Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » 2013 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival: Ottawa, Canada, June 21-26, 2013
2013 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival: Ottawa, Canada, June 21-26, 2013
ByKuhn is one of many pianists who are known but, for some unknown reason, not considered in the same echelon as more household names like Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau. Why is anybody's guess, because here, in his Ottawa Jazz Festival performance, he proved his mastery time and again, graciously thanking the audience more than once for supporting "this music, to which we've quite literally dedicated our lives." Equally generous to his band mates, he cited Swallow as the composer from whom he's drawn more material than any other, outside of his own writing. It was a terrific opportunity to see these two fine composers play in a relaxed but manifestly deep way, along with a drummer who may come from a younger generation, but whose own credibility has long since been established, fleshing out this egalitarian trio predicated on the concept of music as conversationand, in this case, a conversation amongst three friends having a really great time doing it.
The festival continues for another five days, moving onto Montreal on June 28, though only seven shows were seen, they were all winners, each in its own very different way demonstrating the breadth of the festival's largely superlative programming. The TD Ottawa Jazz Festival is clearly doing a fine job putting together a lineup that, in addition to celebrating the rich diversity of jazz, now extends that celebration to the diversity of all music. The lines may often be blurred as to where jazz begins and where it endsand there were certainly shows that were completely beyond its farthest reacheswith a program that permits those singularly interested in jazz the ability to not only see jazz each and every day of the festival's 12- day run, but to have to make choices about which performances they'll attend, the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival remains steadfastly and rightfully a jazz festival.
As ever, with its terrific and ever-helpful staff, ranging from full-timersExecutive Producer Catherine O'Grady, Programming Manager Petr Cancura (now in his second year, and more completely finding his way in the job) and Director of Marketing, Sponsorship and Media Suzan Zilahi, who ensures that accredited media can do its job with a minimum of muss or fussto the hundreds of pleasant and hard-working volunteers, the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival is always a joy to cover, and something to be proud of as a hometown event.
Photo Credit
All Photos: John Kelman
< Previous
Azure
Next >
Walking Shadows
Comments
Tags
Live Reviews
John Kelman
Canada
Ottawa
Aretha Franklin
Boi Akih
Trondheim Jazz Orchestra
Peter Van Huffel
Courtney Pine
Steve Kuhn
Steve Swallow
Joey Baron
Mavis Staples
Chucho Valdes
jason moran
Meshell Ndegeocello
Wayne Shorter
Danilo Perez
John Geggie
Nick Fraser
Wayne Eagles
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Julian Arguelles
Kit Downes
Ken Vandermark
Joe McPhee
Billy Drewes
Gilad Hekselman
Gregory Porter
Larry Goldings
Peter Bernstein
Bill Stewart
Lenny White
David Sanborn
Bob James
Steve Gadd
Scott Colley
The Bad Plus
Tom Harrell
Jane Monheit
Ugonna Okegwo
Wayne Escoffery
Danny Grissett
Johnathan Blake
Bob Belden
Sam Newsome
Jacky Terrasson
Spike Wilner
John Medeski
The Band
Caetano Veloso
Brian Eno
Jeff Ballard
FLY
brad mehldau
Per Oddvar Johansen
The Source
Trygve Seim
Arve Henriksen
Nils Økland
James Genus
Fourplay
Brecker Brothers
Eric Clapton
Rick Rosato
Anat Cohen
Mick Goodrick
Mark Turner
Don Grolnick
Michael Brecker
Terri Lyne Carrington
Stefon Harris
Joey Calderazzo
Enrico Pieranunzi
Fred Hersch
Bill Frisell
john zorn
John Abercrombie
Laurie Anderson
Jim Hall
carla bley
Henry Mancini
Gary Burton
Keith Jarrett
Herbie Hancock
Chick Corea