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I’d love to tell you that things have been quiet here due to seasonal festivities. However, I moved.
I know, I know..who moves a week before Christmas? Well, me.

If you live in an area with a tight rental market, you look early, look hard, and apply for everthing. We got lucky. The first place we looked at was the right size, right price, and in a good area. I am 2 blocks from the community centre and 10 minutes from groceries & booze, and 20 minutes from the pub. All things considered, not bad.

On my way home I stopped at the produce place, and while perusing the selection of bananas (mostly green and bruised .meh…) I hear a bold, brassy ‘clang’. Once more whileweaving throught huddled masses at the citrus bins ‘clang clang.’

Standing in line to pay for the 3 suitable bananas I found, I see the source of the ‘clang.’  At both tills, there is a shiny brass bell mounted about 5 feet up the wall. THe cashiers ring it for reasons I don’t fully understand. I thought perhaps the customer at the till won a prize of some sort. A security measure perhaps? “Management  (clang)- we have a shifty caucasion in a cheap toque on till 3!!

This is my favourite thing in the neighbourhood. My goal? Find out why they ring that bell no matter how many green bananas and un-needed green onions I have to buy.Encyclopedia Brown, eat your heart out.

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Tags: Moving, Kin’s Farm Market, Groceries, East Vancouver

Between busy and lazy, this is a week late. Actually, I had wanted to blog my thoughts on each show as it happened. Turns out this was optimistic.
Something about working full time and staying out late at gigs just doesn’t leave a lot of time. All whining aside, here is a summary of the gigs I managed to catch, in brief yet hopefully informative detail.

Tierney Sutton: Impressive vocalist, and that’s coming from someone who is not that big a fan of vocal jazz. Imaginative arrangements, a sensitive, yet powerful band, and Tierney’s impeccable rhythmic accuracy and pitch made for a good show.

CuongVu /Sten Sendell Trio w/ John Butcher: I already went on about his one. Now that all is said and done, I stand by my decision in a previous post declaring Cuong Vu my Festival Fave.

Derek Trucks Band: The guy can play. Undoubtedly a masterful slide blues player, Derek and the band really soared on the south Indian inspired tunes. Derek has proven himself as player with a musical vocabulary well beyond the blues, and I think this is where his strength lies. There were many in the audience who were there due to his relationship with The Allman Brothers, but I look forward to Derek and his band developing a distinct voice beyond the Blues diaspora.

Dhafer Youssef: Ya can’t go wrong with a string quartet (this is part of that ‘highly subjective’ qualifier above). Where Cuong Vu was exciting and energetic, this performance was beautiful and mesmerizing. Dhafer played Oud with some processing and looping along with the string quartet and a tabla player. Once again, I play the subjectivity card - love the tablas.

Lubo Alexandrov & Kaba Horo Ensemble: I’m a bit of a music geek and spend a fair chunk of time off the beaten path. When a band comes along that is completely off my radar, I am pleasantly surprised. Such is the case with this crew. Comprised of Bulgarians based out of Montreal, these guys packed the dance floor with their infectious Eastern European/ Gypsy/ Up tempo Balkan hoe down sets. The obligatory twirling hippies, dignified old ladies, belly dancers, bankers, and even those that, to all outward appearances looked too cool to even smile, got up and shook their groove thang - sometimes in 11/8 (at least I think thats what it was…). Definitely a festival highlight.

ICP Orchestra: These folks have been together more or less as long as I’ve been alive, and it shows. Ellingtonian grace, the bombast of Charles Ives, and the hyper kinetic lunacy of Hans Bennink all at once. And who holds it all together? The quiet, unassuming man at the piano who walks on stage in a fishing hat.If I was the curator of Vonnegut’s Tralfamadorian zoo, these guys would be the house band. Best big band ever - so there!!

Matheson/Roper/Mollerup: Full Disclosure - 2 out of the 3 performers here were instructors of mine at music school. With that out of the way,let us discuss a very important aspect of performance - enjoying it. These three guys looked ridiculously happy playing their tunes. They made it look fun and effortless, and made me want to dust off my bass and re-fresh my ailing musical chops.

The only real bummer was a set I caught at David Lam park on the final Sunday of the festival. Lets just say if you can’t even cary a tune in a bucket, getting a bigger bucket is not the answer.

Technorati Tags: Concerts, Festivals, Jazz, Vancouver Jazz Festival