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Christmas concert doubles as Comox Valley Food Bank fundraiser

The Georgia Straight Jazz Society’s final show of 2022 will be a Christmas fundraiser for the Comox Valley Food Bank. Thirteen local jazz musicians invite you to share and enjoy a beautiful evening for a good cause, Thursday, Dec. 15 at the Little Red Church ( 2182 Comox Ave, Comox).
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The Comox Valley Food Bank has moved to 1255 McPhee Avenue in Courtenay - just two doors down from its previous location. Photo by Terry Farrell

The Georgia Straight Jazz Society’s final show of 2022 will be a Christmas fundraiser for the Comox Valley Food Bank. Thirteen local jazz musicians invite you to share and enjoy a beautiful evening for a good cause, Thursday, Dec. 15 at the Little Red Church ( 2182 Comox Ave, Comox).

What is the right term for a gathering of jazz musicians — a score, a riff, a crescendo? The score will certainly be big for this show, with four different combos on offer.

Guitarist Doug Anderson will “trio up” with John Hyde on bass and Aaron Amar on drums.

Mike Eddy on piano and Blaine Dunaway on violin and vocals will swing into action with Grahame Edwards on bass and Mike Berman at the drums.

Ralph Barrat will deliver velvet vocals while holding down keyboard duties, along with Don Mackay on bass, and Greg Hill behind the drum kit.

Dale Graham, vocalist, will swap lead lines with trumpeter Jay Havelaar and guitarist Rick Husband, backed by Hyde and Amar on bass and drums.

The four combos will also mix and mingle over the course of the evening. Jazz musicians listen deeply to each other to build improvised music from a bare-bone structure, and adding new players on-the-fly makes for fresh ideas and inspiration.

Collectively, they will deliver a collection of well-loved standards, along with creative takes on a few familiar Christmas and pop songs.

Show time is 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:30. Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks will be available.

Minimum admission is $15 for jazz society members and $20 for non-members, with larger donations invited and welcomed. With the society covering room rental and the musicians donating their time, all money collected from this seasonal concert will go directly to the Comox Valley Food Bank.

The jazz society is taking a short seasonal break. The next concert will be Jan. 5.

Visit the society’s website to see the wonderful array of music being presented up until May 25. We extend our Christmas greeting to all members and music lovers, and invite you to join us in the new year.

Malcolm Holt is the president of the Georgia Straight Jazz Society