Toronto trumpet sensation Lina Allemano

Fall Guide: Jazz Listings

If you’re the kind of person who thinks good jazz only happens once a year in Victoria, it’s time to take a fresh listen to the city. With its big-name international stars, it’s true that JazzFest gets all the attention, but you can hear great jazz year-round in our city. From Gershwin to Gil Evans, all the jazz you need is already here; read on for a rundown of some not-to-be-missed shows this fall. (Oh, and unless otherwise noted, the venue is—naturally—Hermann’s.)

Cuban-Canadian pianist Hilario Duran nearly blew the roof off Hermann’s with his virtuoso performance in June. Now he’s back, performing a “panorama of Cuban music” with Charanga Danzon, a Cuban music ensemble from Seattle, at UVic’s Phillip T. Young Recital Hall on September 27. Debbie Duncan, an astonishing jazz vocalist from Minneapolis who has received rave reviews at major jazz clubs worldwide, appears with Ron Hadley, Rick Kilburn, Kelby MacNayr, and saxophonist Jim Cameron on October 3. Duncan has performed with Roy Hargrove and opened for Herbie Hancock—not to be missed. Meanwhile, Barbara Blair and her trio perform a Gershwin tribute at the Charlie White Theatre in Sidney on October 5.

Heralded in Downbeat as one of “25 Trumpeters for the Future,” Toronto’s Lina Allemano delivers a unique combination of free and structured jazz with her quartet on October 8. Two days later, on October 10, you can hear the Brent Jarvis Trio play the music of Bill Evans. Then there’s the Message, led by drummer James McRae, which is one of the more interesting offerings this fall. This eight-piece ensemble of established and up-and-coming players plans to “celebrate, re-invent, and re-energize the brilliant musical legacy of Horace Silver” on October 11.

Don Thompson and Terry Clarke are undoubtedly the greatest Canadian jazzmen of their generation. Add Phil Dwyer and Jim Vivian and you’ve got a legendary quartet here on October 23, on a cross-country tour celebrating their latest CD, For Kenny Wheeler. But if a quartet isn’t enough, how about a 13-piece ensemble led by Hugh Fraser performing Gil Evans’ jazz arrangements of Jimi Hendrix on October 24 and 25? This show received a standing ovation in Vancouver—a must see!

Jazz chanteuse Miranda Sage appears with a quartet that includes Karel Roessingh on November 1 and the Flora Scott Quintet with special guest Pat Coleman plays on November 7. Then Hugh Fraser is back on November 21 with Hermann’s Jazz Masters, featuring Kansas City jazz pianist/vocalist Jerry Bryant and other seminal members of the jazz community playing straight-up standards and swinging blues.

Longing for some top-notch six-string noodling? Don’t miss Vancouver’s Juno-nominated guitarist Bill Coon with his trio on November 15. Or if you prefer 88 keys, Victoria’s own Karel Roessingh unleashes not one but three new solo piano CDs this fall. The jazz disc gets launched November 22.

If you’ve got more of a rootsy bent, the Marc Atkinson Trio shares a bill with Scotland’s Shooglenifty—it’ll be a night of gypsy jazz and progressive Celtic on November 30 at UVic Centre Auditorium. Then on December 13 and 14, you can slip into the holiday spirit with a turkey dinner and some swinging Vince Guaraldi served up by Sean Drabitt, Brent Jarvis and Josh Dixon at the 3rd annual Charlie Brown Christmas special.

Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard fans take note: Vancouver Island’s busiest bassist, Ken Lister, is launching his own superstar sextet with Brad Turner, Phil Dwyer, Roy Styffe, Miles Black and Jesse Cahill delivering classic Blue Note-era tunes on December 18.

And right after Ken’s sextet burns up the place, the trombones take over, with Hugh Fraser’s phenomenal Bonehenge on December 19, followed on December 20 by a W.I.N.S fundraiser with the Hypatia Creative Women’s Jazz Orchestra, featuring blues legend Jim Byrnes and horn man Bill Runge.

There’s lots more going on in town than is listed here. Check the Hermann’s calendar (hermannsjazz.com) and don’t forget the restaurant scene. Oh, and one more thought—if your devotion to jazz includes, well, devotion, look into the great Jazz Vespers scene around Victoria. Sylvan United (Mill Bay), St. John’s United (Deep Cove) and the Church of the Advent (Colwood) all have first-class players appearing this fall.