Oscar Peterson International Jazz Festival returns to Niagara
The second annual Oscar Peterson International Jazz Festival promises to be a unique experience when it returns to Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines this weekend.
Artistic director Renee Rosnes said every performance is going to be a thrill to witness.
The majority of the ensembles created for the festival have never played together as a unit.
The musicians have known one another for ages, are well acquainted with the others’ music, and some have collaborated in other contexts, said Rosnes. These new combinations, she noted, are sure to create a fresh and exciting sound that reflects the spontaneity of the moment.
“It’s like a group of old friends getting together for a dinner party. You’re not sure where the conversation will go.”
Rosnes, a five-time Juno-winning jazz pianist, will team up with Grammy-winning saxophone player and composer Joe Lovano, trumpet player Jeremy Pelt, guitar player Russell Malone, bass player Peter Washington, drummer Lewis Nash and vocalist Niki Haris on Saturday for “Singin’ & Swingin’: A Jazz Summit.”
“I’m just really looking forward to sharing our joy that’s going to be happening onstage,” said Rosnes.
Another feature that makes this festival special, according to artistic producer Kelly Peterson (who married Canadian music icon Oscar in 1987), is the smaller, intimate settings that allow the crowd to get close to the music. When you combine the audience’s response to the spontaneity of the music, she said, it creates magic in the concert hall.
Jazz is traditionally considered to have come from black music culture, said Peterson, so it’s important not only to honour the legacy of her late husband’s talent, but also his hard work and dedication to the music.
Peterson said it was hard for Oscar and his compatriots in the early years.
They experienced a lot of trials while performing in the Southern U.S.
“It’s still not easy to be a person of colour in this world … it seems to be again going backwards.”
Much like Norman Granz’s “Jazz at the Philharmonic,” Peterson said this festival demonstrates the true democracy that is jazz.
“He used jazz to break down barriers … that’s also what we’re kind of representing.”
Rosnes agreed, saying jazz requires people to listen to each other, to acknowledge what everyone is playing and to have their ears open at all times.
“It’s not a selfish music.” Sunday’s aptly named “Music with No Borders” performance will unite Canadian and U.S. musicians to tear down walls and create harmony, said Rosnes.
The festival is recognized as one of TD Bank Group’s signature Black History Month events. It will conclude on Sunday evening with the 2019 Canadian Jazz Master Awards gala dinner. Clarinet player, composer and educator Phil Nimmons, along with the family of influential trumpet player and composer Kenny Wheeler, will accept the jazz legends’ awards at Stratus Vineyards.
The Oscar Peterson International Jazz Festival runs Feb. 15 to 17. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to opjazzfest.org.