Season 23

I’m still in a celebratory state of mind, standing along the edge of the stage in Kew Gardens looking out over a massive crowd who are dancing their hearts out to Red Baarat, our bhangra-meets-brass-band, thinking – that’s our Toronto – the face of our grand city.  When drummer Sunny Jain says – the first song is, “Today is My Best Friend’s Wedding” – you know something explosive was coming.  And then he pounds out a rhythm on the dhol, a North Indian drum most commonly associated with Punjabi music and dance, accompanied by the sound of five horns, and suddenly, the whole east end of Toronto is in a slum dog groove.

The BIJF 2011 will be remembered for a number of things – the homecoming for Toronto icon Carole Pope, provocative and hard-edged as ever.  Pope’s legion of followers showing up in party mode to Woodbine Park.  Big Sam's Funky Nation, where soul music and New Orleans’s street music collided in an amazing performance, sending everyone into a long stroll into the past when Otis, Marvin, Aretha, and Sam Cooke ruled the air waves.

Most will recall the summer of 2011 for its heat and humidity, I mean Thursday July 22 was at 49 degrees Celsius or 120 Fahrenheit.  This made it a great time to experience a hot and sultry Queen Street - packed with great bands and willing participants.  Come Friday, everyone was in party land.  Streefest rocked with Dr. Draw, David Rotundo, Fathead, Suzana da Camara, Rob Christian Group, the Bullen Boys, Johnny Max, the big bands – the Latin unit Cache, and many others.

Main stage events from Raoul & The Big Time Big Band, Braithwaite & Whiteley, violinist Anne Lindsay, The Iroko Project, Duke Robillard, Lisa Haley, The Boxcar Boys, Rockit 88 Band – The Lionel Young Band and the finale with Red Baraat – gave everyone a wide variety of music choices.

We continued to offer workshops and clinics for youth in the city through our Youth Initiatives Program in 2011.  Schools, community centers and local pubs played host to some amazing jazz music being made by young people in the city under the direction of some of our finest jazz professionals.  Our jazz jams proved more popular than ever.

Our Honour Combos continued this year and were featured amongst other great high school aged musicians on our youth stage.  They toured the city, performing a multiple venues.  They really are the future of Jazz in Canada!

Our New Generation stage really captured some of the best and brightest musicians in town.  Heavyweight Brass, Michael Schatte and Larra Skye were amongst the fine talent that we showcased.  Many of the New Generation artists will go on to main stages and continue to progress in their careers in music.

Our new Big Band Stage was well represented by four powerhouse bands, all bringing their own unique style and sound to its large audiences, from the contemporary sounds of The Jazz Mechanics and Big Smoke Big Band, to the more traditional offerings of the George Lake and Swing Shift Big Bands.  Folks loved the setting along the boardwalk under the shady trees.

Our ever explosive Latin Stage, a treat for the ears, the heart and the hips was back for its second year.  It gave its audience the feeling of being in the Caribbean without having the need to take a plane to get there.  Bands like CaneFire, provided a richness of sounds - mixed and matched into something uniquely Canadian.

BIJF has a world vision and 2011 will be remembered for that big embrace!

On a related note, we really do have the best volunteers to help make the Beaches Jazz Festival run smoothly.  Over 300 people helped out during the 10 days of the festival.  In spite of the heat, they came, helped out and represented our festival in a professional and friendly manner.  We couldn’t have done it without them.

Our Free Workshops were amazing.  Many people came out to learn and enjoy such varied topics as Concert Photography, Heather Bambrick’s Vocal Bootcamp, Second City Comedy Improv, the Ukulele Workshop and our ever popular dance classes.  We broke the record for attendance this year and can’t wait to start planning for next year.  Did you check out our Photo Exhibit at Woodbine and Kew Gardens this year?

	Bill King Artistic Director

So many visitors at the Festival this year.  Most are amazed that our Festival is completely free.  Others marvel at our terrific music, venues, volunteers and fun environment.  We invite you back to Toronto next year, and ask that you spread the word on how wonderful Toronto is and how much we have to offer.

See you in 2012.