YOW Jazz, July 8: Ottawa Jazz Festival 2025 Highlights
A show dedicated to the volunteers who help make it all possible
The 45th Ottawa Jazz Festival is over - another great schedule of jazz (and not-jazz) concerts.
Over 500 volunteers make the festival experience seem seamless - so a big thank you to all of the volunteers for this year’s festival.
(a picture of the 2024 crew of volunteers)
On Tuesday’s show, I will be featuring my personal highlights from the jazz festival - which may not correspond to others’ because there were shows I missed!
On the first night of the festival, I saw the Christine Jensen Quartet at the NAC Fourth Stage. Jensen played both soprano and alto sax, Adrian Vedady was on bass, Jim Doxas on drums and Gary Versace was on the piano.
On Friday, June 27, I saw the Anke Helfrich Trio, also at the Fourth Stage. I interviewed Helfrich on the last YOW Jazz show.
I also saw the first part of the Samara Joy performance on the same night, at the Confederation Park Main Stage.
The Shuffle Demons, as expected, put on an exuberant show - with everyone except the drummer in matching suit jackets. I interviewed one of the co-founders, Richard Underhill, on the June 10 edition of YOW Jazz.
Another ensemble of Canadian jazz legends, including Lorne Lofsky and Kirk MacDonald - the Canadian Jazz Collective - gave a great performance under hot, humid and sunny conditions.
For me, though, the highlight of the festival was seeing the Branford Marsalis Quartet on the final night of the festival - a masterful set.
The most enjoyable piece was their rendition of “There Ain't No Sweet Man Worth the Salt of My Tears”, a 1920s tune. As far as I can tell, Marsalis has never recorded this piece. But here is a live performance from earlier this year (January 17 at Beverly, Massachusetts).
On the show I talk a little bit about being a volunteer at the Ottawa Jazz Festival - for more information, check out the volunteer page on the festival website.
You can listen on Tuesday at 11 a.m. to the show live on the air in the National Capital Region at 93.1 FM or anywhere in the world via livestream at CKCUFM.com. The show is also available for on demand streaming at any time of the day or night.