of Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter. She has earned accolades from Jazz Times, Downbeat, All About Jazz, the New York Times, NPR, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, BET, and Jazz Night In America. Thurman tours internationally with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; she is the first woman in 30 years to tour and perform full-time two seasons as a saxophonist with the world-renowned orchestra (20182020). Thurman also leads her own band, The Camille Thurman Quartet, and is a featured artist with the Darrell Green Trio with whom she has performed at the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, and numerous respected international jazz festivals and venues. : Our Day Will Come with the Darrell Green Trio. Full song added to our #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ YouTube playlist where you can hear more vocals and catch her on sax: https://bit.ly/3ehZtav

#tbt To a great night in 2013, when @esperanzaspalding headlined the @winspearcentre as part of the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival - with vocalist @gregoryportermusic as her opening act - filling the hall, hot off her Grammy win for Jazz Vocal Album of the Year. A longtime friend to the festival recalls: ‘There was magic in the air when Esperanza and her band came on. Her groovy bass playing, buttery scatting and intricate vocals were mesmerizing.’ Take a listen to ‘I Can’t Help It’ from her 2013 album Radio Music Society added to our #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ YouTube playlist: https://bit.ly/3ehZtav

Did you know?! Funk and soul jazz saxophone legend Maceo Parker performed at the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival back in 2008. Best known for playing with James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic, he’s also released 11 solo records and now tours the world with ‘the greatest little funk orchestra on earth.’ Check out ‘Shake Everything You’ve Got’ on our YouTube #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ playlist and get down! : https://bit.ly/3ehZtav

DISCOVERAmanda Tossoff. This B.C-raised, Toronto-based pianist, composer, and educator has made a name for herself as both a bandleader and side-woman. She is on faculty at Humber College, and is also co-artistic director of newly-founded online education company Music Arts Collective alongside bassist/educator Jodi Proznik and arts-administrator Francesca Fung. Her 2016 album ‘Words’ was Juno-nominated and Polaris long-listed, and her 2021 release ‘Earth Voices’ continues to pursue the creative and stylistic leap, once again drawing on poetry with a deep personal and emotional connection. Check out ‘Finis’ featuring Emilie-Claire Barlow off of Amanda’s latest release, just added to our #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ Yourube playlist: https://bit.ly/3ehZtav

It is with great sadness we announce that on February 9th, Chick Corea passed away at the age of 79, from a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very r...ecently. Throughout his life and career, Chick relished in the freedom and the fun to be had in creating something new, and in playing the games that artists do. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, and a great mentor and friend to so many. Through his body of work and the decades he spent touring the world, he touched and inspired the lives of millions. Though he would be the first to say that his music said more than words ever could, he nevertheless had this message for all those he knew and loved, and for all those who loved him: I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs more artists, it’s also just a lot of fun. And to my amazing musician friends who have been like family to me as long as I’ve known you: It has been a blessing and an honor learning from and playing with all of you. My mission has always been to bring the joy of creating anywhere I could, and to have done so with all the artists that I admire so dearlythis has been the richness of my life. Chick’s family will of course appreciate their privacy during this difficult time of loss.

"Recognized as one of pianist OSCAR PETERSON’S most significant compositions, HYMN OF FREEDOM, with lyrics penned by HARRIETTE HAMILTON, was written in 1962 and became one of the crusade songs of the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the United States. - Peterson drew upon various church renderings of spirituals recalled from his childhood in Montreal for inspiration when writing the piece. Upon its completion, it was decided that lyrics would comple...ment the music and HARRIETTE HAMILTON was enlisted for the task. According to Hamilton, all the lyrics had to do was express in very simple language the hope for unity, peace and dignity for mankind. It was easy to write. With Peterson on piano, RAY BROWN on bass and ED THIGPEN on drums, the trio recorded the piece on Night Train (Verve 1962). It has since been recorded numerous times by many artists and has been performed around the globe by choirs big and small. Hymn to Freedom is, indeed, one of Peterson’s most relevant and timeless pieces. Acknowledgements are due to these Canadian musicians for creating a moving composition, capturing a period of Western history that saw radical change, and becoming a powerful force for freedom and equality. #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ

