Krystle Dos Santos, Motown gospel preacher, among performers at the inaugural Fall Concert Series

Article content

IronFest: A Fall Jazz Concert Series

Article content

When : November 18-20

Where : La Herrería, 235 Alexander St.

Tickets : From $ 25 in astaljazz.ca

Coastal Jazz & Blues Society presents the inaugural IronFest: A Fall Jazz Concert Series. The six performances over three nights mark a return to the live shows that began with the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival last summer.

The lineup includes Emad Armoush’s Bill Coon Quartet with Campbell Ryga and Rayhan (November 18), Dos Santos and Krystle (November 19), and James Meger’s Jodi Proznick: New Horizons and How To Do Nothing (November 20).

We spoke with Dos Santos, a two-time Western Canadian Music Award-winning vocalist, about his upcoming show, Motown, and his 2020 album, Bloom Burn.

Q: How has COVID been treating you? Have you been able to play live or do Zoom shows?

Article content

TO: I could be quite busy. We twisted my story of the Motown K-12 school program from in-person presentations to videos. We go over history along with information about the civil rights era. And I sing a lot of Motown artist medleys. Most of the time we start the show and the kids say, No, we don’t know Motown, or only 20 percent do. Then at the end, I ask: Who knows Motown? And everyone raises their hand at the end. It is very cute.

Q: Are there some Motown songs that kids are more familiar with than others?

TO: Yes. It’s usually Jackson 5, ABC, or I Want You Back. And there is no mountain high enough.

Q: That last one seems strange.

TO: I know. It must be in some kind of children’s movie. But they know it. And I do some really cheesy dance moves, and they really get involved. Even if they are in high school.

Article content

Q: Will you mainly be doing songs from your Bloom Burn at the IronFest show?

TO: Yes, most of the songs on that album and a couple of originals from other albums. And a cover of something I recorded, Remember (Walking in the Sand) by Shangri-Las. I love the rhythm of the reggae that is coming.

Q: You released the record just before the pandemic started to shut everything down, but then it won the 2020 Western Canadian Music Award for R&B record of the year.

TO: Yes. I released the album on February 28th in a bit of a vacuum. It’s a digital world and people can access it, but the things you do, like having some CD release events or just going out in public, just weren’t happening. You think, nobody is listening to this, nobody cares. Everyone is in apocalyptic recovery mode and this indie album is coming out. So the award was a great highlight of the year.

Article content

Q: You do a bit of work with pop-up music tutoring for women. What can you tell us about that?

TO: That started in 2019. I was called in to be a mentor. This year we take charge of the management and direction of it and we give it a new launch. It’s basically for musicians for musicians, for women, for women. It was supposed to be for young musicians, just starting out and underrepresented. But it turned out they all came, people in their fifties and sixties who were songwriters and had a lot of passion, but maybe it didn’t turn into a career.

Q: And a show is coming up at the Shadbolt. Will it be similar to the IronFest program?

TO: Not at all. It’s called Kings and Queens, and it pays homage to pre-digital rock, pop and soul icons. There’s a 12-piece band, with six vocalists, and we cover everyone from Whitney Houston to Aretha and Stevie Wonder. We’re also doing a little Canadian thing, and a British rock cartoon. It’s a big one.