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w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R W ed n es d ay , A u g u st 3 , 2 01 1 2 0 Artscene Jazz Festival brings music to the downtown streets By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF If youre looking for an enter- taining time outdoors, just follow the music and the large crowds this weekend. The 19th annual Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival is hitting the streets with performances running from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening (Aug. 5-7). Considered one of the premier jazz events in the Greater Toronto Area, this years festival will feature some 40 musicians and bands per- forming on stages along Lakeshore Road from Allan Street to the stage at Centennial Square and in between. There will be local musicians and out-of-towners for this free presentation, put on by the busi- nesses and merchants of the Downtown Oakville Business Improvement Area (BIA). Among the performing groups will be a Juno Award-nominated Toronto band Sultans of String. The quintet, featuring one Oakville member, frequents Halton Region for performances, but this is its first performance at the Oakville Jazz Festival. Im pretty excited because its always fun to be exposed to new audiences. People get to hear us and react to us for the first time, said the bands violinist Chris McKhool. Its as much fun for us as performers as it is for the audi- ence. Our show is about getting involved, clapping and dancing, its a pretty fun show. We horse around a lot. The world-jazz group was nom- inated for the instrumental album of the year at the 2010 Junos. Though the music is reminiscent of sounds of the world, McKhool said the original tunes are inspired by Canada. When we say world music, it means music that has influences from around the world. You will hear everything from Rumba Flamenco from southern Spain, to Arabic rhythms, Cuban rhythms, Afro-Peruvian rhythms, Gipsy jazz from eastern Europe, New York jazz, east coast Celtic, a little bit of fiddling, and everything in between that comes to Canada through musical immigration, he said. A lot of (the songs) are written about places and people and things in Canada that really inspire us, like Luna, the whale on the west coast of Canada, and Sable Island on the east coast. He added the music is truly Canadian. Aside from performing Saturday evening at the Jazz East Stage, McKhool and his band mates will put on a Fiddlefire childrens con- cert at 1 p.m. on Stage A, where children will get to listen and try out fiddle instruments. McKhool is looking forward to the culmination of artists, per- forming at the same time during the festival. Someone will come to the fes- tival to catch a certain band and then they will listen to us. We get exposed to audiences that may not have heard of us. Thats really won- derful. Its a synergy that you get at a festival like that, he said. Returning for her third year to the jazz festival, Oakvilles own Paula Gardin will perform on the Friday night at the Jazz East Stage. I live here and Im honoured to be chosen by the town to play here. It truly is an honour because the number of applicants is staggering, JUST JAZZ: On left, a crowd is pictured at last year's Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival. To the right is one of this year's headlining acts, Sultans of String, which includes members: Kevin Lalibert Oakville's Eddie Paton, Drew Birston, Chendy Leon and Chris McKhool. NIKKI WESLEY / 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO SUBMITTED PHOTO See Singer page 22 Beauty & Spa 518 POSTRIDGE DRIVE 905.257.7427 www.colouraddiction.com Colour Correction,Hair Extensions & J H i St i ht iapanese a r ra g en ng Now Introducing ZEROBRAZILIANBLOWOUT $20 OFF I t d t Offn ro uc ory er