On this moderately temperatured day I decided to stray from the central festival grounds and bigger names to take in a matinée show at the nearby OLG Stage. Across the street from the main grounds, the mid-day atmosphere of the stage was dozy and lackadaisical.
The band performing today was a lynchpin of the Ottawa jazz scene, or so I found out after the Apex Jazz Band introduced themselves. The crowd that gathered to see them was small and unobtrusive, gathered in the shade of the tent.
I felt a bit odd being the only attendee under the age of 50, but it gave me a clear indication of the nature of the show I was about to take in.
The six older gentlemen arranged on stage were clad in creamy yellow short sleeve shirts tucked into plain khakis and they looked more like employees of a heating repair company than a supremely talented jazz band.
Their unassuming demeanour lends nothing to their rather extensive history in the Ottawa jazz scene.
They formed in 1974 and have performed at every Ottawa Jazz Festival since its inception, in addition to playing together every two weeks at a bar in Kanata.
The band played a splendid selection of old time jazz classics, particularly from the golden big-band age. We were transported nearly 100 years into the past hearing the sounds from a bygone era.
The older members of the crowd were beaming with glee as hits from their sock hop years were played here once again by seasoned veterans in front of city hall.
The biggest surprises came from the vocal performances. The trumpet player busted out a great Louis Armstrong impression and the clarinet player belted out the chorus to the soulful Louisiana-I-Aye.
Needless to say this unexpected concert was a lovely addition to a beautifully sunny Ottawa Thursday.
