FFWD Weekly
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| CITY The annual Calgary International Jazz Festival is in jeopardy - or is it? The festival society was forced to fold this week after it was unable to raise the money necessary to prolong its life, but the company which books the musicians says they will appear as scheduled. WestCan Jazz Inc., which books the acts for Western Canada, gave the society until March 9 deadline to pay $10,000 owed for musicians, with another $25,000 owed by April 13. The society was unable to meet the deadline "It was just a question of whether we were actually... going to make it or not and we didn't find enough sponsorship, so the board made a decision that we would close down," says general manager Dean Warnock, adding that the society was about $100,000 in the hole. According to Warnock, WestCan is planning to go ahead with the acts already booked for this year, but whether it will be a full festival is up for debate. "They will present jazz acts, but it will be just like any other concert," he says. Taras Ostashewsky of WestCan, promotions manager for the successful Edmonton jazz festival, says the company is currently regrouping and looking at what is required to continue the festival in Calgary. He expects acts that have committed to perform in Calgary as part of the five-city jazz festival circuit - including Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg and Saskatoon - will perform as scheduled during the regular festival dates from June 19 to 28. However, the size and scope of the event is uncertain. "We'll have a better sense of it within the next week to 10 days...," he explains. "The first thing we want to do is make this year happen, and then we'll have a better sense of what has transpired and we'll make plans for the future as far as we can. Calgary is a vital jazz city." Ostashewsky says the situation in Calgary was building for two years and WestCan had to step in because the city is critical to the tours. "It was a tough call, but it needed to done." He adds that the company is hoping to break even on any performances this year, then to determine whether a Calgary event can reach the success of the jazz festivals in the other four cities on the tour circuit. Bill Taylor, president of the Calgary society's board of directors, says they tried their best to save the festival and although it looked promising for awhile, they had no choice but to fold. "You always live with hope that the solution is just around the corner and we were doing that for several months," he explains. He is unsure whether WestCan will be able to pull something together this year, but remains confident that the Calgary jazz community is large enough to revive a festival in the future. Taylor points out that the folk festival lost money at one point, but has pulled back and is now in strong financial shape. "I have no doubt that there will be a version of a jazz festival that will emerge." |