Presenters Picks

I asked the Board and Staff of JazzEast what are the top 5 concerts they are most excited to see and here is what they said.

Board Picks

Mark Gosine, Director
5. Boom Pam
4. Fools Gold
3. Peter Appleyard
2. David Binney
1. De La Soul

Martine Durier-Copp, Director
Lurrie Bell - bluesman...love blues, that improvisational character, which can take you on a musical journey anywhere the artist elects to go.... (I see many parallels with flamenco, which also has a strong improvisational character...)

Alex Cuba, of course!!...wonderful melodies and rhythms, which remind me of sultry nights in Santiago de Cuba:)

Molly Johnson...divine!!

young up and coming talent:
Keith Hallett - blues guitarist
love Jeff Torbert - one of the truly great young talents of Atlantic Canada!

Eleanor Fitzpatrick, Executive Member-at-Large
Dan Weiss Trio
NOMO
Alex Cuba
Terry Clarke Trio
David Binney Quartet

Dustin LindenSmith, VP Programming
Aside from the opening night which I'm totally psyched about (De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest have been favourite hip-hop groups of mine since the 90s), my top picks are:

Dan Weiss Trio
Stayner's Wharf - Fri 9 July - 11:15 PM
Dan Weiss has played at our festival before and also at Scotia Festival of Music. In my opinion he is quite possibly the greatest drummer alive at this moment in time, and it is always a real treat to hear him play in any context or setting. I believe that this will be my first time hearing him
as the leader of his own group, and I can't wait to hear what he puts together.

David Binney Quartet with Darren Sigesmund Quartet
Festival Tent - Sun 11 July - 8 PM
Both of these groups will play excellent, modern jazz. Also the only "listening" night during the tent series, and Binney's group even includes the aforementioned Dan Weiss on drums. This will be awesome.

Terry Clarke Trio
Imperial Ballroom - Mon 12 July - 8 PM
Terry Clarke is a somewhat underrated Canadian treasure: a tremendous drummer and musician in general, he will be accompanied by two other Canadian jazz titans: Phil Dwyer on tenor sax and Don Thompson on bass (who is also a consummate pianist and vibraphonist in his own right). This promises to be a very, very strong show.

Dinuk Wijeratne Trio
St Paul's Anglican Church - Thu 15 July - 7 PM
Dinuk is an unbelievably versatile composer, pianist, producer and director and I love nearly everything I've ever seen or heard him do. To my chagrin, I've missed a number of interesting projects he's done throughout this past calendar year, so I plan to make every possible effort to see this show. I quite literally shed tears during his performance with Sanctuary in the 2009 festival. He's an incredibly sensitive and contemplative player whose performances are utterly magnetic to me.

Boom Pam with Gypsophilia
Festival Tent - Thu 15 July - 8 PM
Two members from my own quartet + one of our own former board members are in Gypsophilia, so I always like to hear that group play. However, Boom Pam also promises to put on a wild and exciting show. I mean, come on -- tuba-based, klezmer-inflected surf rock from Tel Aviv? Check out their MySpace page and tell me that's not gonna be a fun night.

Honourable Mentions
-- Mike Murley at Stayner's on Mon 12 July
-- André Leroux at Stayner's on Sat 10 July
-- oh hell, the whole Stayner's series is gonna be fantastic this year -- there's barely a night there I feel like I could reasonably miss!
-- Owen Howard's Drum Lore + Peter Van Huffel Quartet at Imperial Ballroom on Tue 13 July
-- Spontaneous Combustion Finale at Neptune Studio Theatre on Tue 13 July
-- NOMO at Seahorse Tavern on Sat 10 July
-- My own 2x2 at the Festival Tent on Fri 16 July at 2:30 (please don't miss that one!!! Sponsored by our own Secretary, Tom Curran!)

