By Tim Reinert
Music is known as the universal language, but there are an unending amount of dialects, with every area of the world providing a plethora of different musical sub genres for us to disseminate. And as our world has gotten smaller over the last century through technology, our access to music has expanded exponentially.
The lineup for the 2024 Vancouver International Jazz Festival is proof of this. Dozens of countries are represented, both through travelling musicians, and through local folks who have absorbed the musical stories of other cultures.
Raagaverse
Raagaverse is one of my favourite local bands of the last few years (it’s hard to believe they’ve only existed for just over two years), and they can be a little overwhelming the first time you hear them. Led by vocal powerhouse Shruti Ramani, Raagaverse combines Jazz with Indian classical music in ways that you’ve never heard before. They’ll be performing material from their new album at their free show at the Performance works, giving Vancouver audiences no excuses for missing out on this Canadian phenomenon in the making.
June 28, 1:30PM
Performance Works
Free to attend
Mimosa
Mimosa is also a local band, and one with decades of experience under its belt. They are influenced by the music of so many parts of the world that it might be easier to talk about the genres they DON’T draw from. Brazilian sambas, French chansons, jazz…it’s all here, and it’s all made easily accessible by this joyful group featuring some of the area’s most seasoned players.
June 29, 1:00PM
Civic Plaza (North Vancouver)
Free to attend
Taras Luka Sextet
Accordionist Taras Luka only arrived here from the Ukraine a few years ago, and he’s made such an impact on the local scene during that time. His packed shows at Frankie’s Jazz Club and Tyrant Studios have demonstrated why he’s performed all over Europe and why his compositions have been performed by symphonies in multiple countries. He’ll be performing music from his new album for his very first Jazz Festival gig, and his sextet will feature some of the city’s best.
June 28, 4:00PM
Ocean Artworks
Free to attend
Dálava
If you love Vancouver’s creative music scene but have never heard this band live, I’m not sure you really love Vancouver’s creative music scene. Co-led by vocalist Julia Úlehla and guitarist Aram Bajakian, Dálava takes Czech melodies transcribed by Julia’s great-grandfather over a hundred years ago and reimagines them in a contemporary setting. The music sounds fresh and dangerous, with Avant-Rock and Free Jazz influences threatening to spill out over these gorgeous melodies. Performances by the full band are rare these days, so make sure you don’t miss out on this one.
June 29, 9:30PM
Revue Stage
Tickets are $27 plus fees
Hand To Earth: The Crow
Hand to Earth defies simple genre description, as they act as contemporary interpreters of ancient songs (known as Yolngu) of the Australian Manikay people, some of which are thousands, and possibly tens of thousands of years old. Co-led by Daniel Wilfred and Sunny Kim, this ensemble combines contemporary minimalism with some of the oldest music on our planet.
June 26, 5:00PM
Revue Stage
PWYC (door sales only)
We All Break
“Fusion” is a term that gets bandied about a lot when talking about international music, but it’s honestly the best word for We All Break, an absolutely unique melting pot of traditional Haitian Voudon music and contemporary avant-garde. Put together by long-time friend of the festival Ches Smith, this group features some of America’s premier Jazz musicians (Smith, Tim Berne, Nick Dunston, Matt Mitchell) as well as some of Haiti’s exceptional percussionists and singers (Sirene Dantor Rene, Lalin St. Juste, Tossie Long, Daniel Brevil, Markus Schwartz, and Fanfan Jean-Guy Rene). This performance is over four years in the making as it was originally scheduled to be part of the cancelled 2020 Jazz Festival. It’s often difficult to predict which shows will stick in the public conscious once the Jazz Festival is over, but I suspect that this one will be talked about for years to come.
June 29, 7:30PM
Performance Works
Tickets are $37 plus fees
Team Hegdal
A much-missed feature of Vancouver Jazz Festivals past, has to be the involvement of musicians from Scandinavia. For years, musicians like Esbjörn Svensson, Mats Gustafsson, Hakon Kornstad, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Magnus Broo, and many others made Vancouver their home away from home. Challenging international economics has slowed that cultural exchange in recent years, but 2024 promises to bring back the glory days of Scandinavian excellence, primarily in the form of Team Hegdal. Led by Eirik Hegdal and featuring some of Norway’s current heavy hitters, this powerhouse unit combines ‘60s Free Jazz aesthetics with contemporary European sensibilities, and also SWINGS HARD.
June 28, 9:30PM
Revue Stage
Tickets are $27 plus fees
Other Highlights:
Other groups from around the world that shouldn’t be missed include free performances on the first weekend of the Jazz Festival by Juana Molina & Y la Bamba, local hero Itamar Erez, and various performances by Franco-Nigerian saxophonist Sakina Abdou.
For more on Tim’s picks, check out this Infidels Jazz podcast episode
