Anyone who maintains that blues is a dying art form hasn't been paying much attention to the burgeoning number of blues festivals taking place from coast to coast each Canadian summer.

Has it reached the saturation point? Judging by the success of the first annual Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival that took place June 5-8, the answer is a resounding NO!

The brainchild of local blues musician (and now Festival Director) Larry Kurtz, the festival was a natural step up after several years of promoting smaller shows in the area. A self-employed woodworker by day, he admits he was bitten by the blues bug many years ago.

"My wife I have attended a lot of festivals such as The Beaches Jazz Festival (in Toronto), the Southside Shuffle (in Port Credit, Ontario), and the Montreal Jazz Festival," says Kurtz, "and we were constantly attending shows in Toronto at places like the Silver Dollar, Chicago¹s, the Montreal Bistro, Top of the Senator and the Rex. I thought , wouldn't it be great to bring some of our favorite performers to our town so we wouldn't have to travel every time."

So, Kurtz presented his first show at a local venue known as The Mad Hatter in 1999 in partnership with his friend Andrew Kempa of Juke Joint Records. He brought in drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and the Northern Blues Legends featuring Jack de Keyzer on guitar, Al Lerman (from Fathead) on harmonica and Shane Scott (now with David Rotundo and the Blue Canadians) on bass. It was a complete sellout.

Kurtz followed that up with several more successful shows at local bars before presenting a larger event in 2002 at the Town Hall Opera House. Again, it featured Willie Smith on drums and Jack de Keyzer on guitar, and again the event sold out. When Kurtz discovered the Opera House was not available for his next planned concert, he knew what he had to do.

"I had been thinking about a full-blown festival for the last five years,"he says, "and I felt that I had enough experience presenting blues to put it all together. I knew it would be a huge amount of work, but it was something that I felt I wanted to accomplish in my life."

Consider this mission accomplished!

The most striking characteristic of this event was the overwhelming sense of community. No doubt, many of those in attendance were from out of town. There is also no doubt that many were from Orangeville and the surrounding area. Perhaps that is natural for any festival in its first year.

However, there were other reasons that led to the strong "community" flavour of this festival. Many of the performances were free and took place right in the heart of town.

The primary site was Alexandra Park just off highway nine, the main drag through Orangeville. At first glance, you might conclude the venue is not ideal for a music festival, especially with a large war memorial and a retired cannon located out front of the stage. However, that wasn¹t the case.

The main stage was high enough to provide good sightlines from virtually any vantage point. A secondary stage catered to the acoustic acts. It was located in a gazebo about 100 feet from the main stage. When an electric act finished its set on the main stage, the acoustic act began in the gazebo and if you sat in the right spot, you didn¹t even have to move to see both. The arrangement also provided for non-stop music for six straight hours.

A temporary market was set up on a street adjacent to the park and this added to the community flavour. A beer tent was also on the grounds, adding a variety of additional flavours!

There were a number of other venues for the festival including the Main Event Centre and popular restaurants like Baba Ganoush, The Friendly Greek, Second Cup, and the Winchester Arms pub. Most were a short walk from the park and offered enough musical variety to suit everyone.

Of course, no community event can successfully take place without being embraced by local government, businesses, and the media. Kurtz is the first to admit he could never have done this on his own.

"The co-operation from the Orangeville town council and town staff has been fantastic," he says. "Everyone from the mayor, who cooked burgers in the beer garden, on down loved the idea of having this festival take place right downtown. They helped me fill out forms for permits, met with me to help obtain insurance, supplied and installed all the fencing for the concert at no charge.

"All of our sponsors were local businesses and many people volunteered their time and talents. Janice Gooding from the Orangeville Farmers Market looked after all the food vendors as well as garbage pickup and also lent us several tents. The local paper sponsored all free advertising and Rogers Cable had me on four different shows to help promote the festival."

Kurtz ensured all the hype would be backed up with substance. The caliber of blues talent was outstanding and included Shawn Kellerman and the Soul Providers, Lance Anderson, Maureen Brown, Paul James, and the Rick Fines Trio among many others. Jazz acts consisted of the Peter Smith Trio and the Ryan Grist Trio featuring Mike Malone.

Kurtz helped kick off the afternoon with his own band, Trouble and Strife featuring Bruce Ley on guitar as well as his own impressive work on harmonica. This four-piece unit churned out a steady stream of classic Chicago-style standards, a great way to begin the show.

Michael Pickett was up next, playing solo acoustic guitar with his harmonica rack. Few are able to combine all the elements the way Pickett does, the talented playing, a terrific voice, and enough soul and emotion to draw you into his world. A large reservoir of original material places him a level above most others. With Pickett, you not only hear the blues, you feel the blues.

