Fall to spring, afternoon concerts at a Surrey church promise \u201csoulful jazz, quiet reflection, prayer and community.\u201d<\/p>\n
All are welcome at Jazz Vespers in the Valley, Sundays at Northwood United Church in Fleetwood every two to three weeks, 3:30 p.m. start.<\/p>\n
Next in the series is Diane Lines Quartet on Nov. 8 followed by Aaron Hardie Quartet, Nov. 29.<\/p>\n
The 2026-27 edition of Jazz Vespers, launched more than a decade ago, kicked off Oct. 4 with Brass Trax, a rock\/horn band that includes the talents of Linda Szentes, a church musician, gigging singer\/pianist and longtime resident of Surrey.<\/p>\n
The concerts, Szentes says, are different than those at other venues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a church person, I love church,\u201d Szentes declared. \u201cWhen I think about church, I see it as a safe place, so it\u2019s like a hermitage, a place where listening occurs, deep listening. So, it\u2019s not like a pub. That\u2019s a different experience. People are drinking, they\u2019re you know, whooping it up. And it\u2019s not so much about listening as a visceral thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in church,\u201d Szentes continued, \u201cit\u2019s about listening, really deep listening. So, that\u2019s why it\u2019s only an hour (at Jazz Vespers concerts) because deep listening takes focus, right? I don\u2019t want it to sound like an intellectual exercise, but if you want to be heard as a musician, I would suggest going to somewhere where people are listening, and at Jazz Vespers, people listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Music touches many aspects of Szentes\u2019 life including her day job. <\/p>\n