Ottawa Jazz Festival & Bedouin Soundclash

[bradm]

What do those two things have in common? Well, each other. This article gives some details as to who's appearing at the Ottawa Jazz Festival this year, and while it does include artists like Maceo Parker and McCoy Tyner,

Other acts might seem odder choices, such as rock-and-reggae Canadian group Bedouin Soundclash, fresh off a best new group Juno Award win.

Programming director Jacques Emond explained their seemingly fish-out-of-water appearance in the lineup is in part because the band possesses a sound which refuses to be musically classified, and also because organizers are betting they will prove a "huge" draw to the coveted younger crowd.

(I find it interesting that the first paragraph calls Bedouin Soundclash "rock-and-reggae", which I think is a good description, but the next paragraph says "the band possesses a sound which refuses to be musically classified".)

Aloha,

Brad

[Hartamophone]

They might seem a little out of place in that lineup, but they will certainly boost the attendanced numbers, if somewhat artificially (with them not being a "true" jazz act).

I often find that with "jazz" and "blues" fests (and not just in Ottawa), many of the performers are several generations removed from the genre in question. I think that sometimes, promoters rely a little too heavily on the "jazz/blues is in everything" caveat, which is how you end up with Black Eyed Peas at Bluesfest. (And this is not to say that I am a purist with regards to jazz or blues, just an observation).

[Big Wooly Mammoth]

Brad Mehldau is listed on Pollstar as playing the National Library on June 27th.