As summer festival season reveals, there is no shortage of jazz and blues musicians on Vancouver Island.
This August and September Nanaimo is getting a double dose of genre-specific music festivals with Summertime Blues and the Nanaimo International Jazz Festival, and both events lean heavily on regional talent.
“I collected sort of the best of the best of the best of around the Island and we decided to go with that as our theme for this year and help celebrate the fact that we have some of the best blues musicians in Canada right here on the Island,” said Grant Payne, Nanaimo Blues Society vice-president and artistic director.
Summertime Blues will occupy Maffeo Sutton Park from Aug. 23 to 26 and feature nearly 20 acts over that span – all but one hailing from the Island.
Payne said blues musicians are lured to the Island because of its environment and lifestyle and end up inspired.
“There are a few blues guys that I know that have basically said, ‘OK, well, I’m retired,’ and then they’ve moved out here and seen what an incredibly vibrant blues scene there is out here and have popped out of retirement and have new bands now,” Payne said.
The Nanaimo International Jazz Festival comes to indoor and outdoor venues in the downtown from Sept. 21 to 23. For this second annual installment of the celebration, the international headliner is the Charles Mingus Dynasty Quintet, a group that formed after the renowned jazz composer’s death in 1979 to preserve his musical legacy.
“[Mingus] created wonderful, challenging, yet commanding compositions that engaged the audience on one had and challenged the musicians on the other hand,” said Andrew Homzy, president of the Nanaimo International Jazz Festival Association.
Like last year the headliner will perform along with local acts and present a workshop for music students. Homzy said more than half of the festival’s events will be free to the public and once again an emphasis will be placed on Island artists.
Homzy said the festival is giving priority to local musicians “to raise the standard and to build an audience and to celebrate the local heroes that live in our area. These are people who have dedicated their lives to this music.”
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