Local original bands at the jazzfest: 2025

Here are some informal, personal notes on ten shows by local groups at the 2025 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. These are in chronological order:

1

Feven Kidane Sextet

Georgia Street Stage, June 21

My time with this band was far too short: I missed the guests Feven brought out, including Missy D and Jeffrey Dawson. But I had to witness her moment on the Georgia Street stage. It was her first of three festival shows as a leader and the third of nine billed appearances overall, which spanned from the pre-fest Band on a Boat all the way to July 1st. The lineup for this show was identical to Feven's Ocean show at last year's festival, where I sat on the floor in the dark, drinking Bublys in a circle with many friends. The couple tunes I heard this year were introspective and delicately harmonized, like I remember that show to have been. The force of Noah Franche-Nolan's keys solos is a fascinating counterpart to Feven's playing. The band opened with one of bassist Milo Johnson's tunes; he may only be known by most of the scene for his sideman role in this group, but he's a thoughtful composer in his own right who will likely emerge more in the coming year.

2

Julian Jayme's City Folk

Ocean Artworks, June 21

When I made it in time from the downtown stage and saw my old friend Julian's seven-piece band get going, what hit me right away was that drummer Nicholas Bracewell is a great match for him. I'm surprised they haven't played more together; Nick moved from rock beats to contemporary jazz washes with all the same fluency and energy that Julian brings as a guitarist. Kria Wall sang lyrics like John Mayer's "Stop This Train" as well as a bunch of wordless vocals together with Ardeshir's saxophone, while Emilio Suarez added colour to the ensemble via the cello chair. David Caballero was a bit of an odd duck here as the gut strings of his bass punched in and out. Keyboardist Quincy Mayes' playing implied a loyalty from his own long history with Julian, going back to when many of us jammed at the Jayme family home and shot the breeze about where we were going to university.

3

Dean Thiessen's Stranger Friends 4-tet

Ocean Artworks, June 22

Dean's quartet with Thad Bailey-Mai, Wynston Minckler, and Ben Parker rang in a new digital album release on a Sunday where the rain just barely held off. In Dean's big band, I think of him as a tailor of parts to individuals, an Ellingtonian enabler, probably having people's names on the paper instead of their instruments. However, his small group congeals behind the literary and personal references that inspire the tunes, not placing the spotlight too long or bright on any one person. My favourite tune is probably the title track, "Thank You, Friend".

4

Chris Fraser Quartet

Tyrant Studios, June 23

Chris' band was almost the same as John Nicholson's below, just minus the pianist. He brought originals including one called "Crooked Windows", which he said drew from the Millennial jazz-school anthem "Crooked Creek" by Jon Cowherd plus Chick Corea's "Windows". But there's another Chris who was on my mind during this saxophone-and-guitar quartet set: Chris Cheek. I knew that Fraser had long been inspired by Cheek's 1997 release I Wish I Knew, which has that instrumentation: Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Higgins, Jorge Rossy. Cheek also just released a new record where the guitar trio joining him is a Bill Frisell trio of sorts. I'm including it next week in my big new release roundup I call Outside the Changes, and I already recommended it to my pal Chris.

5