Critics' Picks: CanUS Jazz Band; Gettin' Higher Choir; Hermann's Jazz Festival

MUSIC

What: CanUS Jazz Band
Where: Hermann’s Jazz Club, 753 View St.
When: Sunday, June 17, 3 p.m.(doors at 2)
Tickets: $12
Why: Trombone player Jim Armstrong is travelling from his home in White Rock to reunite with the Victoria group he co-founded in 1991, one of the most enduring New Orleans jazz and Dixieland acts in town. Armstrong will join CanUS core members Mike Broadley (trumpet), Al Pease (clarinet, tenor sax), Joey Smith (bass), Toni Blodgett (piano) and Don Leppard (drums) for a special afternoon Father’s Day performance, a kid-friendly affair that is the perfect gift for jazzy dads of all ages.
— Mike Devlin

MUSIC

What: The Song Will Never End — The Gettin’ Higher Choir in Concert
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora Ave.
When: Friday and Saturday, June 15 and 16, 7:30 p.m. (doors at 7)
Tickets: $25 ($20 for student /seniors) at the Conservatory of Music box office (900 Johnson St.), Ivy’s Books, Munro’s Books, James Bay Coffee and Books and Dig This.
Why: Outgoing choir directors Siobhan Robinsong and Denis Donnelly are welcoming Cathy Baker and Dick Jackson to the fold as co-directors of the hugely popular Gettin’ Higher Choir with two concerts this weekend. Donnelly is also serving as a guest of sorts at this annual Mozambique benefit concert at the Alix Golden Performance Hall, and will shepherd to the stage for solo slots special guests Anne Mortifée, Kim Willoughby, Lanny Pollet and Oliver Swain, among others.
— MD

MUSIC

What: Hermann’s First Annual Jazz Festival
Where: Hermann’s Jazz Club, 753 View St.
When: June 20 through June 30
Tickets: $20-$40 daily; $275 for a festival pass
Why: The venerable View Street venue Hermann’s Jazz Club is throwing its hat into the festival ring with its first jazz festival, one that appears to have its sights set on the same audience as the TD Victoria International Jazz Festival — which runs concurrently. The latter mainstay is the one with the bigger, more international names, but the Hermann’s event has some special nights on tap as well, including the John Stetch Trio (June 20), the Emmet Cohen Trio (June 27), and Benny Green (June 29).
— MD