Coastal Jazz: Vancouver International Jazz Festival

The story of Coastal Jazz is the story of determination, passion, idealism, community, and of course, music. Founded in 1985 as the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, we incorporated in 1986 as a community-based, not-for-profit, charitable arts organization located in Vancouver, British Columbia.

From the very beginning, Coastal has worked diligently to ensure jazz remains an integral part of our city’s vibrant arts scene by fostering the creation and exchange of sounds and ideas between the local, national, and international music communities.

Our mission is to not only increase the appreciation of the music, but to strengthen the arts community by developing special projects, artistic exchanges, partnerships, educational initiatives, community programs, and collaborations that further the art form. Our vision encompasses a wide spectrum of jazz, blues, world, creative, and improvised music, including evolving forms of jazz and the technologies and media that influence jazz as an art form. You can read more about the Coastal Jazz vision and history in our Festival Flashback series on this website’s blog. (Click here to start at the beginning!)

Today, Coastal Jazz ranks as one of BC’s largest not-for-profit music presenters producing the annual Vancouver International Jazz Festival as well as presenting local, national, and international artists throughout the year. Along with music presentation, Coastal Jazz has a long-standing commitment to music education, presenting the Sounds of Youth stage performances, mentorship through the Vancouver Youth Jazz Orchestra, workshops by local and international artists and more.

Coastal Jazz is also a significant part of Vancouver and BC’s economic engine and tourism industry, attracting well over one hundred thousand people to the annual jazz festival and generating over $20 million in economic activity.