Legends and legends in the making came together to perform one unforgettable show on the opening night of the 40th TD Victoria International JazzFest at Royal Theatre.
While traditional jazz wasn't on the menu, it was a night with one of soul and electric blues music's most legendary artists, Booker T. Jones along with his 10-piece band. Additionally, the show was opened by Blue Moon Marquee, Cowichan Valley's swing blues duo which took home their first Juno award this year.
The show got off to a hilarious start, when during introductions, Blue Moon Marquee vocalist and guitarist A.W. Cardinal was met with a loud "Sorry, I didn't understand that," from a phone Siri in the audience. Without missing a beat, he raised his voice, "I SAID...," and proceeded to repeat himself. Later, after sharing another remark, he quipped, "That was for Siri."
Cardinal remained as delightfully charismatic throughout their short but sweet set. Whether introducing songs – "This is a song about dancing with the wrong man's wife" – to giving anecdotes about the band's time at the Juno Awards in March – "They asked me what my favourite Nelly Furtado song was and I said, 'Whose that guy?" – he consistently delivered laughs and warmed the crowd with an unpretentious, easy-going presence.
Jasmine Colette a.k.a Badlands Jass shone just as brightly with her quick wit, striking fashion and display of musicality. In a bright red dress with matching flowers in her hair that contrasted beautifully against the blue stage lighting, she drew awe with her ability to play the upright bass while simultaneously playing the drums and singing. She made the feat look effortless with one foot on a bass kick and her one hand alternating between the bass and hitting the cymbal.
It would've been nice to hear words and an introduction from the keyboardist, who was equally as talented and enjoyable to watch.
The setlist was well-paced, journeying through upbeat songs such as Scream, Holler & Howl, while, too, dipping into slower tunes like Another Night to Cry. All were sung with Cardinal's signature gravelly vocals.
Considering Cardinal's Metis/Cree background, the group was also a fitting pick to play on Indigenous Day, which Cardinal gave a nice nod to.
Then to the finale: Booker T. Jones is a four-time Grammy award winner and audience expectations were high for the show.
Jones was introduced onto the stage by his son, who then gave a moving guitar solo. Unfortunately, the sound was too loud and left eardrums ringing, but that was thankfully quickly resolved.
Booker T.'s Stax Revue featured an incredible 10-piece big band with three lead vocalists, a three-piece horn section and Booker T.'s rhythm section. The arrangements were kept fresh on each song with members of the revue coming on and off stage. Vocalist Ayanna Irish was arguably the show's star with impeccable, powerful vocals. For some songs, two other male vocalists performed, who were also fantastic.
Jones is a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and his set took the audience down memory lane, touching upon collaborations with greats during his tenure at Stax Records. While sometimes his spoken words got lost as he trailed off, the live music experience was high-energy, eliciting hollers from the audience as they moved through famous hits like Sitting on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding and Respect by Aretha Franklin.
One which seemed to generate some of the highest audience responses was Green Onions, his single which sold over 1 million copies and is ranked No. 181 in Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Seeing Jones' fingers flit across the keys on his Hammond B3 in real time was a thrill.
This band demonstrated they are the true kings of cool and masters of rhythm. As arguably only truly talented musicians can do, they played with pacing and broke some songs down into incredibly slow buildups without losing audience attention. One of the highlights was Jones channelling all of his energy as he screamed out the lyrics, "I love you" in one of the final songs, a proclamation from his heart to the hearts of everyone in the audience watching.
The full group came out on stage to perform the finale Respect Yourself, bringing the crowd to a standing ovation and loud cheers.
As a start to JazzFest, this show was absolutely a win. It was well worth the ticket price and full of laughter, dancing and unmatched talent that left a beautiful energy in the room that flowed out into the rest of the weekend.
For those who missed the show, JazzFest continues until June 30.
