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Workshop Wednesday
If you've been loving our TIME WARP TUESDAYS, where we give a retrospective look on the past 25 years of the festival, then you'll love this WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY we've got in store for you today!
If you haven't checked out the CREATIVE MUSIC WORKSHOP site, then you've missed out on their amazing RETROSPECTIVE BLOG!
Here are a few great shots from the past few CREATIVE MUSIC WORKSHOPS!
You can see even more wonderful CREATIVE MUSIC WORKSHOP retrospective photos HERE!
The CREATIVE MUSIC WORKSHOP's submission DEADLINE is TOMORROW, JUNE 30th, so make sure to sign up today! Want to know more about CMW? Click HERE!
Can't wait that long until CMW? Then we've got just the thing for you! Tonight, MUSICS AND MOVEMENTS #3 is happening at the Agricola Open Mic House at 9PM! Learn more about the event HERE!
Don't forget that the DEADLINE to submit to CMW is TOMORROW, JUNE 30TH. Registering before the deadline is the only way you're guaranteed a spot, so make sure to sign up by tomorrow by clicking HERE
Time Warp Tuesday - Chris Cowper-Smith
Hey all you cats and kittens – let’s do the TIME WARP again. For this week’s edition, we’re shining a light on another shutterbug from festival days of yesteryear. CHRIS COWPER-SMITH shot his first jazz festival last year, and boy! did he get some great snaps. Check out this doozy of soul rocker ALEX CUBA.
Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘Gee, that kid takes some hella fine photos. He must have dedicated himself 100% to the craft’. Well, you can certainly be forgiven for thinking so, but you’d be wrong. No, this dude is not only a fine photog, he’s also a Neuroscience PhD candidate (he’s like some kinda Renaissance Man!) Oh, and he plays the sax, too. In fact, he’s a huge jazz fan – which might go a ways to explaining his interest in volunteering to shoot the festival again this year. Here are a couple more examples of his wicked-cool work:
Posdnuos of De La Soul in a very striking shot.
Matt Myer of Gypsophilia under the tent lights.
Along with all of the stunners he took of last year’s artists, Chris also captured some really great shots of festival attendees, like this one of some very excited DE LA SOUL fans.
It’s great to have CHRIS COWPER-SMITH back on board for this year’s festival – the dizzying bedlam that is a nine-day musical mega-bash needs his brand of crackerjack photographic powers to be captured properly.
Make sure to check out CHRIS COWPER-SMITH's website : QUARK VIEW PHOTOGRAPHY
Themeless Thursday : Anna Horsnell Wade's The Art of Jazz
On this lovely Thursday, faithful readers, we'd like to introduce you to a great art exhibit featuring art pieces inspired by jazz!
Artist ANNA HORSNELL WADE has translated music into visual art in her exhibit of new abstract paintings entitled THE ART OF JAZZ.
Each piece evolved from the music itself - the layers of interpretation and improvisation so integral to jazz. From recordings of the great jazz standards to performances as diverse as those of the Halifax Jazz Festival and Nova Scotia Honour Jazz, ANNA HORSNELL WADE immersed herself in the local jazz scene to capture the rhythm, the heartbeat, and the colour. Each painting is accompanied by background details on the specific source of inspiration. In the words of trumpeter Nicholas Payton, "connect with something personal."
Anna Horsnell Wade
Here's a video of Anna talking more about this great art exhibit!
Anna Horsnell Wade from Jazz East on Vimeo.
WHEN? Now until July 24th
WHERE? 2 Ochterloney Street, Dartmouth, NS
ANNA HORSNELL WADE will be present each Saturday from 9AM-5PM.
There will be a special Artist Talk, July 10th at 2PM.
Learn more about ANNA HORSNELL WADE and THE ART OF JAZZ HERE!
The Pharcyde Saves the Day!
TD Halifax Jazz Festival Announced New Hip Hop Group for July 9th - The Pharcyde did not pass Halifax by! The 90's super group known for its Billboard hit "Passin' Me By" is coming to the TD Halifax Jazz Festival to save the day after Talib Kweli canceled his headliner show, Idle Warship featuring Talib Kweli and Res.