Olga Manzoni, VP Development
Jeanne Rochette
Alex Cuba
Fool’s Gold
Molly Johnson
David Binney Quartet

Andrew Killawee, Director
1. Sanctuary
2. De la Soul
3. David Binney Quartet
4. Dinuk Wijeratne Trio
5. Big Valley Swing Orchestra

Chris Elson, President
Terry Clarke Trio - National treasures. The chance to hear rhythmic virtuoso Terry Clarke with the vastly gifted Don Thompson and the ever powerful Phil Dwyer, all inventing together, is simply not to be missed.

Mike Murley Quartet - Always a treat to hear Mike, is there a more lyrically consistent and alertly inventive enjoyable tenor player in the world? and this night, like the whole week of late nights at Stayner's-- wow!, promises to really cook. Jim Vivian, Ethan Ardelli and Reg Schwager represent a great mixture of generations and sensibilities.

Alpha Yaya Diallo + Chris Church Back to the Coast - I've been a fan of African music for a long time and this evening will be a stand-out in this year's festival. The music of West Africa gets worked through Canadian multicultural possibilities. Chris Church and Friends, including the wonderful Dinuk Wijeratne, will no doubt get things off to a tremendous, ethnomusical fusion-y start. This could be one of those unforgettable nights at the tent. Pray for the warm clear night the music deserves!

Jeanne Rochette - Hey, I'm a French Professor. Piaf meets Feist? Mais, oui. (And she's not a figure skater. Mais elle est bien mignonne.) And her pianist is the son of the former Premier of Quebec. A band
leader in his own right with piano chops the equal of anyone in the country. Vive le Q-Factor!

Dapp Theory, Native Son, The Synchronics - I'm excited about the mixture of poetry and jazz, spoken word and improvised music which the Company House series presents. I loved Dapp Theory and their back-to-the 80's ChickCoreaUzebWeatherReport lives thing at the Marquee Club in 2004 and I see they've got the amazing John Moon, peerless Washington D.C. percussive poet, with them again this time.

Six Others I'll be going to for sure:
De La
Binney/Sigesmund
Spontaneous Combustion
Rob Crowell's Eddie Harris Tribute
Upstream 6.0
2x2

Staff Picks

Heather Gibson, General Manager
Creaking Tree String Quartet
Alex Cuba & Zumbini Circus
Lurrie Bell
Tom Easley's Mingus Project
Erin Costelo

Lulu Healy, Artistic Director
Reut Regev's R*Time
Spontaneous Combustion II
David Binney Quartet
Boom Pam
Tom Easley's Mingus Project

Kasia Morrison, Communications & Outreach Manager
My jazzy heart
1. Peter Van Huffel
2. Reut Regev's R*Time
3. Dan Weiss and Jerry Granelli performing for first time together in 4. Spontaneous Combustion Orchestra II: Section 1
4. Darren Sigesmund
5. Sandro Domelli Trio

My indie heart
1. Boom Pam
2. NOMO
3. De La Soul
4. Sageev Oore's, Dani Oore & Chris Tarry with the Poets Laurette
5. Inhabitants

Best theme day: Gospel day, Sunday, July 11
Best workshop: Sageev Oore's Drawings, etc.
Best hope/wish they perform together: The Extremities & Ali Shaheed Muhammed

Brian Saulnier, Accountant
Creaking Tree
Boom Pam
Blue Engine String Quartet
Swingology
Reut Regev's R*Time

Raphael Roter, Volunteer Services Manager
De La Soul
Dinuk Wijeratne
Dan Weiss Trio
Fool's Gold
FREE VERSE

Zoe Leger, Assistant Communications & Outreach Manager
Dan Weiss Trio
David Binney Quartet
The Spontaneous Combustion Series
Inhabitants
Reut Regev's R*Time

Andrew MacKelvie, Creative Music Workshop Coordinator
1) Spontaneous Combustion Orchestra
2) David Binney
3) Peter Van Huffle
4) Reut Regev
5) Inhabitants

Sarah Watling, Executive Director
[Note: Baby Roman helped her pick these gems]
1. Alpha yaya diallo
2. Sandro dominielli Trio at Stayners
3. boom pam!!!
4. jeanne rochette
5. h'sao !!!!!!!!!
opening night is a given