By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer
Inside Hero’s Welcome were dim yellow and purple lights hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by paraphernalia of all kinds — darts, pinball, pool tables, Canadian veteran’s memorabilia, and more. Within minutes the pub was packed, buzzing with people settling in, ordering heroes (sandwiches), and anticipating the performance of the night. My friend and I found a table in the corner, right in front of the stage draped with velvet curtains. Everyone here to see Mary Ancheta Quartet and her tribute to the late Godmother of Funk, Betty Davis.
Davis was a trendsetter and a muse for many while making brilliant music of her own, becoming a bridge between the worlds of jazz, funk, and Black rock. This event was just one of many held by The Infidels Jazz — an organization that promotes the jazz scene in Vancouver by hosting up to 20 live performances every month — and, as owner Tim Reinert alluded to, Miles Davis’ description of jazz; its social music! Mary Ancheta is a Canadian Filipina artist based in Vancouver who “is a composer, session keyboardist, and producer.” I grabbed a delicious grilled halloumi hero which was a banger (and vegetarian) way to start the night off. Then, the performers took their spots on the stage, with Mary on the keys, Matt Reid on bass, Feven Kidane on trumpet, Dominic Conway on sax, Tristan Paxton on guitar, and Paul Clark on drums. As the drums rattled and the bass and guitar plucked their first few notes, the anticipation reached an all time high. Finally, the swinging beat of the drums and strings rang in tandem with a stark pang of keys, creating a stream of sound for the brass to ride on.
Something special to note was the amazing craftsmanship of Kidane and Conway on the trumpet and saxophone. Their ability to synchronize together and along with the band made it seem as if they had telepathy. This is the kind of music you physically can’t stop yourself from tapping your feet or nodding your head to. My favourite parts were Kidane’s solos — hearing the powerful and difficult-to-reach notes being played so clearly on a trumpet completely mesmerized me! As if it couldn’t get any better, Paxton then sang and played “Little Wing” in homage to Jimi Hendrix, who was a close friend of Davis. As a big Hendrix fan, I couldn’t help but fangirl to my friend beside me.
If you thought that’s all they had to offer, you’d be wrong! From the crowd of people emerged a breathtaking person with style straight from the ‘70s; Krystle Dos Santos. She joined the guild onstage, and with her came jaw-droppingly mighty vocals with an incredible blues rasp that you rarely get to hear be performed live. I’m pretty sure the entire time she sang with the band, I was sitting mouth agape.
Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, it did! Dawn Pemberton and Leo D.E Johnson appeared from the crowd, coming in full swing to hang out. With these two lovely musicians came high-energy funk and soul-exciting music. Vocals that, to me, sounded similar to upbeat gospel music; the kind of music that gets you up on your feet. Then, a secret weapon entered the stage — the tambourine! If I could ever recreate the joy of hearing the tambourine coming in for the first time again, I totally would. These nine people fit onto a tiny stage created some of the finest sounds I could ever have the pleasure of hearing.
The Infidels Jazz is hosting next Nov. 15 with Cory Weeds Trio at Frankie’s After Dark, Nov. 16 with Karl DeJong at Frankie’s After Dark, and on Nov. 17 Dan Gaucher Quartet Plays Monk at Hero’s Welcome. Do yourself a favour and take a chance on social music!
