Battling less-than-great air quality and some frankly unpredictable weather at the festival's 6:30 pm main stage slot, we were greeted by the announcer as the "hardcore Ottawa jazz community," and there were some grim nods under the hoods and ponchos. The downtown core had been battered by a serious storm (complete with hail — and apparently a tornado warning?) just a few hours before, and there was clearly more to come. It has long been witty and droll to associate the appreciation of jazz with punishment and suffering, and thoughts like these were perhaps going through people's heads as the rain recommenced just as the Mary Ancheta Quartet was introduced.
Fresh from a gig in Toronto, the Vancouver group was powering through with borrowed instruments after a luggage mishap courtesy of Air Canada — who could be seen burning in the flames of tenor saxophonist Dominic Conway's eyes as he struggled with his borrowed sax from time to time. The suffering, the rage: jazz. At least his original composition "Lucky Bounce" was a definite highlight of the set, giving late night NYC vibes with its bluesy sax leads, which, if you're of a certain age, might have prompted you to wonder where you could stream Night Court later (it's on Amazon Prime).
Other highlights included the slow burning "Envoy" (from this year's Level Up EP), which got something of an extended breakdown here, accentuated by a sudden striding bassline that emerged to carry the song through, and "Why Not," with its crisp electric piano (such an underused tone outside of jazz) and funky bass solo. A cover of Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls" was also excellent. Ancheta was at ease throughout, switching between a couple of synths and a massive Steinway Grand, in a striking yellow suit she was lucky enough to have packed in her carry on.
What with the weather and the borrowed instruments (listening back to the EP, you can tell Ancheta didn't have her preferred settings at hand), it was a night of perseverance for us all. But when you're part of the hardcore Ottawa jazz community, you absorb adversity and carry on, and you could at least make vague assessments about the crowd's taste in umbrellas if you found your eyes wandering (best in show went to a high heel shoe print protecting a stately lady at stage right) — which they did at times, since the camera-feed wasn't connected to the massive screen until the second to last song, and so ads were broadcast on loop for most of the set. A bit tacky, but a minor complaint. In any event, there really was a genuine feeling of community in the air, but at the price of some genuine sogginess as well. It was a night one submitted to in the name of jazz.
Fresh from a gig in Toronto, the Vancouver group was powering through with borrowed instruments after a luggage mishap courtesy of Air Canada — who could be seen burning in the flames of tenor saxophonist Dominic Conway's eyes as he struggled with his borrowed sax from time to time. The suffering, the rage: jazz. At least his original composition "Lucky Bounce" was a definite highlight of the set, giving late night NYC vibes with its bluesy sax leads, which, if you're of a certain age, might have prompted you to wonder where you could stream Night Court later (it's on Amazon Prime).
Other highlights included the slow burning "Envoy" (from this year's Level Up EP), which got something of an extended breakdown here, accentuated by a sudden striding bassline that emerged to carry the song through, and "Why Not," with its crisp electric piano (such an underused tone outside of jazz) and funky bass solo. A cover of Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls" was also excellent. Ancheta was at ease throughout, switching between a couple of synths and a massive Steinway Grand, in a striking yellow suit she was lucky enough to have packed in her carry on.
What with the weather and the borrowed instruments (listening back to the EP, you can tell Ancheta didn't have her preferred settings at hand), it was a night of perseverance for us all. But when you're part of the hardcore Ottawa jazz community, you absorb adversity and carry on, and you could at least make vague assessments about the crowd's taste in umbrellas if you found your eyes wandering (best in show went to a high heel shoe print protecting a stately lady at stage right) — which they did at times, since the camera-feed wasn't connected to the massive screen until the second to last song, and so ads were broadcast on loop for most of the set. A bit tacky, but a minor complaint. In any event, there really was a genuine feeling of community in the air, but at the price of some genuine sogginess as well. It was a night one submitted to in the name of jazz.
