Celebrating 23 years of artistic provocation
The 23rd annual Guelph Jazz Festival ran from Sept. 14 to 18, drawing artists from all over the world to celebrate contemporary jazz in its many forms.
Since its inception in 1994, the festival has won numerous awards, the latest of which was the 2010 Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
For artistic director Ajay Heble, a professor with the University of Guelph’s School of English and Theatre Studies, this year’s festival was especially remarkable. As the festival’s founder, he has served as artistic director from the very beginning. However, the 2016 festival was his final year at the helm.
Heble specializes in improvisation in jazz and has dedicated much time over the years to studying its community-building properties.
“As the artistic director of the jazz festival, I [bring] together people who have not often played together, who may never have met,” said Heble in an interview with The Ontarion. “Sometimes I’ve brought together people who don’t even speak the same language—there’s literally no language they speak in common—and they can come together like this, on stage, in front of an audience for the first time, and play absolutely wondrous music.”
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The festival’s main angle is provocation, but not in the aggressive sense. Instead, the Jazz Festival and colloquium stimulate a dialogue—one that spans across several languages and cultures—with the goal of uniting the community on a regional, national, and international level. The emphasis is on creating a platform for jazz ventures and making it widely accessible to the public through free shows or affordable pricing.
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In addition to the main stage series and colloquium, the Jazz Around Town initiative sought to insert live jazz into all sorts of downtown venues, including Planet Bean, Red Brick Café, Sip Club, Diana Downtown, Balzac’s, Manhattans, and the Woolwich Arrow.
Esmerine, the multi-Juno-award-winning group, played two shows on the Friday of the festival: first a matinee in the University of Guelph’s Branion Plaza, and later that evening on the TD Main Stage in front of City Hall. The Montreal-based act had listeners in awe of their neo-classical, post-rock chamber style.
“We’re constantly evolving our sound, which is really fun and challenging for all of us,” said Esmerine cellist Rebecca Foon. “A lot of the members switch instruments [during the set] and we’re juggling between percussion and melody.”
Along with Foon, Esmerine’s other four members shift back and forth among the marimba, violin, bass, contrabass, horns, and several percussion instruments, not to mention experimental sounds created by using instruments in non-conventional ways.
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The Alisha Oliver and Robert Lee Duo entertained the afternoon crowd at Planet Bean on Sept. 16 with a set of jazz standards. Oliver grew up in Guelph, and Lee attended the University of Guelph for his undergraduate degree in music.
“I loved the opportunities that I had to perform on campus and around town,” said Lee of his time in Guelph. “I really enjoy being able to share the music with my peers and the local community.”
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Later that evening, the Chicago Underground Duo graced the TD Main Stage, bringing their highly experimental jazz. Comprised of percussionist Chad Taylor and cornetist Rob Mazurek, their musical style combines fantastical cornet playing with sublime drumming.
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The final performance that night was electronic hip-hop act, Kid Koala. Midway through the set, the turntable-spinning DJ cut the music and declared, “This is one of the first records I ever bought.” He proceeded to spin David Bowie’s “Modern Love” and hopped off the stage to dance with the crowd.
After dozens of acts throughout the weekend, the festival concluded with a double-feature on Sept.18 at the Guelph Youth Music Centre. The first act was cornetist Rob Mazurek and half of the Chicago Underground Duo performing a tribute to the late Bill Dixon, a prominent figure in the free jazz movement.
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The final act was dubbed the “Festival Improv Finale,” boasting several acclaimed musicians from Toronto, Chicago, Montreal, and San Francisco. The final improvised session finished with the musicians all singing the words “Brother Friend” as a gesture of gratitude toward Heble.