Saskatchewan Jazz Festival gets smoky

Jazz and smoky bars go hand-in-hand, but a haze isn't supposed to linger over the crowd when it's an open-air concert.

Saskatoon band, The Population, played a Saskatchewan Jazz Festival gig today at the corner of 21st Street and Spadina Avenue and had to cope with the smoky conditions outdoors.Smoke is being blown across the province asforest fires burn up north, causing Environment Canada to issue health warnings.

"It's a little stingy in the eye, but it's no big deal," saidBrynBecker, who plays the keyboard in the band. "We're all jazz musicians so we're used to playing in super smoky environments. It will just give a new meaning to smoky jazz."

However, he joked, that the horn players were going to have a hard time.

"It's going to suck for those guys."

Heddie Borne sat in the crowd at the concert. She said the smoke was a bit uncomfortable.

"I thought I would just stay as long as I was comfortable, but the smoke is a little bit of a deterrant," she said.

The Jazz festival continues this week with many more free concerts. Headliners, The Roots, will playWednesday night, andLights will perform on Friday night.