In a sign of the growing popularity of live jazz in Peterborough, it didn’t take long before Juno award-winning Canadian jazz singer Holly Cole’s upcoming concert at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre was sold out.
The concert on Sunday (April 27) is the culminating event of this year’s International Jazz Day Peterborough, which also features the “Dine with Jazz” series the evening before with eight local jazz musicians performing at four downtown Peterborough restaurants, followed by a concert by a jazz quartet.
International Jazz Day Peterborough was first organized in 2015 by Peterborough jazz musicians including Craig Paterson and — except for a three-year hiatus during the pandemic — has been celebrated ever year since, with the goal of bringing together the community, local businesses, and jazz enthusiasts so that people can enjoy the diversity of the genre today.
International Jazz Day was first proposed by iconic jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock in 2011, after he was designated as a Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
UNESCO subsequently proclaimed April 30th to be International Jazz Day beginning in 2012 and now, 13 years later, over 200 countries participate every year.
“The reason is because jazz has functioned in a lot of obvious ways, as music that has made a lot of people over the planet very happy,” Hancock said in a 2012 interview. “At the same time, it’s been a music that has brought people together. It has been embraced by people from various cultures as their own — it’s not thought of as a foreign music. We thought it’s long overdue that jazz be recognized in this very special way.”
While the April 27th concert by the Holly Cole Trio is sold out, there are plenty of other opportunities to take in some jazz during the “Dine with Jazz” series, where selected downtown Peterborough restaurants host local jazz musicians from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday (April 26).
This year’s series will have Pete Woolidge and Craig Paterson performing at La Hacienda (190 Hunter St. W.), Mike Graham and Victoria Yeh at Amandala’s (375 Water St.), Michael Monis and Paco Luviano at Agave (376 George St. N.), and Rob Phillips and Carling Stephen at The Black Horse Pub (452 George St. N.).
Reservations are recommended. Other than the cost of your dinner, there is no charge for the “Dine with Jazz” series. That’s also the case for a jazz concert taking place at The Black Horse following Rob Phillips and Carling Stephen’s performance.
The Curtis Cronkwright Quartet — featuring Perry White on saxophone, Nathan Hiltz on guitar, Duncan Hopkins on bass, and Peterborough’s own Curtis Cronkwright on drums — will take over the Black Horse stage from 9 p.m. until midnight. There is no cover charge for the concert.
Returning as sponsors of this year’s International Jazz Day Peterborough are LLF Lawyers, We Design Group, Alterna Savings, and McCosh Private Wealth Management, with kawarthaNOW as media sponsor.
For more information about International Jazz Day Peterborough, visit www.facebook.com/internationaljazzdaypeterborough/.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be the longtime media sponsor of International Jazz Day Peterborough.
