Contemporary Christian Songs

Vancouver jazz festival — cool start leads to hot Sunday

Thanks to glum skies, a trimmed budget — and the Canucks' bitterly concluded Stanley Cup bid — the Vancouver International Jazz Festival got underway June 26-28 in a rather dampened mood. By Sunday, with concerts by Vancouverite Darcy James Argue and Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, momentum had picked up. The festival runs through Sunday, July 3. .

By Paul de Barros

Seattle Times jazz critic

The Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Festival Review |

Thanks to glum skies, a trimmed budget — and the Canucks' bitterly concluded Stanley Cup bid — the 10-day-long Vancouver International Jazz Festival got underway this past weekend in a rather dampened mood.

Attendance was off in several venues, puddles on the Gastown paving stones discouraged large crowds Saturday and the festival's gala opener at the sumptuous Orpheum Theatre didn't happen till Sunday. Various European bands filled the gap, with varying degrees of success.

But by Sunday momentum had gathered, with sunshine gracing Gastown and two of the most anticipated shows — Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra — warming up two quite different worlds.

Argue was the festival's best story. The 36-year-old composer/conductor's debut big-band album, "Infernal Machine,' has been the talk of New York for two years, but it was not until 2010 that the festival realized he was an alumnus of North Vancouver's Handsworth high school, where he studied under the city's storied jazz-band director Bob Rebagliati, who also taught pianist Renee Rosnes.

"This is my first professional gig in Vancouver," said the dark-haired band leader, obviously delighted.

The packed house of hipsters on the first floor of the lived-in but cozy Vogue Theatre (the balcony was not open), wildly cheered the hometown-boy-made-good.

With a chewy, innovative band that featured several players who also hail from this area — trumpeter Ingrid Jensen (Vancouver Island), drummer Jon Wikan (Seattle) and Ryan Keberle (Spokane) — Argue delivered a 100-minute set that heaved with great tectonic shifts and a sci-fi vibe, perching intense jazz solos over driving, minimalist pulses and a thunderous underbelly of electric guitar and amped-up acoustic bass.

Book Reviews

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Douglas Sean O'Donnell

Reviewed by: Peter J. Wallace

Date posted: 06/26/2011

God's Lyrics: Rediscovering Worship through Old Testament Songs , by Douglas Sean O'Donnell. Published by P&R Publishing, 2010. Paperback, 240 pages, list price $15.99. Reviewed by OP minister Peter J. Wallace.

This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the question of what to sing in worship.

O'Donnell starts with the conviction that we should learn our principles of hymnody from Scripture itself. He examines which hymns are sung most often in American churches and concludes that "many contemporary and some classic lyrics have blurred our perception of God and his work" (p. xxii).

O'Donnell begins with five excellent sermons on what he calls "the six divinely inspired lyrical poems found in the narrative of Scripture's historical and prophetic books"—the Song of Moses (Ex. 15), the second Song of Moses (Deut. 32), the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5), the Songs of Hannah and David (1 Sam. 2 and 2 Sam. 22), and Habakkuk 3.

Part Two then explores the "applications for Christian worship" by explicating four characteristics of Old Testament song (which he sees also in New Testament songs):

The Lord is at the center, and he is magnified in these songs. His mighty acts in salvation history are recounted (not just my experience). His acts of judgment are celebrated. His ways of living are encouraged.

O'Donnell states frankly that the biblical songs focus on what God has done. But much of classic hymnody has celebrated "one's own regeneration, faith, love, and service." As examples, he points to "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," "Amazing Grace," and "Jesus Paid It All." He even chides "Holy, Holy, Holy" for never getting specific about what God's works are! (p. 136).

O'Donnell does his best to be fair to contemporary hymnody. He points to the refreshing trend in the work of Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend of "refocusing on the works of God," and he praises "In Christ Alone" for emphasizing the four key works of Christ. But he concludes that most contemporary songs entirely fail to explain why we are to praise God. "We are left to wonder who this God is and why we are called to worship him." He points out that in 46 of the top 50 contemporary Christian songs, the Incarnation is mentioned only three times, Christ's death only four times, his resurrection only twice, and his return only twice. As O'Donnell puts it, "If you have a robe, now is the time to rend it! Any ashes? Throw them on your head.… Our great God is worshipped and adored when, and only when, we sing of his mighty acts in salvation" (pp. 143–44).

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