EIJF 2018

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2018/07/06
Posted in: Events, Music. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival took place June 22  to July 1. This year I attended nine events including 4 as a volunteer and one as a performer (in one of the Big Bands playing in the Big Band Bash).

Aside from the music I also enjoy taking photos of the performances at the free noon hours concerts on The Works Stage (which this year was relocated to the plaza at the Alberta Legislature Grounds due to ongoing construction around the usual Churchill Square location). Here are a few of my favorite photos from those concerts.

From the Slide Zone performance on Sunday June 24th – four of Edmonton’s top trombonists: Audrey Ochoa, Allen Jacobson, Remi Noel and Ken Read, with Josh McCann (bass) and Jamie Cooper (drums)

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From June 28th, the Finnish-inspired but Edmonton-based group, Sauna Sessions with Stephanie Urquhart (piano), Derek Plunkie (guitar), Joel Jeske (drums), Fred Mack (sax) and Aretha Tillotson (bass):

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and from June 30th, the John Sweenie Group – John Sweenie (tenor sax), Chris Andrews (keyboards), Jamie Cooper (drums) and Rubim de Toledo (bass):

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I also had the opportunity to catch performances by : The Heavyweights Brass Band, Vincent Herring Quartet, Audrey Ochoa Quartet and Al Muirhead’s Canadian Quintet, but unfortunately didn’t have an opportunity to capture any photos of these.

 

 

Favorite Photos of Edmonton in 2017

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2017/12/30
Posted in: autumn, downtown, parks, photo, River Valley, spring, Summer, winter. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

In this post, I countdown my 10 favorite photos of Edmonton* that I took in 2017:

Number ten:

 

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Convention Centre

 

9:

 

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Churchill Square

 

8:

 

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Dawson Park

 

7:

 

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Edmonton City Hall

 

6:

 

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North Saskatchewan River by Dawson Park

 

5:

 

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Rowland Road

 

4:

 

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108 Street

 

3:

 

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ATB Tower

 

2:

 

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Dawson Park

 

and finally my favorite (at the moment) for 2017:

 

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Forest Heights Park

 

*I should further qualify that these are from just among the photos I took with my DSLR and each has some recognizable Edmonton viewpoint.

 

Bonus, a few other photos that made the shortlist (but not Top 10):

 

Uncommon Perspectives

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2017/10/20
Posted in: autumn, parks, photo, River Valley. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Yesterday I was out for a walk in the Edmonton river valley. That in itself is pretty common but on this day, I strayed from the usual path and discovered views of my City which were refreshingly different.

These photos were taken from the south side of the river (North Saskatchewan), west of the Capilano Bridge. While I walk the path/ bike trails frequently, this day I made an effort to get right down to the water’s edge. Here, beside the little island near the south bank I discovered what may be the only rapids on the North Saskatchewan River as it winds its way through Edmonton as a big, slow waterway.

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From the water’s edge I was also able to see the layers of mud making up the lower river bank.

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Looking across the island and gravel bar, and across the river to the east end of Dawson Park on the north bank.

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A bit of subtle but striking, color from the few leaves that remain on the trees and shrubs in mid-October:

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I’d never before noticed this view of the 50th Street footbridge, under and beyond the Capilano Bridge.

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Bonus image:

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Looking up at the east end of Jasper Avenue from down beside the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River

Mid-October in the Valley

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2017/10/16
Posted in: autumn, parks, photo, River Valley. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Mid-October in Edmonton – we are past the peak of autumn foliage color and in fact a good swath of the river valley has taken on the grey color of bare trees. However there are still a few trees fulled enrobed in gold or red and a few (somehow) holding onto green leaves. What I like best about this season though, is how my senses get attuned to more subtle colors. I see and appreciate things besides colors (like lines and textures) which I would not have even noticed just a few weeks back.

Here are a few photo taken while I was out walking in Edmonton’s river valley (in Dawson Park) on the morning of 2017 October 16th.

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Edmonton International Jazz Festival 2017 – Brett Hansen Trio

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2017/06/27
Posted in: downtown, Events, Music, People, photo, Summer. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Today (Tuesday June 27, 2017) I did something I really enjoy doing during the Edmonton Jazz Fest – going to Churchill Square at noon and taking in the free jazz performance  on The Works stage. These events are especially delightful on warm, sunny early summer days. Alas, today was not one of those days. It was cloudy, cool and a bit of rain came down (at least during the first set).

However, the jazz performance put on by the Brett Hansen trio, made putting up with the elements, worthwhile.

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The Brett Hansen Trio

The trio comprises Brett Hansen on guitar, Murray Wood on bass and Jamie Cooper on drums.

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Brett Hansen

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Murray Wood

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Jamie Cooper

October Arrives (part 2)

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2016/10/09
Posted in: autumn, photo, River Valley. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Te first day of October 2016 was gloomy, wet and cool (see part 1 post) but on Sunday October 2nd, the sun was out, shedding a whole new light <groan> on the autumn beauty in Edmonton. Here are a few shots from that day:

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Houses on the North Saskatchewan River bank on the east end of Jasper Avenue

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“Red Kayak” – some enjoyed the beautiful day on the North Saskatchewan River

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Path in Dawson Park

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“Path and Puddle”, in Edmonton’s River Valley

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The north bank of the river valley (over the east end of Dawson Park)

October Arrives (part 1)

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2016/10/09
Posted in: autumn, photo, River Valley. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Autumn in all its glory, has arrived in Edmonton. The colors may have peaked a week earlier but here is some of the beauty from the first weekend of October.