DISCOVERNubya Garcia Since releasing her debut EP in 2017, this British saxophonist has made a name for herself as an emerging jazz artist on the London scene. She has toured extensively internationally and collaborates regularly with contemporaries including Makaya McCraven and Moses Sumney. Drawing inspiration from her Guyanese and Trinidadian heritage, her music fuses traditional jazz with afro-caribbean, dub reggae and electronic sounds. Check out a sample of her NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert here: https://bit.ly/3pRGUgh #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ

In 1935, after playing in an informal jam session with BENNY GOODMAN (clarinetist) and GENE KRUPA (drums), pianist TEDDY WILSON (piano) became an original member of the Benny Goodman Trio. This group was one of the first racially integrated groups in popular music, and grew to a quartet one year later with the addition of vibraphonist LIONEL HAMPTION. Goodman, a preeminent white bandleader, was the first to hire a Black musician to be part of his ensemble. These steps helped... push for racial integration in jazz, which was previously not only taboo, but even illegal in some states. In the 1920s and '30s, many orchestras that marketed themselves as jazz bands consisted only of white musicians. Such orchestras also played a mawkish style of music that only drew sparingly from the music that Black jazz bands were playing. Goodman used his fame to spread appreciation for Black music. When Goodman began a weekly show on NBC radio called Let’s Dance, he bought arrangements by FLETCHER HENDERSON, a prominent Black bandleader. His thrilling radio performances of Henderson’s music brought awareness of jazz by Black musicians to a broad and mainly white audience. Watch as the trio performs 'Nice Work If You Can Get It' (Recorded In New York 1960): https://bit.ly/3cBUQHu #JAZZISwithEDMJAZZ

February is recognized in many countries around the world as Black History Month. Throughout the month, we will be using our #jazziswithedmjazz initiative to explore and celebrate jazz history and its connection to black history and black culture. If you have a story you think people should know about, let us know by sending a DM or leave a comment below.

We asked the members of the recent Edmonton Jazz Collective project who or what they would have aspiring musicians of their respective instruments listen to for inspiration. Here's what BOB TILDESLEY (trumpet) had to share: "Who would I recommend listening to for an aspiring trumpeter? Miles, of course, he and his cohorts created a catalyst for the evolution of modern music, over and over. So, you can jump in listening to his groups and from there retrace the roots of jazz an...d world fusion improvised music. I would say the album Bitches Brew would be an interesting start. But of course, Miles wasn't the only one. Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman and their compatriots of the "free jazz" movement opened it up for freedom of expression and pushing the boundaries of conventional harmony into the background (often the lack of a chordal instrument), showing how improvisation in the moment can and should be a vehicle to transcend mental shackles in music. Don took it into the world music sphere, it was a spiritual pursuit as much as music perhaps. Music is always there, we just need to tap into it. It's often the mind that gets in the way" Here is a segment from The Miles Davis Story documentary where the band discusses the process of recording Bitches Brew.

Hello Friends! Thank you to those who joined us for the premiere of our COJazz presentation last night and for all the wonderful feedback on the performance. Our team plans to continue finding ways to promote and connect jazz musicians and fans, providing more online jazz experiences for all to enjoy. WE NEED YOUR INPUT!... Over the next few weeks we will be sharing a few short surveys with our jazz family to help us find out what online music experiences (performances, workshops, interviews, etc) you most enjoy and/or engage in. We promise to keep them short but your participation will help us in choosing what kind of programming and initiatives we move forward with over the months to come. Learn more: https://conta.cc/3kCuANw SURCY #1: If you watched our COJazz presentation of the Edmonton Jazz Festival Collective, help us by completing this survey: https://stoneolafson.az1.qualtrics.com//SV_0wTE1nkoER9heyp Thanks in advance for your time and support!

We are excited for this Sunday’s show featuring the latest Edmonton Jazz Collective (EJC) project. You can catch the show at our http://edmontonjazz.com homepage starting at 7PM MST. The roster of our EJC ensembles are unique each time. For this project we are showcasing original compositions by the ensemble members: Chris Andrew (musical director and piano), PJ Perry (saxophone), Sandro Dominelli (drums), Jim Head (guitar), Bob Tildesley (trumpet), Audrey Ochoa (trombone), ...Rubim de Toledo (bass) and Kate Blechinger (vocals). This project is being presented in partnership with the first ever Canadian Online Jazz Festival (http://cojazz.ca) and is free for all to enjoy! This will be the first of a few initiatives the EJFS has plans to present in an effort to help get local musicians performing and collaborating. (Musicians, watch for more details to follow!)