Winter Jazz Fest Recap and Videos

Well the Winter Jazz Fest came and went and if you were there you got to feel all warm and cozy in the middle of the winter. If you were not, you missed out on an incredible series of shows. We had nine shows in three days, a wide variety of local, national and international talent - all bringing their best game to the table. I love the atmosphere of a festival... musicians feed off each other and knowing that you are following and/or to be followed by amazing bands makes you play with energy... and that is just what happened.

Although we weren't able to get video clips of everyone... we did get just about everyone. they are all on our youtube channel but let me share some with you right now:

The festival opened with an incredible program of songs by Rene Gely. The band he had was called Pulse Mondiale and it did everything from make me want to dance, to bask in the, at times, intricately layered compositions. Simply beautiful!

Another great local group that performed was the Mike Tremblay & Mark Ferguson Quartet. This was a treat to hear these great and versatile local musicians play their own material. Mike Tremblay and Mark Ferguson have a great duo CD released called HOME, 

Quinsin Nachoff, Brooklyn, NY resident previously from Toronto brought an all-star line up including saxophonist Dave Binney, pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Quinsin's compositions are what blew me away as well as the entire group's forward-thinking sensibility. 

On saturday Oliver Jones delivered not only an incredible show, but also a genuine love for people as he talked to just about everyone from the audience that showed any interest. Oliver has a touch on the piano that goes all the way to gospel music! What a beautiful musician.

After Oliver Jones, we had a sold out audience at the Mercury Lounge where the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble played their hearts out. African inspired jazz straight from Chicago... thanks to Sara Ainslie and crew at the Mercury Lounge for this one.

These were all the clips we were able to get, the rest of the shows were also incredible: Christine and Ingrid Jensen Quintet, Remi Bolduc Sextet, Megan Jerome, Renee Yoxon and IMOO Orchestra.

Thanks everyone for a great Winter Jazz Fest!

Petr

www.ottawajazzfestival.com