Vancouver’s beloved Bruce James Orchestra may be the star attraction at Dwight Hall this Saturday, April 7, as part of the Townsite Jazz Festival, but the Brooks/Max Alumni Band could very well end up stealing the show. After all, it’s not every day one gets to witness a ragtag crew of School District 47 graduates reuniting on stage to play through their favourite tunes.
“This is going to be an absolute blast,” says Andy Rice, the festival’s director of communications. “It may not be perfect, and it certainly won’t be pretty, but I can’t think of a more hilarious and heartwarming way to kick off a concert.”
The ensemble has been rehearsing for the past several weeks, slowly but surely collecting a full roster of alumni from 1967 to 2017.
“We have everyone from BC Country Music Association hall of famer Ron Irving, who is a seasoned veteran of the music industry, to my buddy Scott Cameron who works at Underwriters Insurance Agencies and hasn’t touched a saxophone in 10 years,” says Rice. “Our ability levels are all over the map but what we all have in common is how much we enjoyed our time in jazz band and inevitably started to miss it when we graduated or moved on to other things.”
For the past six months, Cameron has been making calls, sending emails and assisting Townsite Jazz Festival director Paul Cummings in rounding up a who’s who of local players for the event.
“It’s been kind of neat to be part of the festival and see it come to life,” says Cameron. “I was a little bit nervous about how many people we’d get to sign up but we ended up finding a whole ensemble. Even in the past couple weeks we’ve had some last-minute additions; people finding out they’re going to be back in town and wanting to be a part of it.”
As for the rest of the evening, attendees can expect to be entertained by the Bruce James Orchestra, a 19-piece outfit that specializes in music from the big band swing era.
“We’re envisioning this as a social evening where you can grab a drink at the cash bar, plunk yourself down at a table, strike up a conversation and enjoy the music as it comes at you,” says Rice. “There’s even a dance floor if you’re starting to feel those drinks.”
Cameron jokes that the bar’s profits might pale in comparison to one of Cummings’ other revenue-generating ideas for the event.
“There’s been talk of putting a squeak jar at the front of the stage where alumni musicians can pay up for their mistakes,” says Cameron. “If that’s the case then I’ll probably need to stop by an ATM on the way to the gig.”
Townsite Jazz Festival: Big Band Dance
When: 8 pm, Saturday, April 7
Where: Dwight Hall
Price: $20
Info: townsitejazz.com
