Every year, the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival serves up one of the most expansive concert schedules around, and this year is no exception. The 2013 edition features more than 300 performances, of which more than 150 are absolutely free (including the big downtown street festivals.)
And don't confuse free with cheap; the jazz festival's public performance line-up showcases the best of the best of local, national, and international jazz talent.
If you'd like to indulge in a public performance or two but you don't know where to begin, we've got you covered with our nine picks for can't-miss performances.
Peggy Lee Band: Cellist Peggy Lee is a leading figure in the Vancouver music scene. Her all-star group (Lee, Brad Turner, Jon Bentley, Jeremy Berkman, Tony Wilson, Ron Samworth, Andre Lachance, and Dylan van der Schyff) will perform her original, chamber-music-meets-funk melodies. 1:30pm, June 22, Performance Works.
Boi Akih: Combine classical Indian, Indonesian and African traditions with pop, Dutch avant-jazz and a soulful lead vocalist crooning in Haruku (a dialect from the Indonesian Maluku Islands) and you've got Amsterdam's Boi Akih. 1:30pm, June 23, Performance Works.
Erin Castelo: Lovers of Mad Men, Burt Bacharach and 60s vocal groups will want to make time for this groovy Nova Scotia-based vocalist-pianist performing finger-snapping classics in her smooth baritone voice. 2:15pm, June 23, Downtown Jazz Georgia Stage.
Kellylee Evans: This powerful, evocative singer won a 2011 Juno Award for her stunning tribute to Nina Simone. Evans will wield a voice that JazzTimes called stunning and crystalline over the grooving strains of an enthusiastic quartet. 3:45pm, June 23, Downtown Jazz Georgia Stage.
Crowman: This is the concert you'll want to attend if you're curious to find out just what happens to jazz when it's funneled through an electronic sieve. The trio combines viola, effects, synthesizers, electronic gadgets and percussion with ambient sounds and familiar tunes to create joyful and memorable sonic experiences. 5pm, June 27, Ironworks.
Aunts and Uncles: Few other bands come close to replicating the intricate and accessible sounds of this homegrown quartet. Their wildly inventive music is performed using drums, ukulele, glockenspiel, violin, keyboards, baritone guitar, and their distinctive voices. 12pm, June 29, Granville Island, Public Market Stage.
Gabriel Alegria Afro Peruvian Sextet: Peruvian trumpeter Gabriel Alegria and his dynamic group of Latin jazz all-stars dish up spirited modern jazz takes on the African-influenced music of coastal South America. 5:15pm, June 29, David Lam Park Stage.
Hornography: As the name suggests, Hornography is all about the horns. The nine-piece band (which includes a five-piece horn section, two drummers, electric bass and guitar) performs original music composed by saxophonist Clinton Swanson and inspired by world beat and funk artists. 5:15pm, June 30, David Lam Park Stage.
Dalannah Gail Bowen: A force of nature with pipes that seemed to have been made for raw, soul-stirring blues performances, the local favourite is equally adept at singing the delicate nuances of jazz classics and spirituals. 3pm, July 1, Granville Island, Railspur District Stage.
