2018 was a truly spectacular year for Jazz Sudbury and the Jazz Sudbury Festival. The year marked a decade of jazz being placed at the forefront of Sudbury’s arts sector.

Jazz Sudbury was originally formed in 2009 by the Sudbury Community Foundation due to a lack of jazz music and jazz-influenced styles being presented on the city’s stages. Ten years later, not many can claim that jazz is missing from the community’s artistic initiatives.

Incorporated in 2012, Jazz Sudbury has endeavoured to continue to jazz up the lives of northern Ontarian’s with warm jazz vocalists and instrumentalists.

2018 saw everything from bilingual performances to the jazz-inspired rhythms of funk, soul, and world music. The year brought with it the largest big band ever to grace the main stage and stories of Oscar Peterson recounted at the Jazz Café.

Amélie et Les Singes Bleus launched the year with a pop of colour and some fierté francophone! The show set the tone for francophone programming at the festival. In 2018, Jazz Sudbury aspired to present francophone artists in an effort to dive into the French-speaking jazz world. The organization is hoping to further develop this initiative in 2019.

Another cause deeply valued by Jazz Sudbury staff and members is arts education. A focus was placed on the development of the Emerging Artist program. Thanks to a generous contribution from the RBC Foundation, Jazz Sudbury was able to provide emerging artists with the opportunity to experience the festival inside and out.

The young artists were also treated to a career development masterclass with world-renowned pianist Robi Botos, in partnership with Music and Film in Motion. Botos regaled the audience with stories of his time as Oscar Peterson’s daughter’s piano teacher and shared some valuable wisdom with the young musicians.

But before young musicians can become emerging artists, they must first be inspired to play. This is precisely the aim of the Keys to the City project, launched in 2016. For arts education to take place, music must first be accessible. Jazz Sudbury has proven, over the past two years, that placing pianos in public venues eliminates barriers to music appreciation and understanding.

In 2018, Jazz Sudbury revealed a second piano and placed it at Science North so that it could inspire children to play. The space-themed Space Odyssey piano fit perfectly in the lobby where children passing through the centre would take time to plunk at its keys.

The year wasn’t without its surprises, with the Space Odyssey piano appearing at the Up Here Festival. Remaining faithful to the theme, Phoenix Leer played the piano for a popup show in an astronaut suit at the urban art and music festival in August.

When September hit and everyone was gearing up for the start of the school year, the jazz purists of the region were anticipating the premier event of 2018.

From September 5-9 jazz won the hearts of Sudburians by taking over the city’s streets. Jazz Sudbury Festival collaborated with six local downtown venues to present its intimate events including the Jazzwalk, Club Nights, Afterhours events and the Jazz Café. Main-stage presentations took place at Grace Hartman Amphitheatre, with free community concerts in two locations at Bell Park.

Artists entertained with talent and charm as spectators sipped on Crosscut Distillery martinis and snacked on La Fromagerie’s charcuterie cones. With the sparkling lights of the Investors Group Bistro twinkling in the background, attendees watched as each artist found their spotlight on the main-stage.

Jazz was the theme of the weekend, from the fresh young talent of the Anthony D’Alessandro trio and the unique soulful sound of Alysha Brilla to the brassy sounds of Lucky Chops and the Great North All Star Big Band.

With all the hard work that was required to put on the tenth anniversary Jazz Sudbury Festival volunteers were treated to an evening of wine and cheese in late September. Emerging artist Mark Scherzinger entertained while volunteers mingled and relaxed after putting on the premier jazz event of the year.

The work wasn’t over, however, with organizers teaming up once again with Northern Lights Festival Boréal to bring back the successful Sultans of String: Christmas Caravan. As snow fell and holiday carols rang in everyone’s ears, Jazz Sudbury staff worked like elves to gather items for a silent auction to be held during the event. The community’s generosity was astounding with over 40 items donated and $2000 raised for the festivals.


ASPIRATIONS FOR 2019

As this was a big year for arts education initiatives, Jazz Sudbury hopes to continue to implement opportunities for young artists into 2019. Dreams of a youth outreach initiative involving instrument workshops for at risk youth could become reality in the next two years.

The RBC Foundation contribution will allow Jazz Sudbury to expand the emerging artist program into 2019. Jazz Sudbury plans to partner with the Music Incubator to provide the winner of the emerging artist showcase with mentorship opportunities.

On the topic of education, both Keys to the City pianos have now been moved to the downtown core, with the original Canada 150 piano located at La Fromagerie and Space Odyssey living in Kuppajo Espresso Bar. All this in hopes that young jazz musicians can grow to contribute to Ontario’s budding jazz scene.

Jazz Sudbury can happily report overall increases in numbers of local and regional artists, marketing reach and most notably, attendance. From 2017 to 2018 the number of spectators has grown by 35%. It is the largest attendance that the festival has seen in its ten-year history and the organization can only aim for another increase in 2019.

Jazz Sudbury hopes to see more people at the festival in 2019, everyone from jazz enthusiasts to newcomers and francophone jazz lovers alike! The 2019 festival will broaden its horizons with even more jazz influenced world genres mixed in with all of those beloved jazz standards.

Finally, Jazz Sudbury would like to thank everyone who has supported the organization over the last decade. It has been an incredible ten years with you, Sudbury. Without the openness of the community and willingness to develop an affinity for jazz the genre would not be thriving in northern Ontario as it is today. We hope to continue to bring the warmth of live jazz to the ears and hearts of attendees on cold September evenings for years to come.