"We were quite disappointed when we received the call," says Laura 'Lulu' Healy, Artistic Director of JazzEast, "but that sadness was greatly eased when The Pharcyde agreed to come. Their music is just as exciting and it fits the festival perfectly." Given the positive response for the Talib Kweli show, Healy wanted "to still give Halifax hip hop fans another legendary group to look forward to seeing."
Last Friday, an official message was sent to all ticket holders of the Kweli concert. They were informed that he had canceled and that a new group was to be announced Monday, June 27. Attendees will be given the option to keep their tickets or to receive a full refund tomorrow (Tuesday, June 27).
The Pharcyde will join The Extremities featuring Ghettosocks on the bill for Saturday, July 9, 8pm at the festival tent. The concert is the first of two hip hop concerts during the festival. The Digable Planets is performing on the final night at the tent, Saturday, July 16 at 8pm.
The party goes on!
Minute Monday w/ Kyle Mckenna
Last week we finally had some nice weather for a few days, so we took a bit of a stroll on our gorgeous Waterfront (and may or may not have taken some time to eat some of the sweet treats lining the boardwalk) and ran into this Halifamous character, KYLE MCKENNA of THE CARAVAN!
Like we said before, we like to keep our Minute Mondays short and sweet, so without further ado, here's KYLE MCKENNA letting us know why he's excited for this year's TD Halifax Jazz Festival!
Minute Monday with Kyle Mckenna from Jazz East on Vimeo.
There's going to be some killer hip hop this year at the festival! THE EXTREMITIES will be having their CD release featuring GHETTOSOCKS Saturday, July 9th and we've also got DIGABLE PLANETS & NOMADIC MASSIVE closing our festival tent series on Saturday, July 16th (click HERE for tickets)! We've also got a few surprises to announce very soon, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for those!
Want to listen to some more great local hip hop? Check out KYLE's band - THE CARAVAN HERE.
Favourite Album Friday w/ Alex Pangman
In this week's edition, the wonderful ALEX PANGMANhas sent us a video giving us some insight into one of her favourite records - LOUIS ARMSTRONG's Black & Blue.
The Toronto Star has said that "It's time-travel magic whenever ALEX PANGMAN breathes into a microphone and evokes the great jazz femmes of the 1920s, 30s and 40s."
Now, usually, this is the part where I tell you a bit about the video and the artist, but Alex does a better job than I ever could, so watch this video and get ready to smile!
Favourite Album Friday - Alex Pangman from Jazz East on Vimeo.
Isn't she great? ALEX PANGMAN will be playing two sets on our final night, SATURDAY, JULY 16TH at 9PM at the Lord Nelson's Imperial Ballroom where Jubilee Swing Orchestra will be playing later on in the evening!
Find out more about the show and how to buy tickets HERE.
Don't forget to learn to jazz and swing TONIGHT at 1313 Hollis with the Dalhousie Swing Dance Society! Whether you are a seasoned dancer or want to try it out for the first time, this is the place to be! This event is open to all ages and will be dry. This is the first of a series of events going on once a month all summer. Cover is only $5 and includes the one-hour crash course drop-in lesson!
Themeless Thursday
This Thursday is dedicated to show some love to all of our out-of-towners! Halifax is a great city to spend some time in during the summer, and the Halifax Jazz Festival is a perfect time for you to visit this great city of ours!
We've ran around the city delivering program guides and posters to various wonderful local businesses, but don't worry - we haven't forgotten you, either! We've sent some program guides to your lovely cities as well, and we've made sure to take our time to pick some great locations to be our official places.
Here's a list of the wonderful places we've handpicked to send our program guides to! Don't know what they look like? Here's a picture to help you know what to be on the lookout for!
NEW BRUNSWICK
MONCTON: Spin-It Records - Our Assistant Marketing Coordinator, Chantal Caissie (modelling our program guides), is from Moncton, and has nothing but love for this little indie record shop. Find them at 467A Main St.
FREDERICTON & SAINT JOHN: Backstreet Records - One of the best record stores in New Brunswick by far! Saint John: 124 Germain St., Fredericton: 384 Queen St.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
CHARLOTTETOWN: Alibi Lounge - A venue featuring great local and touring musicians with beautiful decor and atmosphere, as well as great food! Find them at 77 University Ave.
