Nothing but jazz

Festival adapts bringing five days of entertainment

Many look forward to it months in advance; the anticipation building as one summer ends and the next is soon longed for, all in the name of topnotch jazz, all in Prince Edward County. As with many festivals, the last 18 months have been tough; it’s been worse still for many musicians. The uncertainty of an unpredictable pandemic isn’t considerate of things such as festivals, which often require months of planning, where performers are sometimes booked a year in advance. The inability to plan and predict in these strange times has been the bane of many festival organizers and it often requires taking a leap of faith because most know even when performers are secured, not much is certain in COVID times. What is certain is the 2021 Prince Edward County Jazz Festival is here in the County and it is happening, beginning tonight. “The PEC Jazz Festival has been improvising in pandemic uncertainty to stage a high-quality and COVID-safe 2021 program,” said Brian Barlow, creative director with the Prince Edward County Jazz Festival. “We’re thrilled to be able to be doing the festival this year, and we have a number of new partners, so it’s nice to see the PEC Jazz Festival family growing.”

Saxophonist Emily Steinwall plays with John Sherwood, Brian Barlow and Scott Alexander on Sunday as part of the 2021 PEC Jazz Festival.

The festival doesn’t look quite as it should when compared to pre-COVID times, but it’s very close. While the usual big-ticket Regent Theatre events—often sell-outs to packed audiences—are not happening this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, many favourite jazz performers are back in town for the week, and they are happy to be back. “A dozen shows, most of them outdoors and featuring top artists are scheduled over five days,” says Barlow. “About 30 musicians will perform in half a dozen venues, including big names in Canadian jazz, such as pianist John Sherwood, drummer Brian Barlow, bassist Scott Alexander, saxophonist Colleen Allen, and guitarists Ted Quinlan and Mike Francis.” This year’s festival, now in its 21st year, is scaled back a little where locations have been selected purposefully with spacing in mind (most are outdoors), and in some cases limits have been put on audience numbers, all in the name of keeping folks safe. But none of that matters because most will be happy to get their fix of jazz, happy to put up with a few inconveniences for the opportunity to experience exceptional music and to be able to see live performers once again, as well as witness the thrill of professional jazz as musicians demonstrate their talent and enthusiasm for the genre. “We’ve been very careful this year to always stay within the COVID guidelines and that means that the number of people allowed at each of our events will be limited.”

While the two marquee ticketed events this year have already sold out (much to the delight of organizers), there is still plenty of jazz to experience around the County this week, and aside from the two main events, everything else is presented free of charge. For those who were fortunate to secure tickets to the two main headliners, Toronto-based Big Smoke Brass on Friday evening (August 20) at Huff Estates Winery is described as a “funky, heavy-hitting six-piece band” and includes two saxophones, a trombone and a trumpet, drums of course, but also a sousaphone. Having nothing to do with phones of the kind we know today, it was named after its inventor, bandmaster John Philip Sousa. The large brass instrument appears as if wrapped around the player’s body, with the bell sitting above the player’s head. Early models had the bell pointing upwards and were known as ‘rain catchers’.

The second marquee event (also now sold out) will close out the festival on Sunday evening (August 22) at the Waring House and features John Sherwood with Brian Barlow and Scott Alexander.

Lucky ticket holders also get to enjoy a special guest, saxophonist Emily Steinwall. “I’m especially happy to see Emily Steinwall back with us,” Barlow said. “She won our Rising Young Star Award in 2018 and has continued to do very well.” Emily Steinwall has just recently released her first album, Welcome to the Garden. For those who missed out on this key event, Brian Barlow and Scott Alexander will be joined by Ted Quinlan on Thursday afternoon (August 19); Mike Francis on Friday afternoon (August 20); and Brian Legere on Saturday afternoon (August 21), all at Huff Estates Winery. Expect to see Emily Steinwall hanging out at both the Friday and Saturday events too.

The Jazz Van is back by popular demand again this year with the Chameleon Jazz Band. They will be showing up at four venues on Saturday afternoon (August 21), including Carson’s Garden and Market, Huff Estates Winery, Rosehall Run Vineyards, and Cold Creek Vineyards. “The popular and pandemic-friendly travelling jazz van happens on the final weekend in which the tradjazz Chameleon Jazz Band takes its show on beautiful County roads.” A Jazz Van of a slightly different kind with the Airborne Brass Band will entertain on Sunday afternoon (August 22) at the Bloomfield United Church, Bloomfield Public House, The Old Third Vineyard, as well as ANDARA Gallery.

Changing gears, the Lenni Stewart Jazz Trio, a favourite for many in the County, will visit the Waring House on Saturday evening (August 21), and for something a little different, David Carpenter and Howard Baer will be at Cold Creek Vineyards Saturday afternoon (August 21) where Carpenter will read from his new book of jazz poetry, All Us Cats on Stage. Saturday morning (August 21) includes an indoor event with Colleen Allen and Ted Quinlan at St. Mary Magdalene Church, where attendance will be limited to 25 persons. Performing at the Waring House Thursday evening (August 19) will be the Brian Legere Trio; Friday evening (August 20) brings the Colleen Allen Trio with Ted Quinlan and Paco Luviano, and Sunday (August 22) welcomes the Jenica Rayne Jazz Trio for both an afternoon and an evening performance. The 2021 Prince Edward County Jazz Festival begins tonight (Wednesday, August 18) at the Waring House with Howard Baer and Michael Monis. The festival continues until Sunday, August 22 at various locations throughout Prince Edward County (and it’s free). Details of the full schedule can be found at pecjazz.org.