MUSIC FESTIVAL REBORN
Why IMOO is back after a hiatus
“If you build it, they will come” applies not just to baseball fields, but also, in the Ottawa area, to festivals of improvised music.
In 2012, fans and practitioners of more exploratory jazz-based music launched IMOO Fest — the acronym stands for Improvising Musicians of Ottawa/ Outaouais. Thereafter, annual sequels and a slate of weekly concerts were part of the IMOO regimen, attracting provocative, outward-bound musicians from Toronto, Montreal and beyond. Then, after a few years, the festivals were put on hold.
But IMOO Fest is back this weekend, consisting of 13 concerts featuring musicians from Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, as well as an artist-in-residence, Japanese pianist-composer Satoko Fujii, who’s been dubbed the “Duke Ellington of free jazz.”
Below, the event’s prime movers — musicians Linsey Wellman and David Jackson, plus fan Brad Evans — discuss why IMOO Fest had to return.
Q IMOO Fest was on hiatus for a few years. What happened?
Jackson Running a festival is both personally and financially demanding as anyone who has booked shows, run venues, or tried to make a living at music knows and understands. Though the first festivals were personally satisfying, they were a strain on IMOO resources.
We are back exclusively at the behest of Brad Evans, a longtime supporter of IMOO and music in Ottawa in general. He wanted to see the festival resurrected and basically is single-handedly responsible for booking the musicians and the venues, making the posters and embracing all aspects of festival admin. Without his efforts, the festival simply wouldn’t happen.
Q What was IMOO’s goal and how well has it fared?
Jackson The goal of IMOO is simple — to provide a space for creative musicians and fans of music that blurs some of the ideas about what music is, to come together and play and listen in a space that welcomes exploring and experimentation. IMOO continues to blow me away as a fan of this music, so personally I think we’ve been extraordinarily effective at achieving our goals.
When you look at the roster of musicians who have played IMOO over its run, there is no question that IMOO is offering top-rate performers.
Q Why does the Ottawa area have such a strong scene for improvisers, and listeners?
Wellman So much of our culture these days is spoon-fed to us through channels over which we have no control. In most cases, the improvised-music scene is a very DIY operation invested in exploring what it means to make and experience music. I find this refreshing, and have been fortunate to have found others who feel the same way in Ottawa and beyond. All it takes is a few to keep a scene going, and where there’s a scene, there are new listeners and musicians who become interested.
Evans It has become clear to me that IMOO is becoming a place that musicians from around the world want to come and play. We have always had good relations with Toronto and Montreal and close ties, partially because this scene nationwide is small and supportive and there is a recognition, I think, that the network in Canada is strong and vibrant. Word of mouth has spread to places like Berlin and Tokyo, the U.K., and the United States that between Toronto and Montreal there is a city called Ottawa that has this interesting space, that sounds good and, bottom line, some people are going to come out and see you.
Q What would you say to a music fan who thinks they don’t like improvised music?
Jackson I’m tempted to go a little P-Funk gloss here and say “free your mind and the rest will follow.” I always think, give it a chance. I don’t like every punk band I see or every notated jazz song I hear, but I keep listening until something clicks. The key with improvisation is that, because of the nature of the music, the chances you are going to hear something new or something that challenges your expectations are very high.
Evans I think you have to at least try to listen to and watch it live. It makes — for this particular non-musician listener, at least — for a much more accessible listening experience than just playing a CD. Wellman Often people feel that they need some kind of prior knowledge or expertise to enjoy an improvised-music concert. I would encourage people not to be intimidated. It’s just music. The question of “understanding ” the music is irrelevant. What matters is if it speaks to you. phum@postmedia.comtwitter.com/ peterhum