Calling all jazz and blues musicians: the Point Artist-Run Centre (PARC) is inviting you on Nov. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. to a Community Jazz and Blues Jam. All ages and experience levels are welcome to participate, or simply to watch and listen.
"We've done some other genres of music more frequently, like bluegrass and old-time where it's more acoustic, but with this one we have a host band," elaborates PARC artistic director Stephen Vogler. "The guys playing are all skilled musicians. They know their jazz and blues, so it's a great opportunity for musicians who might be interested in that style of music but don't have the opportunity to play it with other people."
Brett Florio, whom you might know from his gigs with The New Mountain Rangers and various other outfits, will help lead the Jam. The full lineup is still to be determined as of this writing, but expect house drummer Jim Brown and Florio's Rangers running mate Rajan Das to be in attendance.
If you've done jazz or blues jams in other parts of the world, you'll know they can be intimidating. Florio once attended a blues night in Los Angeles that demanded exacting precision and adherence to tradition. "Don't colour outside the lines or the owner would be on the side of the stage telling you to get the f— off," he recalls.
However, Florio emphasizes that "we don't have that scene [at the PARC]. Our jams are much more for folks who have been trying to learn jazz by themselves. While you have to know how to play your instrument, folks who can do that and want to experience some different stuff, meet some other musicians and expand their repertoire [are welcome]."
Somewhat idiosyncratically, Florio doesn't like blues—at least not for listening. Yet time spent around Brown has shown him the genre can be a lot more fun to play than he once believed.
'Relaxed and casual'
Expect the upcoming Jazz and Blues night to feel and sound very disparate from the other PARC jam sessions.
"Bluegrass or old-time jams are just culturally and functionally very different," Florio explains. "In bluegrass, everybody takes a break on a song—a break meaning a solo—whereas in a jazz jam, that can get pretty difficult. We might curate songs a little bit more and ask who wants to play [a given] tune.
"In contrast, in an old-time jam the fiddles do everything all the time. There's not a lot of improvisation. It's almost trance-like [in the sense of] we're doing this song and we're going to do it 14 times."
No matter what the genre, Florio is interested in supporting local music. He and his family drove into Whistler in 2013 largely by accident, but were quickly charmed and ended up moving to the Sea to Sky from the U.S. Florio learned about a PARC annual general meeting roughly six years ago, showed up and was asked to join the board.
He's served in that capacity ever since.
"What I like most about the Point is the breadth and depth of the relationships that exist," says Florio. "You might meet folks there who have been in town for a few weeks or a few decades. So many people come for the sports, the mountains and all that stuff, but there's also a lot of art in the community. The Point mixes folks from all sorts of different hobbies into one place that they really do have a relationship with.
"There are a ton of musicians and I've jammed with a ton of folks spontaneously, but it's usually in the context of a live performance. A jam is a nice change of pace because it's really relaxed and casual. If anyone is on the fence about coming, just show up with an open mind—no one's going to get better by not showing up. Worst-case scenario: you might hit some wrong notes and everyone's going to say, 'good try.'"
Details for the PARC's Community Jazz and Blues Jam can be found at thepointartists.com. Donations are encouraged.
