Singer’s return inspires rare summer Django fest
Quick hit of popular gypsy jazz series showcases Emily Braden
What: The Victoria Django Festival featuring Emily Braden, Brishen, Jaron Freeman-Fox, Chris Sartisohn, Brett Martens and more When: Friday, 8 p.m. (doors at 7) Where: White Eagle Hall (90 Dock St.) Tickets: $25 at Ditch Records, Lyle’s Place and Larsen Music, $30 at the door
Emily Braden moved to New York for good four years ago, leaving Victoria and the music scene that nurtured her.
Or so she thought. “I will always be connected to Victoria,” the singer says. “It is where I really became myself as an artist. I feel very connected to the West Coast and Victoria. I’ll always come back.”
Braden, a native of Boise, Idaho, is appearing Friday at the summer instalment of the Victoria Django Festival, which has been staged the past two Februarys. A special edition of the popular gypsy jazz festival — or “edition 2.5,” as artistic director Oliver Swain is calling it — was organized to capitalize on Braden’s visit.
Visits by the soulful singer, who lived in Victoria from 2002 to 2008, are becoming increasingly rare as she becomes better known in New York, Swain said. When he learned of her impending arrival, he not only organized a quickhit edition of the Django festival, he booked her for a further 13 dates with his own band, Big Machine.
Swain, who previously produced the city’s annual FolkWest festival, has an interconnected group of friends, so his biggest task was finding a date that suited myriad schedules. He eventually made it easy on himself by booking his closest friends to appear at the festival named in honour of gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt.
Swain will be appearing as a special guest, as will his Big Machine bandmates Braden and Jaron Freeman-Fox. Braden will join rising local stars Brishen (which features Quinn Bachand, Reuben Wier and Joey Smith), while Freeman-Fox will join his red-hot violin with Cold Cut Combo guitarist Chris Sartisohn in an opening set. Noted guitarist Brett Martens rounds out the roster of announced guests.
Given the camaraderie among gypsy jazz players in the city, Swain expects a number of last-minute additions on Friday. “There are a few special guests in the works as well,” he said. “Let’s just say a lot of local jazz luminaries will be there.”
The event wasn’t originally on the schedule for the society is expanding next year to two nights, with shows set for both the White Eagle Hall and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Swain is thinking in bigger terms, as long as the audience is there to support it.
“As the event expands, we may not have the energy or capacity to have a summer edition every year. We did this year, and with Emily in town and Brishen coming out of the studio, we thought we should hit it again and keep people thinking about it.”
He also liked the timing of staging a night of music from Reinhardt’s Hot Club de France at a time of year that matches the title.
“There is such a fertile community here, and in the major [gypsy jazz] revival going on around the world, we’re at the forefront,” he said.
“We thought this was a unique opportunity so we didn’t want to miss it.”