Inside Vancouver

Free Music at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 22-July 1

by Remy Scalza in Events on June 11, 2012

Photo credit: onlinesalsa | Flickr

The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival (June 22-July 1) is the city’s biggest music and culture event of the year, with 300 concerts, 1,800 performers and a half-million spectators.

The annual fete – now in its 27th year – brings in big name jazz and blues stars from around the globe. This year’s festival features 10-time Grammy-winning guitarist George Benson, legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter and blues rockers Robert Randolph and the Family Band, just to name a few standouts.

The best part? Many of the acts throughout the 11-day festival are absolutely free. Here’s a rundown on where to find top names and local talent free of charge at this year’s event:

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Free Music at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 22-July 1

Not Just Jazz: Vancouver Jazz Fest rocks, too

by Remy Scalza in Events on June 29, 2011

Jazz is arguably North America’s greatest contribution to world music. But I think it’s safe to say that not everybody is that into jazz. Swing, bebop, free jazz (whew!), even jazz fusion are all acquired tastes. But don’t let that worry you. There’s a lot more to this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival (now through July 3) than hep cats and piano trios.

The lineup features lots of soul, funk and world music, as well as rock and roll and country. I was surprised last weekend to hear what sounded suspiciously like pop music (albeit very sophisticated pop) during a free performance by the Vancouver-based group Jasper Sloan Yip in Gastown. Here’s a video – You be the judge:

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Not Just Jazz: Vancouver Jazz Fest rocks, too

Free Concerts at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival: June 24-July 3

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on June 17, 2011

For live music fans, this is a very exciting time of year. The Vancouver International Jazz Festival - probably the city’s premier music festival – kicks off on Friday, June 24. Over the next 10 days, fans are treated to 400 separate concerts featuring big-name jazz, blues, funk, Latin, fusion, electronica and world musicians from around the globe.

Among the ticketed headliners at this year’s festival is trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, performing with the 15-piece Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Orpheum on June 26. Another legend is Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, who will be playing with his band at the Orpheum on July 3.

Now, tickets to either of these concerts won’t come cheap. But, as any true Jazz Festival fan will tell you, one of the real highlights each year are the free performances. This year, there will be around 150 free concerts.

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Free Concerts at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival: June 24-July 3

Free Summer Concerts in and around Vancouver

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on June 7, 2011

Photo Credit: Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Vancouver’s brief and beautiful summers are filled with long days, blue skies and lots of music. Here’s a quick guide to three free concert series in and around the city.

Know about more free music? Tell us about it in the comments section.

1. The 2011 Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 24-July 3: BC’s biggest music festival features more than 1800 artists, 400 concerts and 40 different venues around the city. From noon until well past midnight, you can hear jazz, blues, funk, Latin, fusion, electronica and world music at venues big and small, indoor and outdoor.

Now, to see the big name acts – which this year include Wynton Marsalis, Madeleine Peyroux, Paco de Lucia, Steve Earle and others – you’ll have to pay for tickets. But the good new is that there are approximately 150 free concerts including Gastown Jazz on opening weekend (June 25-26), Canada Day on Granville Island and the Jazz at the Roundhouse & David Lam Park free concert extravaganza on closing weekend (July 2-3). For a complete list of free concerts, check out this link.

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Free Summer Concerts in and around Vancouver

Insider’s Guide to the Perfect Date Night

by Inside Vancouver in Insider on October 6, 2009

Granville Island
The following post was contributed by Tourism Vancouver’s own Wendy Surkan, Manager, Meeting & Convention Sales, Eastern US. Born and raised in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, Wendy has lived in Vancouver for the past 22 years where she and her husband enjoy all the excitement the city has to offer. Read below for Wendy’s guide to the perfect date night:

Vancouver may be known for its scenic splendor and great food, but what animates the city is the annual 10-day jazz festival leading up to Canada Day. In its 25th year in 2010, from June 25 – July 4 from noon to the wee small hours, a rich tapestry of jazz, blues, Funk, Latin, fusion and world music fills the air at venues big and small, indoor and outdoor across the city. By taking the music to parks, community spaces, concert halls, clubs, public plazas and neighbourhood streets, the Jazz Festival electrifies the city with over 400 concerts – 150 of them free – and moves the souls of more than 500,000 people each year.

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Insider’s Guide to the Perfect Date Night