Skip to content

It’s all about the jazz, Burnaby

Weekend Jazz @ The Bolt festival returns with live performances and full-capacity audiences after pandemic hiatus
image001
Jazz @ The Bolt, two-day jazz music festival, will come to Burnaby's Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Feb. 4 and 5, 2023.

If you're looking to add some jazz to your evening or weekend, look no further than Burnaby’s very own jazz festival at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.

After a restrictive two years due to COVID, the event is back in-person with full-capacity audiences and a dynamite lineup.

Renowned jazz artists from around the world and across Canada will come together in February for Jazz @ The Bolt, a one-of-a-kind weekend music festival. Organized by impresario Cory Weeds, the festival will feature a strong lineup, including some of Canada’s finest musicians, alongside revered performers from New York.

Jazz @ The Bolt will have two full days of jazz performances with over 25 groups and soloists coming together during the day and into the evenings on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4 and 5.

The two-day indoor event can be experienced under one roof, and audiences can roam from one room to another to enjoy a little bit of everything or stay in one room and enjoy a full set.

“We’re thrilled to bring Jazz @ The Bolt back to the Shadbolt, live and in person again this year!”, said Weeds in a press release. “This year's programming features a varied and extraordinarily talented roster that includes a broad diversity of new, established and veteran artists.

"There is so much to be excited about, but I'm particularly looking forward to having fellow impresario, pianist Spike Wilner, here in the city with one of my favourite saxophonists, Jesse Davis," Weeds said. "I'm also delighted to present pianist Miki Yamanaka and her group as well as the brilliant singer, Lezlie Harrison.”

Jesse Davis, alto saxophonist from New York (now calling Italy home) will be headlining on Saturday, Feb. 4, alongside the Spike Wilner Trio from New York, and Harrison and group, also from New York.

Aside from international artists on the festival roster, it will also see some local talent from Lower Mainland stages..

In a special performance this year,  Vancouver Jazz Orchestra will join New York City tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, who was born and raised in Vancouver.

Yamanaka, one of New York City’s most in-demand jazz pianists, will perform on Sunday, Feb. 5, alongside saxophonist Mark Turner.

For those seeking to explore one-of-a-kind performances, there is the Generations Quartet, featuring father-daughter combo of tenor saxophonist Kirk MacDonald and clarinetist Virginia MacDonald, as well as the Indo-Jazz Fusion project, Raagaverse, led by Shruti Ramani.

For more information about the festival and the schedule, visit the Jazz @ The Bolt website.

Tickets can be purchased from the Shadbolt website or by calling 604-205-3000.