As we’re ending the year in a few days, I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on 2025, and to thank the people that have made it a special year for Infidels Jazz. 

Every year I say that Infidels Jazz can’t possibly get bigger, and every year I’m proven a liar. We presented or co-presented 300 concerts in 2025, at 27 different venues in the Vancouver area. Many of these sold out, or came pretty close. There is a Jazz renaissance happening in this city, and it’s exciting to see. Over 500 local musicians played our concerts this year. Their talent is the reason we’re able to do this, and I appreciate every time one of them trusts us to promote their art. 

A big part of our special sauce is our unique venue partners, and I’d like to thank the owners, operators, and staff of the following rooms for all the hard work they put into giving musicians a place to play: Hero’s Welcome, Frankie’s Jazz Club, the VIFF Centre, Zameen Art House, Hot Deli/Lido, the Painted Ship, Meo Chinatown, All-City Athletics, Pyatt Hall, Tyrant Studios, the Fox Cabaret, the Rickshaw, The Pearl, The Hollywood Theatre, the Shadbolt Centre, the Vancouver Playhouse, Hypha Arts, The BlueShore Financial Centre, Revue Stage, the Centre for the Performing Arts, Rec Room Granville, Christ Church Cathedral, Fortune Sound Club, Neptoon Records, Mom’s, Robson Skating Rink & the Kingsway Club. 

We take a lot of pride in our community relationships, and to that end we partnered with 10 different community & commercial partners on various projects & events this year. Thank you to VJO Society, MODO-Live, Vancouver International Film Festival, NOW Society, New Old World Music Society, Coastal Jazz, BlueShore Theatre Events, EventLAB, Destination Downtown & Sapporo. 

We were able to bring more touring performers here in 2025, a trend that we hope to continue in 2026. Special thanks to Kahil El’Zabar, Isaiah Collier, Jamalaadeen Tacuma, Christian Lilinger, Rudresh Mahanthappa, George Garzone, Seamus Blake, Bill Orcutt, Ethan Miller, Steve Shelley & Andy Milne for visiting our city.

The specialist of special thanks to Jen Johnston, Cory Weeds, Will Chernoff, Ben Frith, Simon Paul, Tom Charity, Zach Herbert, Pyper Geddes, Simon Fallick, Farhad Ebnejalal, Taees Gheirati, Daniel Deorksen, Jay Schreiber, Darlene Rigo, Mo Tarmohamed, David Prowse, JP Maurice, Kristy Gudewill, Adam Fink, Mike Brown, Scha Donesz, Jody Glenham, Tannis Ling, Jordan Bowers, Laurie Assaly, James Danderfer, Raymon Torchinsky, Joanie Lavoie-Robert, Stuart Derdeyn, Saba Amrei, Rylan Pushor, Sydney Dunkin, Vincent Lim, Chris Wong, Kenton Loewen, Gordon Grdina, Emma Lancaster, Jeff Brocklebank, Fiona Black, Eduardo Ottoni, Lisa Cay Miller, Jim Moore, Jason Puder, Jason Sulyma, and all of the people that volunteered at one of our events this year.

We also released 6 albums on our label, and I want to thank Kevin Romain, KneeJerk, Kenton Loewen + JP Carter, Dean Thiessen, Madeleine Elkins, and Mike WT Allen for their trust in us with their records. 

This can’t happen without you coming to the shows, and you deserve the most thanks for making Infidels into what it’s become. 

Happy New Year!

Tim Reinert - Founder of Infidels Jazz