Season’s Greetings to Jazz Society Members, and Friends of Jazz:

The clock ticks on towards Christmas and the end of this strange, frustrating year. It’s been a roller coaster experience, when hopes of a more normal life could be glimpsed on the horizon, only to discover that we were entering the third or fourth wave. BUT?(fingers crossed) the prospect of?live jazz in the new year?gets better and better. Those dates are (for those of you who threw out my earlier message):

We will be offering Thursday night jazz performances at The Flying Canoe. I’m excited to tell you that our opening show on January 13 will be?The Marty Steele Quartet. Most of you will remember Marty as arguably the finest jazz organist in this part of the world – the one with the left hand that plays amazing bass while the right hand blinds us with his brilliant jazz. Other musicians in the band are drummer James McRae; an emerging young jazz lion Kenton Dick on saxes, and a young lady named Teighan Couch as his featured vocalist. Marty has expressed how honoured and excited he feels to be playing our first post-pandemic show. Do you realize that it will be almost two years since our last Thursday Night Jazz?

Downbeat for all of these events will?be at 7:30 pm. We’re currently planning the other acts, and you’ll?be receiving this additional information soon.

Admission to our shows at Flying Canoe will be $15 for members, and $20 for non members. Payment can be made by credit?and bank cards, or cash. Audience capacity will be 95. A wide variety of reasonably priced pub food items will be available, and I’m hoping this new venue will result in a similar social scene to the one we enjoyed in The Avalanche Bar. The results of the Members’ Survey certainly indicated a continuing strong support for live jazz in Comox Valley.

The other significant news is about?Georgia Straight Jazz Society’s?Valentine-season concert at The Sid Williams Theatre on February?10th, when Edie Daponte will present her new show, “What The World Needs Now”, accompanied by Joey Smith, bass; Tony Genge, Piano; percussionist Damian Graham, and Aaron Watson, guitar, accordion?and saw.

The format of Edie’s show will?have the audience transported around the world to celebrate some of the most beloved love songs in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German. Edie pays homage to classic love songs with her soaring and stirring vocal renditions. Tickets ($35) for this wonderful event will be available from?The Sid Theatre box office as of December 15. and can be purchased online or in person, and paid for with all the regular bank cards. The Board considers this concert as a?“coming out of mothballs” special event, and is happy to venture up a rung on the performance ladder for the first time. It will be a memorable show, and I trust that many of you will consider attending. I’ve attached a copy of Edie’s poster to this email. As well, I have provided a Youtube link –

-? to further stimulate your interest. We will have 350 tickets available for this concert. As the recipient of this email, you get a jump at ticket purchasing over the larger population in Comox Valley, who will receive this announcement via a press article in the CV Record next month. Information about this concert is also available on The Sid’s website.

I’ll close this message with my personal season’s greeting and a token – a musical web link: seasonal, but not exclusively Christmas. It’s a concert entitled “A Winter’s Night” presented by Sting at Durham Cathedral – an almost 1000 year old building – providing a stunning setting to a memorable 90 minute performance by Sting and friends. As a music lover I think you will enjoy it; if you’ve already seen it, my apologies.

I look forward to seeing you next year, as we emerge from our pandemic hibernation.