Isaiah Collier, Keyon Harrold, and more as Vancouver International Jazz Festival unveils first ticketed shows
Running June 19 to July 5, event also unveils Performance Works Series that includes Haleluya Hailu Plays Ethiopia and Stranger Friends Orchestra with Fredrik Ljungkvist
Isaiah Collier
Keyon Harrold
CHICAGO-BASED SAX master Isaiah Collier’s Collier Plays Coltrane and Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold’s show Foreverland and Songs for Miles are just two of the highlights in the Vancouver International Jazz Festival’s first release of programming.
Coastal Jazz has just announced a bunch of its Marquee ticketed programs for the 41st fest, taking place from June 19 to July 5 at venues across Vancouver and the North Shore.
Tickets go on sale today at coastaljazz.ca at 10 a.m.
In the announcement, the organization recognized both the challenges and benefits of overlapping with the FIFA World Cup descending on the city. Nina Horvath, executive director of the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, pointed out it’s the longest run for the festival in many years. “With so many visitors in Vancouver in June and July, we want tourists to have something local to experience, knowing that our programming contributes to the vibrancy and excitement of summer in the city,” she said.
“Current affairs and the FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule have led to many limitations and hindrances in this work, but thankfully, our connection with the community has once again helped us land on our feet,” said Cole Schmidt, co–artistic director of the Jazz Fest, adding that a strong emphasis will be put on highlighting local talent and collaborations with other Vancouver arts groups.
This year’s festival features an appearance by bold Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist and jazz composer Tomoki Sanders on June 25 at the Birdhouse (44 West 4th Avenue), appearing with guests the Todd Stewart Trio in a presentation with the Queer Arts Festival.
Dutch underground punk pioneers the Ex hit the Hollywood on June 26, with new work from their album If Your Mirror Breaks. The group appears with guests Grdina/Lillinger.
On June 30, Keyon Harrold’s Foreverland and Songs for Miles takes the Vancouver Playhouse stage. The trumpeter, vocalist, and producer has been hailed by Wynton Marsalis as “the future of the trumpet”. Riding a wave of critical praise for the 2024 Grammy-nominated album Foreverland, his band journeys through the spectrum of African-American music, touching on everything from bop to pop to hip-hop.
The next night at the same venue, saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Isaiah Collier appears with his show Collier Plays Coltrane. Hailed by DownBeat magazine as “the next sax giant” and a leading force in modern spiritual jazz, he drew buzz at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival with his ensemble the Chosen Few in 2023.
The Jazz Fest also announced the return of Downtown Jazz, a free concert series taking place outside the Vancouver Art Gallery at šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square on June 27 and 28. Granville Island also returns as a hub for festival activities, hosting both free and ticketed shows at Ocean Artworks throughout the event, as well as at Performance Works and the Revue Stage from July 1 to 5.
Haleluya Hailu
Fredrik Ljungkvist. Photo by Miki Anagrius
Among the ticketed shows announced for the Performance Works Series is Voodoo: The Music of D’Angelo on July 1, a celebration of the late neo-soul icon and musical visionary Michael Eugene Archer, a.k.a. D’Angelo. The ensemble of all-stars paying respects includes Timothy Fuller, Karina Morin, Dawn Pemberton, Jay Esplana, Feven Kidane, Jocelyn Waugh, Darren Parris, Mike Ardagh, Kai Basanta, and Gavin Youngash.
Formerly known as the Mary Ancheta Quartet, the newly renamed MA:Q (pronounced M-A-Q) hits the same venue on July 2, pushing genre boundaries with a turbocharged mix of funk, hip-hop, and Afrobeat. The foursome shares the stage with pianist Sharon Minemoto, who’s composed nine works that reflect on her Japanese-Canadian family’s experiences of internment, displacement, and exile during the Second World War.
July 3 at Performance Works marks the occasion of Cellar Live 25th Anniversary: Cory Weeds Little Big Band ft. Jerry Weldon & Noah Franche-Nolan Trio. In celebration of Weeds’s record label, the local tenor saxophonist’s band will play music from the albums Explosion and Home Cookin', as well as new material.
On July 4 is the much-anticipated Haleluya Hailu Plays Ethiopia, directed by Feven Kidane and featuring the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist performing canonical works from the Ethiopian Golden Age of music, backed by a septet including Shewit Kidane's krar and vocals, Nebyu Yohannes on trombone, John Nicholson's woodwinds, Suin Park on keyboards, and Mulugeta Geresu's drums.
The final night of the Performance Works Series, on July 5, is Stranger Friends Orchestra feat. Fredrik Ljungkvist, a collaboration between local bandleader Dean Thiessen's group and the Swedish saxophone-clarinet sensation. 
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