In advance of the Gibsons Landing Jazz Festival and Beyond (June 23 to 25), the Sunshine Coast Jazz and Entertainment Society is producing a week of extraordinary performances at local venues.
The Gibsons and District Public Library hosts the opening event on Tuesday, June 20, as Budge Schachte (guitar) and Karen Graves (saxophone) perform arrangements rooted in the jazz tradition as well as influences from folk, pop and world music.
Also on June 20, Tapworks Brewing will host Wanda Nowicki and the Coast Crew. Wanda Nowicki (vocals), Ken Dalgleish (keyboards), Boyd Norman (bass), Tim Enns (drums) with special guests Michael Toth (guitar) and Antonia Robertson (vocals) plan a combination of uptempo jazz and a handful of songs composed by Vancouver songwriter Bernard Boulanger.
On June 21, the Groove Syndicate (performing at the 101 Brewhouse) will unite Peter van Deursen on Hammond B3 organ, Graham Ord on saxophone, Budge Schachte on guitar, and John Rule on drums for smooth jazz, soulful blues, and infectious rhythm and blues.
The next day, June 22, the Budge Schachte Quartet performs at the Roberts Creek Legion. Joining Schachte will be musical polymath Graham Ord, bassist Mike Agranovich and drummer Denis Burke, himself a composer and sound designer.
In the afternoon of Friday, June 23, Sunnycrest Mall presents the trio Martini Madness, featuring Kevin Crofton on guitar and vocals and recording artist Graham Walker on drums, joined by jazz guitarist-turned-bassist Andy Amanovich.
In the evening of June 23, the Susana Arbeu Williams Trio performs at the Batch 44 Brewery and Kitchen in Sechelt. Williams is from Caracas, Venezuela, and now leads an extensive musical career from adoptive home base on the Sunshine Coast. Williams will be joined by Sacha Fassaert on bass and pianist Andre Carrasquero, who also grew up in Venezuela.
The Anagram Trio will conclude Jazz Week with a performance on Saturday, June 24 at the 101 Brewhouse. Anagram includes Anna Lumiere on piano, her partner Graham Ord on sax, flute and percussion, and Heather Anderson on trumpet, trombone and flugelhorn.
“We’re happy to bring back the pre-festival Jazz Week,” said Linda Williams, a member of the Sunshine Coast Jazz and Entertainment Society that organizes the event. “It was a tradition before COVID, and this is the first year it’s returned. In fact, this year’s Jazz Week will be the first time ever we’ve extended performances into Sechelt as well.”
Tickets and details on the seven-show prelude to the Gibsons Landing Jazz Festival are available online at coastjazz.com. Watch next week’s Coast Reporter for details on the festival itself.
