Hermann’s Jazz Club is holding the Hermann’s First Annual Jazz Festival from June 20 to 30. Hermann Nieweler—who opened the club in 1986—passed away on June 10, 2015; after hard times involving legal issues with the club following Nieweler’s death, Hermann’s has been revamped and is ready to focus on jazz again, and the club is doing just that by launching the new festival.
Hermann’s Jazz Festival creative director Susan Joy is spearheading the festival with Nieweler’s daughter, Ingrid Reid. Joy is doing something a little different for branding for the club these days; she says that customers are happy and Hermann would be proud.
“We’re not going to R&B too much, or to folk,” says Joy. “We’re trying to stay in the mainstream jazz and to be like the New York jazz clubs. We believe in the musicians here in town.”
The festival consists of 33 shows and will feature locals and international jazz musicians, such as Michigan pianist Benny Green and New York drummer Rudy Royston.
“These guys are big, big, huge names, so we’re pretty grateful to have all this happening, and for them to want to come because of Hermann’s’ legacy and knowledge of the club being a great room to play,” says Joy.
Joy says doing a live jazz show is a full experience, and that’s what keeps people coming back.
“They feel comfortable walking in—the lighting, the sound, the smell, the food, the taste, the cocktails; we’ve done it all,” she says. “We’ve made it into a very comfortable environment.”
Joy says that although some customers were unhappy with the changes in the beginning, they are thrilled at the club now.
“That’s what it is; it’s how you feel when you go to a place like this,” says Joy. “It’s how you feel when you leave.”
Joy says that Hermann’s is not out to compete with other jazz festivals (the TD Victoria International JazzFest runs concurrently with the Hermann’s jazz fest).
“We’re super lucky to have such quality musicians here in Victoria, and that’s why we wanted to showcase the jazz fest,” she says. “We didn’t want to compete, we just wanted to do something different with ours. We’re a jazz club, so we have to keep doing jazz.”
Hermann’s First Annual Jazz Festival
Various times, Wednesday, June 20 to Saturday, June 30
Various prices, Hermann’s Jazz Club
hermannsjazz.com