Vancouver Jazz Festival 2009
by admin on Jul.06, 2009, under Concerts, Events, Media, Photography
The Vancouver Jazz Festival, produced by the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, is over for another year, tonight is the volunteer party that is the final event. This year, I was more involved than ever before as I not only volunteered as Crew Chief at the Ironworks, but I volunteered to take photos of my fellow volunteers. These photos are also hosted on Flikr under username jazzvolunteer and I have my set; Victoria’s Volunteers.
Click on any image to start, click on the << or >> to navigate and click on the image to end. With this basic viewer it only shows the page you are on, so you have to change to the next page. The more sophisticated plug-ins make viewing all the images possible. If you need instructions for the plug-ins or to make the gallery work go to the Gallery page.
Victoria’s 2009 Jazz Festival Volunteers
Photography is a social art and in that way, being a photographer at the festival is very different from being a musician. If I walk up to people in the street and start singing, they think I am strange, move away slowly, and would hesitate to get in an elevator with me. I find I have to set up sactioned events to get people to participate musically. But, if I walk up and ask to take their photo, it is a much more socially acceptable artistic connection. People like to have their pictures taken and they trust me enough to give me their contact information so I can send them the image. They are friendly and happy with the process. I am really enjoying interacting with people since I started to take photos and I meet a lot more potential friends.
In Vancouver society, there usually is some distance between the community and the music makers. Music making can be isolating because so much time is spent practicing alone. In performance, music is a special event that occurs in an area separated from the audience, where the community is expected to be passive observers and listeners. As a musician, you come into a prepared area, present your show, then leave without having any direct personal contact with the receiver of your art. This is not the case in other cultures I have studied, and I was very happy that it was not the case when I attended a workshop on Saturday.
Saturday, I had an encounter with three amazing French musicians cellist, Didier Petit and bass clarinetist, Sylvain Kassap with drummer, Edward Perraud. They made my life complete during their workshops by asking me to sing with them.
Vancouver musicians bassist, Clyde Reed and erhu player. Lan Tung also joined the sonic esploration. I had such a wonderful time as these musicians, solo and in ensembles, know how to open up and create the space that welcomes music in. My next post will be about this event.
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