The Saturday (October 1st) was gloomy, cool and wet but the wetness brought out the color saturation and contrast in the river valley:

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Downtown Edmonton Under Low Cloud

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S-bend on Wet Path

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Rainbow of Autumn Leaves

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Bend in the North Saskatchewan

For more images of early October in Edmonton see part 2, taken on the very sunny day that followed the day of these images.

Jazz Fest 2016 (part 2)

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2016/07/14
Posted in: Events, Music, photo. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

In part 1 I looked at the 2016 Edmonton International Jazz Festival as I experienced it through the first 5 days. In this post, I continue to share what I saw from Wednesday June 29th.

The noon hour performance at the Works with Jazz Stage in Churchill Square featured Blue Moon Marque. Blue Moon Marque is a duo featuring A.W. Cardinal on guitar and vocals, with Jasmine Colette on bass (while adding some drums using her feet). When I first saw and heard a bit of this duo I though it might not be for me but after listening to a couple of tunes I quickly grew to appreciate their unique style – gypsy jazz and blues?

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A.W. Cardinal

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Jasmine Colette

On Thursday at noon I was back in the Churchill Square as the Berner Brothers took to the stage and paid tribute to the other B-Brothers: The Brecker Brothers, most famous for their fusion jazz  sounds in the 70’s.

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The Berner Brothers

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Doug Berner

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Don Berner

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Steve Hoy

On the evening of June 30 I was back at the Yardbird Suite to hear some more innovative trumpet playing – this time from Jacques Kuba Seguin:

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Jacques Kuba Seguin

On Friday (Canada Day 2016) I was again sitting up front at the Yardbird suite for what might have been the high point of the festival – the Edmonton Jazz Orchestra featuring Bob Tildesley (trumpet) and Mike Rud (guitar).

The next morning I hiked across the river valley to attend Jazz in the Park (with a pancake breakfast. During the morning, Joel Gray’s Quintet played fine sets of great dixieland-style jazz.

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Joel Gray Quintet

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Joel Gray

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Don Berner

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The end of the 2016 Jazz Fest for me was back at the Works with Jazz stage on sunday July 3rd for the John Sweenie Quartet. Particularly strong this day were leadman Sweenie and keyboardist Chris Andrew.

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John Sweenie

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Chris Andrew

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It was a great end to a superb jazz festival.

 

Jazz Fest 2016 (part 1)

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2016/07/11
Posted in: Events, Music, photo, Summer. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

The 2016 Edmonton International Jazz Fest was a good one! I made a point to take in as many of the events as I could and between June 24th and July 3rd I attended 12 events and enjoyed 14 bands. As much as I enjoyed the varied jazz music I also enjoyed photographing the performers in action.

Ths first performance I took in was at noon on Friday June 24 on the Works with Jazz stage in Churchill Square. This show featured guitarist Marc Beaudin, with bassist Josh McHan and Sandro Dominelli on drums.

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Marc Beaudin

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Dominelli and McHan

On Saturday afternoon I was at the Community Big Band Bash. Three big bands associated with MacEwan University performed on the OSPAC (Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre) stage.

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Littlebirds All-Star Big Band

The Littlebirds opened, followed by the MacEwan Outreach Big Band and finally the MacEwan University Big Band. All three groups  were solid and very enjoyable.

On Monday at noon it was Brett Miles with his Magilla Funk Conduit  taking the Churchill Square stage for a couple of sets starting at noon. Their form of jazz was wonderfully funky and energetic.

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Magilla Funk Conduit leader/vocalist/saxophonist Brett Miles

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Magilla Funk Conduit

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Jamie Philp

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Mo Lefever

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Magilla Funk Conduit

Later that afternoon, I was at the Yardbird Suite (somehow, it was my first visit ever to the venue but it would be there three more times that week). The afternoon I observed  a Master Class with Marianne Trudel and Ingrid Jensen. They listened to and gave good feedback on performance and composition to three student combos – quite interesting.

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That evening, Trudel (piano) and Jensen (trumpet), with Remi-Jean LeBlanc (bass) and Rich Irwin (drums) put on an innovative/experimental sometimes atmospheric/moody and always captivating, performance.

On Tuesday at noon, I was back in Churchill Square to enjoy another free performance on the Works stage. This day is was the MacEwan Jazz Combo – a sextet performing a fairly standard jazz combo fare with impressive improvised solos.

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MacEwan Jazz Combo (2016 June 28)

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Eric Doucet

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Ryan Plishka, drums

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Dave Morgan

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Jonny McCormack & Sascha Liebrand

Well that was the first half of the 2016 festival and of course only touching on those performances that I was able to get to – there was something like 27 events over those first 5 days!

See more of the Edmonton International Jazz Festival in Part 2.