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Critics' Picks: Almost Blue; IMAX Film Festival; Taggart and Torrens

JAZZ What: Almost Blue: Chet Baker at 90 Where: Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria When: Friday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m. Tickets: $25 ($20 for seniors, $10 for students and alumni) from tickets.uvic.

JAZZ

What: Almost Blue: Chet Baker at 90
Where: Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria
When: Friday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25 ($20 for seniors, $10 for students and alumni) from tickets.uvic.ca
Why: A concert Friday featuring faculty from the University of Victoria’s music department is paying tribute to cool-jazz maestro Chet Baker, who would have turned 90 this year (sadly, the singer-trumpet player died in 1988 at 58). The talented quartet featuring Patrick Boyle (trumpet), Tom Vickery (piano), Don Cox (double bass) and Morgan Childs (drums) will have no problem filling the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall with some of the most accomplished jazz compositions of the 1950s onward.

FILM

What: IMAX Film Festival
Where: IMAX Victoria, 675 Belleville St.
When: Jan. 18 through Feb. 21
Tickets: $41.25 ($51.25 for an IMAX annual pass) from imaxvictoria.com or by phone at 250-480-4887
Why: The IMAX Film Festival will run the gamut from the very first films ever produced for the format to the most current release. Six films are being shown, including The Dawn of IMAX Filmmaking, a double-feature that pairs two pioneering shorts: North of Superior (1971) and To Fly (1976). Backyard Wilderness, The Trolley, Ultimate Wave Tahiti, Hearst Castle: Building the Dream and Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation are also part of the festival lineup. Great Bear Rainforest, a film by Victoria-bred conservationist Ian McAllister, will open during the last week of the festival and is included on the festival ticket. For more information, visit imaxvictoria.com.

COMEDY

What: Taggart and Torrens
Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates St.
When: Thursday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $22.50 at Lyle’s Place and ticketweb.ca
Why: Podcasting duo Jeremy Taggart and Jonathan Torrens are back in Victoria a year after a Bolen Books appearance to promote their book Canadianity: True North Strong and Freezing. This time, the pair is stopping at the Capital Ballroom, which suggests a more spirited event. Fans love Taggart (the drummer for Our Lady Peace) and actor-comic Torrens (who played J-Roc on Trailer Park Boys), so there’s bound to be a full house for the funnymen.