Jason Wilson and Tabarruk followed on the main stage. Whether you called it jazz, reggae or world beat, this group was nothing short of outstanding. Their impeccable playing was complemented by an onstage exuberance that brought a smile to everyone¹s face. No small wonder the group has been nominated for a Juno and you¹ll certainly want to keep an ear out for their upcoming CD, Dread & Blue: A Canadiana Suite.

Then it was back to the gazebo where Ronnie Douglas, frontman for the Ronnie Douglas Band, performed solo on acoustic guitar. Not unlike Michael Pickett, his set was full of character punctuated by stylish vocals.

This paved the way for Wayne Buttery and the Groove Project on the main stage. This is an eight-piece band complete with horn section and if you like swing, this is the band for you. Big in stature, Buttery plays guitar, handles lead vocals, and makes for a charismatic front man. Larry Kurtz pulls double duty (in addition to Trouble and Strife) and provides energetic harp work. Charlie Hinkel was terrific on bass and lead vocals while John Shand pulled double duty on saxophone together with some nasty lead guitar licks. The band got better and better with every song.

The final act on the gazebo broke from the acoustic tradition. Stormstruck is a three-piece outfit that churned out a variety of material ranging from the traditional power-trio stuff to tunes that were downright funky. The fact these guys are so young makes a big impression. They were full of energy and enthusiasm, yet more than capable of incorporating subtle nuances in their arrangements and adding elements of style.

The outdoor portion of the festival culminated with a terrific performance by Jack de Keyzer who demonstrated why he reigns as a certified blues guitar hero. The Juno Award winner (for his most recent CD Six String Lover) played a set that ranged from soulful to blistering and was supported by the dynamic Richard Thornton on saxophone and congas. Alan Duffy was simply terrific on bass. And Larry Kurtz experienced a personal thrill when he was invited on stage to jam with the group.

Just to elaborate on Jack de Keyzer and his stage presence, the man is suave. He is always nattily dressed and serves as a perfect conduit for the music. By nature, and often by necessity, a lead guitarist is the center of attention thanks to an outlandish stage presentation that rivals or even competes with his style of play. With de Keyzer, though, the groove and the rhythm of each song seems to take him over from head to toe, almost as if it has run through him before it emerges from his guitar.

It has frequently been mentioned that a guitarist will play as if their instrument is an extension of their bodies. In de Keyzer¹s case, you don¹t notice the "extension". He is completely in sync with his guitar.

The crowd remained strong from beginning to the end of the outdoor show and best of all, showed genuine support and appreciation for every single song. Kurtz points out that all the musicians were impressed with the event and would be willing to return.

"I think they appreciated that the concert stayed right on time and did not fall behind schedule," he says.

Shortly thereafter, we headed to the Winchester Arms for dinner, refreshments, and a chance to watch Mark "Bird" Stafford. It was at this point we endured the day¹s most difficult moment, that being our inability to order frosty beverages as well as dinner in a reasonable amount of time. It was apparent the staff was not prepared for the onslaught of hungry and thirsty people leading to an hour or two of confusion and delays.

Once those wrinkles were ironed out, the evening was memorable to say the least. Backed by Al Webster on drums and Harry(?) Rasmussen on bass, and complemented by some outstanding guitar work from Pete Schmidt, Stafford presented three terrific sets of smoky Chicago-style blues. The interplay between Stafford and Schmidt was uncanny and repeatedly brought down the house. Again, the crowd was focused on the entertainment and responded with enthusiasm and zeal.

The festival concluded with a performance by the Rick Fines Trio the following afternoon. It punctuated a very successful event which Kurtz plans to use as a launch pad to even bigger and better things.

"I was very happy with the response to all the effort I put out," admits Kurtz. "It made me feel great to see how much everyone was enjoying themselves. I think the defining moment for me was when I saw the sun burst through just before Jack de Keyzer went on stage. I just thought to myself, this could not have gone any better!

"Next year I would like to start the planning earlier and obtain more financing. I think it would be fun to run our free concert in the park again starting at noon and going till 6:00 pm. I really like the atmosphere there with all the trees and grass. From 6:00 until 10:00 pm, I would like to close down our main street, Broadway, and have bands playing on the street. After 10:00, the music, could continue in the clubs. This way we could present a lot more performers."

Judging by the local response to this festival, Kurtz and his crew have no choice but to begin planning for next year's event. Be sure to mark the dates on your calendar once they are announced. The combination of big city talent in a small-town environment creates an atmosphere that can¹t be beat.

Feature by Baron Bedesky. Photos by Andie Maranda
© Copyright 2003