Montreal Jazz Festival

The first Festival International de Jazz de Montreal was held at 'Man and His World' (the former Expo 1967 World Fair site.) It attracted 12,000 spectators and proved to a highly successful media event. Almost three decades later it has became the biggest Jazz music festival in the world.

The Montreal Jazz Festival annually offers about 500 concerts, of which three-quarters are free of charge, hosting about 2000 musicians, give or take a few, from over 20 countries. 2 million visitors arrive from all over the planet to an event which has become the International Jazz rendez-vous and a laboratory for the creation of new talent, most recently contributing to the successes of artists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones.

From it's modest beginning in 1979, founders André Ménard and Alain Simard wanted to "launch a Jazz festival of truly International scale. A festival that would bring thousands of American tourists to Montreal," as Simard wrote on his first grant application in 1978, an application which was refused, incidentally, as were others until the 3rd edition of the Festival in 1982. Despite initial disinterest, he didn't give up, going ahead to produce Jazz and Blues shows featuring the biggest names in the biz, including Charles Mingus, Jean-Luc Ponty, B.B. King, Bill Evans, James Cotton, Gary Burton and Pat Metheny.

The 2011 scheduled artists were Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Brad Mehldau, Dianne Reeves, Milton Nascimento, Lizz Wright, David Binney, Harold Lopez-Nussa, Dave Holland, Kenny Barron, Randy Brecker, Anat Cohen, Lew Tabackin, Howard Alden, Lewis Nash, Peter Washington, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Frank Gambale, Jean Luc Ponty, Joshua Redman, Lee Konitz, Dan Tepfer, Esperanza Spalding, Kirk Lightsey, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Billy Hart, Stephane Belmondo, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Kenny Werner, Trombone Shorty, Clara Furey, Madeleine Peyroux, Katie Moore, Anne Bisson, Hilary Kole, Regina Carter, Phil Woods, Richard Galliano, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Oliver Jones, Ari Hoenig, Bela Fleck, Cyrus Chestnut, Ranee Lee, Kellylee Evans, Erik Truffaz and many more.

The 2011 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal was held June 25 to July 4.

Related Links:
• Montreal Jazz Festival - Schedule for the events.
• Other Jazz Festivals - AP4J Festival Guide