VENUE
Commodore Ballroom, the
1930—
868 Granville St.The Commodore Ballroom opened in 1930, ready to embrace the advent of the swing era. As musician Dal Richards remembers, this thousand-person venue was advertised as having "the biggest dance floor in Canada, and the only "sprung floor"" (qtd. in Buium). The hardwood floor was built over tires filled with horsehair, which gave it a distinctive "bounce" enjoyed by dancers.
As local jazz aficionado Dave Dixon notes, the Commodore featured mostly local swing groups, such as those led by Bob Lyon, Ole Olson, and, later, Fraser MacPherson, Dave Robbins, and Bobby Hales. American marquee acts played the Cave or the Palomar instead, while the famous big bands opted for the Orpheum or the Beacon.
In the years following the Second World War, the development of Bebop and other progressive genres encouraged jazz to move into smaller venues; fans of these new genres simply did not require a dance floor in order to enjoy their music. However, jazz returned to the Commodore in a big way in the context of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, started in 1985. As a Festival venue, the Commodore was and continues to be an important site for jazz fusion, funk, world, and electronica music.
As local jazz aficionado Dave Dixon notes, the Commodore featured mostly local swing groups, such as those led by Bob Lyon, Ole Olson, and, later, Fraser MacPherson, Dave Robbins, and Bobby Hales. American marquee acts played the Cave or the Palomar instead, while the famous big bands opted for the Orpheum or the Beacon.
In the years following the Second World War, the development of Bebop and other progressive genres encouraged jazz to move into smaller venues; fans of these new genres simply did not require a dance floor in order to enjoy their music. However, jazz returned to the Commodore in a big way in the context of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, started in 1985. As a Festival venue, the Commodore was and continues to be an important site for jazz fusion, funk, world, and electronica music.
PHOTO GALLERY
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Buium, Greg. "Veteran Jazz Player Recalls Commodore's Big-band Heyday." Vancouver Sun. 4 Dec. 2004: F7"Music in Vancouver." Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. 28 May 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
