Who needs cannabis legalization when you’ve got Indigo Jazz?
Dale Graham (vocals), Rick Husband (guitar), John Hyde (bass), Aaron Amar (drums) and Jay Havelaar (trumpet) will have you tripping out on their sound Thursday, May 16 at the Avalanche Bar and Grill (275 Eighth St., Courtenay).
Way back in ’36, Cole Porter was swinging hard with his tune Ridin’ High and Ella recorded When I Get Low I Get High. Decades later, Stevie Wonder found himself Too High, Lennon and McCartney told of the Fool on the Hill and Lucy in the Sky, and Sun Ra was just an out-of-this-world kind of guy. The High Life is a theme as perennial as the grass.
Graham has a 25-year presence on the Vancouver Island music scene. Her sound is warm and intoxicating, her rhythms and tone are precise, and she swings like crazy. She performs with Indigo Jazz and Swing Set vocal jazz quartet, and has guested with island big bands, Marty Steele, Jazz Noir, and Blue Monks.
Husband, guitarist, paid his dues with 16 years in Victoria-area big bands, before his retirement move to the Comox Valley allowed him to indulge his craving for small jazz combos. He is active in Indigo Jazz and the seven-piece contemporary jazz / jazz fusion band Sympatico, and recently guested in the Nanaimo Have You Heard? concert series.
Hyde has spent over four decades as a high-end freelance bassist and music educator.
Performing credits include appearances with Lee Konitz, Don Thomson, Hugh Fraser, Marion McPartland, and PJ Perry. His multiple recordings include work as a sideman and leader, most recently in duo format with guitarist Jeff Drummond.
Amar studied with jazz drumming icon Jim Blackley, and was active in the 1990s Toronto jazz scene, before he migrated west to become the Comox Valley’s own first-call drummer.
His polyrhythmic approach is reminiscent of Elvin Jones, with a smoking-hot energy and responsiveness that shines in a small combo setting.
Havelaar, on trumpet, hits the high notes. But also the low notes, and everything in between, with a melodic lyricism that doesn’t miss out on rhythmic feel.
He is active in multiple big bands and jazz combos, in Campbell River and the Comox Valley.
For this outing, the Indigo Jazz quintet chases the High Life, East of the Sun, to Saturn, and beyond. No smoke in your eyes, no ruinous consequences, just a touch of Stardust that may prove addictive.
Join them Thursday, May 16 at the Avalanche Bar and Grill at 7:30 pm.
Admission is $10 for members, and $12 for non-members.
Tickets for the May 30 Susannah Adams & Edie Daponte concert will be for sale: $20 for members, and $25 for non-members.