Calgary Jazz Festival Cancelled

The decision to shut down the festival came after a six-hour emergency meeting called by organizers on Saturday, during which board members allege financial mismanagement meant they were going to dip far into the red putting on the event this year, said interim president Richard Sherry. They also didn't have enough cash in the bank to guarantee day-today expenses, such as artist fees for some of the headliners -- including Chick Corea and Ben E. King-- this year, Sherry said.

“We decided the lesser of the two evils was to pull the plug now, rather than halfway through the festival," Sherry said.

“We feel sick about it." Arrangements are underway to issue refunds for pass-holders, but details on the process haven't yet been finalized. It also isn't clear how organizers will deal with yanking back contracts with the performers.

Sherry said he spent much of the remainder of the weekend scrambling to contact the artists set to take the stage in Calgary and tell them to cancel their appearance.

The sudden cancellation of the festival comes after several tumultuous months for C-Jazz.

Past board president Henry Beaumont, who wasn't involved with staging this year's event, said the festival appeared to be overextending itself at a time when cash was tight. He said he expected to see a big drive for corporate sponsorship and other fund-raising opportunities. Instead, ambitious bookings and expenses piled up, Beaumont observed.

In the end, putting on as many as seven acts a night simply wasn't doable for the financially-troubled festival, according to Beaumont.

Sherry said last year was a “terrible year" for the jazz festival that left the association, a non-profit organization, with a significant deficit.

Organizers had hoped to pull off a scaled-down version of the festival this year to try to pay off bills and put some cash back in the bank, he said. “There was a lack of cooperation to understand that request," Sherry contended.

Signs of divergent opinions between executive director Patrick Maiani and the board surfaced in recent weeks.

About three weeks ago, Maiani announced he was stepping down from his post with C-Jazz but didn't give specific details about why he was leaving. He pledged to stay at his post for six months to smooth over the transition, but, on Sunday, Maiani said he'd had his keys taken away this weekend.

Maiani charges that it wasn't necessary to cancel this year's festival. “It does't make sense to me," he said Sunday. “The money was coming in, the tickets were coming in. I don't understand it. It could have gone on, for sure."

Maiani said he'd managed to scale back some costs in certain areas, including taking advantage of a city grant to use Olympic Plaza. Sherry contended that a number of unauthorized financial commitments had been made on behalf of the festival.

On Saturday, organizers examined several options, including a lower-key festival, but decided that a complete shut down was the best option.

Sherry said he wasn't certain how many advance tickets had been sold, but pegged it in the hundreds. Some of the shows may still go on -- just not under the C-Jazz banner. As for the festival itself, its future is far from certain.

Beaumont ventured that a new body will arise, with a new director and “a more prudent view." The current organization, though “is basically down the tube," Beaumont contended.

C-Jazz organizers are looking into whether receivership options are possible to fend off creditors, Sherry said. Even with this year's chaos, Sherry said he's optimistic the festival will be reborn. “I think the festival is probably going to survive in a newer and probably initially scaled-down form."