Tomorrow the 2004 Vancouver Jazz Festival program is released. There's lots of buzz about this year's festival, including a spotlight on some newly discovered local artists. One such artist is vocalist and pianist Jillian Lebeck, who is glowingly described in this Canada.com article. A graduate of Berklee and Cap College, Jillian's got a spiffy web site which has some MP3 samples of her work with some of Vancouver's top rate jazz players.

From what I have heard of her recording, it sounds like Jillian's off to a great start to a long and fruitful career.

In today's mainstream culture, jazz has become almost synonymous with wealth and sophistication. Just look at what kind of TV commercials feature jazz music. It was really only a few generations ago that jazz was considered rebellious and "popular", but now it has become such a form of high culture that it is taught in schools. While rock music is an equally valid genre, it is very rare to get a Master's Degree in Rock Performance! It's also the case that most local rock bands are happy to get free drinks for performing live, whereas jazz bands of similar ability can expect to get paid quite a decent wage. I think the challenge of being a jazz musician is to keep from becoming complacent with society's image of what "jazz" is.

I really admire artists who stretch the creative boundaries of the jazz genre. That's why I'm really looking forward to this year's Vancouver Jazz Festival, because it's an opportunity to hear kinds of jazz that aren't used to elevate the price of meals at fancy restaurants!  ¶ 1:29 AM

An article entitled An Introduction to Arabic Music.  ¶ 12:56 AM

Found a songlist for Fiddler on the Roof including some quite well done Midi arrangements for many of the songs.  ¶ 11:46 PM

I've created a new web toy called "Alter Ego". Type in a person's name and it will tell you the name that is most similar to yours in terms of the gender usage and popularity on the Internet.

Some interesting results: the alter ego of Frank Sinatra is currently Bill Erskine, a hardcore celtic music fan (link includes MP3 music samples of Bill Erskine's music).  ¶ 9:32 PM

Have you noticed a lot of websites with links such as mangeur de cigogne? That's a French phrase meaning Eater of Stork, and webmasters around the world are in a competition to see who can rank number 1 on Google for that phrase. How can they do that? Using techniques called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I think that SEO is much more fun than playing computer games, and SEO can pay off in real life too.  ¶ 10:59 PM

Announcing Food Vancouver.com! It will be launching soon - a site full of restaurant reviews and a dining guide for Vancouver.  ¶ 12:08 AM

I've posted a live track of the Geoff Peters Sextet which we recorded at our recent gig at the Yale in Vancouver. Hope you enjoy it.  ¶ 1:32 AM

The Funky Meters - a band "considered by many to be the founding fathers of funk, The Meters created a unique sound that lasted through the sixties and seventies and was reborn in the late eighties. Their trademark sound blends funk, blues, and dance grooves with a New Orleans vibe." They've got some good stuff happening at their web site, which has samples of 8 live tracks from their March 16th and 17th concert in San Francisco.  ¶ 1:30 AM

Some New York Times music reviews that are worth a read.  ¶ 1:23 AM

Recordings from our recent choir concert are now available. Also I have posted some photos of the choir concert.  ¶ 10:51 PM

Book recommendation: The Bishop of San Fernando by David McLaurin. Quite bizarre, but strangely compelling! From the back of the book:

Alfred Palmer-Ross was born with every advantage, but he has not been a success as Bishop of San Fernando. Haunted by a fall from grace in his youth, he has spent the last twenty years in a sleepy backwater of Trinidad in guilty isolation. But the arrival of an ambitious priest and a secret visitor from the past forces the Bishop to confront the world he has been avoiding for so long...

I will post a more indepth review when I have time, but if you're looking for an engaging read that will keep you entertained, check out this book.  ¶ 11:13 PM

There are lots of bands out there who make a living doing cover tunes for weddings, parties, and corporate events. One good example is South-East England's Grand Central. They have some samples of their work in MP3 format to download.  ¶ 11:09 PM