ON STAGE
What: TD Victoria International JazzFest
Where: jazzvictoria.ca
When: June 25-July 2
Tickets: By donation
The 38th edition of the TD Victoria International Jazz Festival will look a lot like the 37th — an online entity.
But producers of one of Victoria’s longest-running annual events did not make the decision to go virtual without first looking at a range of alternatives. The provincial government brought in new rules last month for gatherings, which would have allowed JazzFest executive producer Darryl Mar to program some in-person performances for audiences of up to 50 people.
Performances that will be screened June 25-July 2 during JazzFest were recorded in April, however, so an abrupt about-face would have been difficult. With deadlines closing in, and not wanting to produce a sub-standard event, Mar opted for a virtual festival for the second consecutive year.
“We were already committed to the virtual programming when the announcement was made,” he said.
“We didn’t want to take a chance on 50 people in a venue. But we had the time to do the proper visual editing and sound mixing so we could come up with a good [video] product.”
Concerts for 50 people — when done to JazzFest standards — are essentially a loss leader, Mar said. “We’re saving ourselves for when we can present live music properly in front of live audiences and not be rushed.”
That may happen sooner than later. Outdoor pop-up performances staged by JazzFest producers the Victoria Jazz Society are possibilities in July and August, bringing live jazz back to audiences. Mar is also looking to plan either a festival or a series of live events in the fall, with both free and ticketed performances.
In the short term, he’s focused on making people aware of the pre-produced JazzFest programming that will air in instalments in the coming weeks, starting with a performance out of Toronto by the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio, with Larnell Lewis, that will open the festival Friday.
Additional concerts by Vancouver Island acts the Angela Verbrugge Quintet, Attila Fias Trio, Nick La Riviere Quintet, Phil Dwyer Trio, Kristina Helene Quartet, Owen Chow Quintet and Ashley Wey Trio were recorded live at Hermann’s Upstairs from April 12-16 and will air through July 2 at jazzvictoria.ca.
The largely local festival provides a nice opportunity for members of the Vancouver Island jazz community to take the spotlight. Mar is hoping patrons of the Victoria Jazz Society — a registered charity and not-for-profit organization — donate generously so similar events can continue through the summer, until live concerts return.
“I suspect there is a reluctance by the audience to be the first ones jumping on board when the whole COVID-19 issue is still not over. What is going to happen in the fall? What is the pattern? I don’t know. No one really knows. But our organization, we are flexible.”
It has been a trying year, no doubt. Mar, who programs a series of concerts from September to May every year, including the Vancouver Island Blues Bash on Labour Day weekend, had to cancel a planned Sept. 15 concert with jazz great Pat Metheny, due to lingering COVID-19 protocols.
The event, originally scheduled to take place last year, had been moved months ago to Sept. 15, 2021 — the exact day the province is expected to fully reopen.
The Royal Theatre will not reopen fully until Nov. 1, however, which meant the concert will no longer take place. “If I had enough notice, I would have built the mini-festival around that date,” Mar said.
Next year should see a return to regular programming. Mar has select 2022 dates held at the McPherson Playhouse and Royal Theatre for JazzFest, and dates on Labour Day weekend at Ship Point for the Vancouver Island Blues Bash. He’s hoping — and expecting — to mount in-person performances in 2021, but is prepared to program online should the provincial mandate take a few steps back amid a COVID-19 flare-up.
If he learned anything during the pandemic, it’s to be flexible. “We’re thinking positive. We’re very optimistic.”