NOVA SCOTIA
YARMOUTH: Rudder's - There's few places that have better seafood than Nova Scotia's coasts, and this restaurant shows you why! Get some great seafood and grab a program guide at the same time at 96 Water St.
WOLFVILLE: Box of Delights Bookstore - A delightful little bookshop committed to making a big difference! Visit them at 466 Main St. to get yourself a program guide!.
SYDNEY: Wentworth Perk - Our Community and Outreach Assistant, Heather Gillis, loves grabbing a coffee here and watching their open mics! Check out great intimate live performances and amazing coffee at 697 George St.
For more information on official places, concert champions, and other neat stuff we love, click here!
Workshop Wednesday
We have our second Ask Jerry video up for today's Creative Music Workshop blog! We're excited for this one, because CMW's coordinator, Andrew MacKelvie, has given us some exclusive content for today! Don't forget that the deadline to sign up for CMW is June 30th.
Today, Jerry will be discussing lineage and developing your own sound - a very important element in any artist's career and one's every day life!
Mr. Granelli will be leading this year's Creative Music Workshop - a program where the ensemble is the classroom and improvisation is more than a style; it is a path for learning. The Creative Music Workshop summer intensive gathers renowned musicians from across North America. It takes place during the TD Halifax Jazz Festival, and thus provides students many opportunities to see numerous world class artists and to perform on the festival tent stage.
Don't forget: All students also receive an ALL EVENTS PASS to the TD Halifax Jazz Festival.
This year, Jerry will also be working with a camp for youth with hearing and vision disabilities, conducting workshops with the kids to help them explore artistic expression as part of the camps art program. This will be happening July 4th & 6th from 7-8PM at the APSEA Building on South Street.
Don't forget that the DEADLINE to sign up for the Creative Music Workshop is THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH
Learn more about CMW HERE
Sign up HERE
Check out CMW's blog HERE
Thanks again to CMW's Andrew MacKelvie for this exclusive Ask Jerry content!
Time Warp Tuesday
It’s that time again, jazz fans! Time Warp Tuesday (sneaky little devil that it is) has tiptoed up and walloped us over the heads, sending us on another trip down memory lane. So we hope you’re strapped in real tight-like because we’re gonna blast you into the past. Well, more correctly, JENNYFER BRICKENDEN is going to blast you into the past. She sent us her great little story about her own role in the development of the jazz festival, and indeed in the development of JazzEast Rising itself! She was also thoughtful enough to send the cool photos you see below. Take it away, Jennyfer…
Stephen Pederson and Virginia Beaton on Flutes accompanied by Scott Macmillan at the TUNS lawn (1987)
“I remember meeting at Sleepy Thomas's Store on Barrington St. during the winter of 1985 with Don Palmer, Jo Stern, Sleepy himself, Scott Croucher, and myself, and we came up with name Jazzeast Rising and made plans for the 1st festival. Jo was involved with TUNS and so the first few years the concerts were on a make shift stage on the lawn of TUNS on Spring Garden Road and in the little auditorium at TUNS and at the TUNS gazebo. It was pretty grassroots. My friend and Halifax Graphic artist Derek Day created the Jazzeast Rising first poster and T-shirt.” - Jennyfer Brickenden
John Cuming (trumpet), Bruce Philips (bass), Scott Macmillan (guitar), and Joe Cunningham (drums) at the Waterfront (1987)
Don't forget to celebrate our anniversary with the JazzEast 25th anniversary Big Band under the festival tent on Thursday, July 14th!
Minute Monday with Kasia Morrison
After a gorgeous weekend, it's sometimes hard to get back into the swing of things, so Mondays will be short and sweet! We'll be posting fun, small minute-long clips from staff, past volunteers, and jazz lovers sharing their favourite Jazz Fest stories!
For our very first minute, our Community and Outreach Manager, KASIA MORRISON, talks to us about how the music, the people, and the atmosphere of the Halifax Jazz Festival creates great times and great memories with friends!