By: Jonah Lazar, Staff Writer
Amidst the downtown chaos of the World Cup, the annual Vancouver International Jazz Festival took place from June 19 to July 5. This year marked the 41st iteration of the festival, run by Vancouver’s not-for-profit Coastal Jazz annually since the mid ‘80s. Composed of over 170 performances with artists heralding from 12 different countries, this festival is one of the city’s largest, with over 100,000 fans attending every year. The Vancouver International Jazz Festival prides itself on accessibility, with ticket prices rarely exceeding $30 and many performances taking place at free venues.
I attended Étran de L’Aïr’s set at the Georgia Street stage next to the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery on June 28, as part of the festival’s free outdoor concert series. Étran De L’Aïr are one of the rising star bands in the Tuareg desert-blues genre, a blend of traditional music from the semi-nomadic Tuareg people and American blues. Founded as a family band, Étran De L’Aïr worked their way from playing anywhere and everywhere in the historic Nigerienne city of Agadez to claiming international success, touring worldwide, and releasing a few albums along the way.
Étran De L’Aïr have been a staple in my music rotation for a few years now; I’ve enjoyed listening to them in the mellow moments where I’m doing the dishes, or catching the bus late at night. The energy they brought to the stage was far from mellow, however. Standing in front of us, clad in matching emerald and pearly white tagelmust veils, they launched into a punchy, euphoric chorus of overlapping guitars, all members singing into the microphone during what felt like a never-ending song that probably ran close to the 20-minute mark. All the while, the masses gathered around the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery under the warm June sun danced and swayed uncontrollably to the trance-like rhythm. Pausing just to trade instruments with one another, Étran De L’Aïr picked up just where they left off with another half-dozen songs, transporting the crowd to a Nigerienne wedding party with their magnetically festive Saharan guitar.
The highlight for me was the last song of their set, where the two guitarists faced each other and traded improvised solos for a good 10 minutes, with each solo more intricate and sped up than the last.
The joy that the band members exuded from the stage was infectious during this whole set. Looking around the crowd I didn’t see a single person without a smile on their faces, grooving uncontrollably to Étran De L’Aïr’s captivating tunes.
Overall, Étran De L’Aïr managed to bring a fresh sound to the stage, lighting up the crowd during their hour-long set on a warm June night in Vancouver.
