BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition June 2019

TD Vancouver
International
Jazz
Festival
June 21 to
July 1, 2019
Best of the Fest
By YASMINE SHEMESH
S
ince Rainbow Robert took over as
managing director for artistic programming
at the TD Vancouver International
Jazz Festival in 2018, she’s
made it a point to highlight the louder, more unexpected
expressions rooted in jazz.
“It’s protest music,” Robert says. “It’s music
where there’s a free dialogue about what’s going
on in the world. Whether it’s the celebration or
indignation, I think edgy music wakes us up. It’s
something that’s really important to invite and to
enjoy.”
In the defiant spirit of its roots, the jazz
festival, now in its 34th edition, has always
featured artists not afraid to challenge,” to
speak out against injustice, or honestly portray
the realities they live in.
This sentiment rings especially true this year.
Alongside rhythmic jazz innovator Herbie Hancock,
the lineup includes hardcore hip-hop greats
Wu-Tang Clan, the experimental and improvisational
Yonatan Gat and Eastern Medicine
Singers, transgender singer-songwriter
Beverly Glenn-Copeland and
Russell Wallace — the festival’s
2019 Indigenous Artist
in Residence.
“It’s a pretty wild
world that we’re living
in now,” Robert says.
“And I think putting
forward music that really
speaks to that is
particularly important.”
TD Vancouver
International Jazz
Festival / June 21 to
July 1, 2019 /
Various locations /
Tix: coastaljazz.ca
Wu-Tang Clan
Co-founder RZA has always
been open about the iconic New
York hip-hop group’s mission to
open minds. Socially-conscious,
philosophical, gritty and brilliant,
they’re one of the most important
acts of our time.
8 p.m. on June 23 / Queen Elizabeth
Theatre / Tickets from $69.
The Roots
Often referred to as hip-hop’s
first “live band,” The Roots have
redefined the genre over and
over again with their ingenious
mix of freewheeling grooves and
insightful lyrics.
8 p.m. on June 28 / Queen Elizabeth
Theatre / Tickets from $79.
Herbie Hancock
Hancock, a pioneer of the funky
and abstract post-bop jazz, has
made incomparable contributions
to music through more than six
decades of work as a composer,
pianist and bandleader.
8 p.m. on June 29 / Queen Elizabeth
Theatre / Tickets from $69.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Whether you know him from
Mr. Dressup, his canon of work
as a folk singer-songwriter and
electronic music pioneer, or his
inspirational life journey as a transgender
man, both Copeland and
his long, diverse career are truly
extraordinary.
8 p.m. on June 25 / Performance
Works / Tickets from $29.
Yonatan Gat and Eastern
Medicine Singers
Gat refused to join his native Israel’s
mandatory military service and
his work with the Algonquin drum
group is just as rebellious. Swirling
Middle Eastern guitar, tribal
rhythm, and confrontational harmony
make for an unforgettable
live performance. Gat was also a
key member of the deranged and
entertaining Monotonix, but this
project is in a league of its own.
7 p.m. on June 30 / David Lam Park
/ Free.
JUNE 2019 BEATROUTE 47