Through INFIDELS JAZZ, Tim Reinert has quietly become a connective force in Vancouver’s music ecosystem—supporting artists, venues, and audiences by doing the behind-the-scenes work that keeps culture alive.
Reinert is one of the hardest-working local Lower Mainland Vancouver promoters. His list of career hats includes Jazz Concert Promoter, Record Label Owner, Jazz Podcast Host, and “Not Cory Weeds” reads his tongue-in-cheek Facebook profile.
Reinert invested a life into the love of music; from a singer/pianist, to now as a label owner/promoter. Born in Kitimat, BC, he longed to be in a city that featured his chosen genre, Jazz. After a brief stint at Capilano College, he realized he was a music appreciator more than a musician. Looking around, he decided to find another pathway into the industry he loved.
Fast forward to 2019, he decided to start a podcast show called The Infidels Jazz Show. “It’s titled after Bud Powell’s famous 1948 composition, Dance of the Infidels. The goal was to shine a light on as many different types of jazz as possible,” says Reinhert. This eventually led to his investment in his record label, Infidels Jazz. This all evolved from MC’ing at the International Jazz Festival. Then, in 2022, he approached his good friend, Cory Weeds, with an idea of an After Dark Jazz series. The late-night event featured jazz musicians with an experimental flavour to counter the classical jazz music heard earlier in the night.
Well, four years later, INFIDELS JAZZ has become one of the busiest promotional and marketing companies on the West Coast. In the upcoming video and audio interviews, you will hear details about this trajectory. What is on the horizon for Tim Reinert and INFIDELS JAZZ? With almost 900 shows being hit this 2026 Spring season, the tsunami of entertainment hasn’t subsided.
SPECIAL EDITION Video:
Letting the Music Lead
Experimental roots, open ears, and trust in the unknown.
Question: You mentioned (from a previous interview) the experimental jazz scene heavily influenced you in the 90’s. “The Shape of Jazz to Come” by Ornette Coleman (1959) was one of those seminal influences on your tastes in Jazz. How has this influenced your current approach to organizing and promoting music?
When Work Became Personal
Why certain moments carry the weight of a lifetime of listening.
Reinert had one of those eureka moments recently. He met one of his influential musical icons of the Free Jazz movement, mentioned in the video segment. Pulled from the booking promo caption for the show this last month, he says:
“Words can’t really describe just how excited I am about the Vancouver return of the iconic Sun Ra Arkestra next week, and for the opportunity to present this band.
I think anybody who knows me knows what this one means to me. Infidels has had so many bucket list moments over the past five years, with so many memorable concerts that I never thought would have been possible.
But this one is different. This band has meant so much to me in the last couple of decades, and being able to have them here, in a fantastic venue like the Pearl….let’s just say I keep having to pinch myself.”
Making Growth Possible
Care for venues, people, and the work in between
Question: In your recent interview with “VanCity Beats, Eats and Moar” you mentioned starting down the path of Promoter/Organizer with Infidels Jazz shortly after getting such positive responses from your Podcast and Label.
Part of your motivation came from knowing that there were so many Vancouver venue owners struggling with revenue to keep them going. Now, it sounds like you are coming up to 900 shows. Did you expect to see the city embrace this as they have? How will you approach this flurry of activity in the near future if it keeps multiplying like this?
Venues mentioned: The Heatley; The Fox; The Rickshaw; Heros’ Welcome; Frankie’s Jazz Club
Beyond the Next Run of Shows
How cultural work is shaped by patience, care, and time
Question: With a 30+year career in music starting, where will the next 3 years take Infidels Jazz? Are there any bigger goals outside of expanding Infidels Jazz to other parts of the Lower Mainland? Maybe a book on the history of Jazz in Vancouver, or other larger concert promotional ideas?
The Quiet Infrastructure Behind the Sound
Why the future of music depends on people willing to hold it together
As you heard in this last audio segment, Reinert is focused on the people who make his work count. As he said, “what you need to make music is the musicians, the venue and the audience”, but you don’t need a promoter.” Well, as much as I disagree with him here, I understand there are many avenues to promote art. However, the work it takes is not easy, as many know. Thus, without supporters like Infidels Jazz, many musicians and their potential listeners stay in separate camps. Thankfully, Vancouver has a jazz music bridging team for their local scene.
Check out SEECHANGEMAKERS recent article discussing some of the previous interview topics in THE BRIEF HISTORY of JAZZ in VANCOUVER.