Vancouver International Jazz Festival reveals Revue Stage events at 40th edition, June 25 to 29
Innovation Series features five concerts from June 25 to 29, while the return of Time Flies brings three free late-night shows to Granville Island

MESTIZX. Photo by GUMO
Coastal Jazz & Blues Society has just announced five ticketed shows as part of the evening lineup for the Innovation Series during this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival, at the Revue Stage on Granville Island from June 25 to 29. All five shows will begin at 9:30 pm.
The Innovation Series is a long-established feature of the festival that highlights experimental, improvisational, and avant-garde music on the outermost edges of the jazz periphery. Tickets will go on sale to the public through Coastal Jazz on April 10. In addition, Time Flies, an improvised music event initially launched by Coastal Jazz in 1988, will bring three free late-night shows to the Revue Stage from June 25 to 27.
Two long-standing duos—François Houle & Gordon Grdina with Izumi Kimura & Gerry Hemingway—will launch the Innovation Series on June 25. The evening of sonic explorations includes basset clarinettist Houle and guitarist and oud player Grdina’s HELIOTROPE, which taps into global traditions, avant-jazz, western classical music, and free improvisation. Kimura is a Dublin-based Japanese pianist, while Hemingway is a U.S.-born, Switzerland-based drummer, vocalist, and vibraphonist.

Josh Zubot. Photo by Genevieve Monro
On June 26, the Josh Zubot Octet will bring adventurous jazz, classical, folk, and avant-garde to the stage, led by boundary-pushing violinist and composer Zubot. He’ll premiere brand-new music with his largest group to date, including his brother Jesse and son Klee.
MESTIZX, an eclectic and celebratory expression of post-genre, decolonial Latinx music, will perform on June 27. Bolivian-born singer and multi-instrumentalist Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and Chicago-expat drummer Frank Rosaly—Amsterdam-based partners in life and art—will dive into their respective roots.
Filipinx-American composer, percussionist, and sound artist Susie Ibarra will present An Ecology of Rhythm on June 28. She will be joined by pianist Eve Risser, vocalist Shruti Ramani, guitarist Alvaro Rojas, and bassist James Meger to perform compositions inspired by the sonic diversity of nature.
Open Thread, the innovative Melbourne-based ensemble of cellist Peggy Lee, saxophonist Julien Wilson, guitarist Theo Carbo, and drummer-percussionist Dylan van der Schyff, will close the Innovation Series on June 29.
To learn more about Time Flies and the Innovation Series performers, visit Coastal Jazz.
Post sponsored by Coastal Jazz & Blues Society.
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