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The 29th Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (FIJM) taking place from June 26 to July 6 is a musical gathering of epic proportions with offerings to satisfy any taste. It also provides a great reason to visit one of Canada's most culturally vibrant urban centers.
This year's festival boasts 3,000 artists from 30 countries to play 650 concerts for an estimated audience of 2.5 million.
Part of what makes Montreal's festival so unique is its refreshingly broad definition of jazz. For the first time in 15 years, Montreal's own legendary singer, songwriter, novelist, and poet Leonard Cohen will be pre-opening the festival with three concerts at the Salle Wilfrid Pelletier on June 23–25. Cohen will also be honored on the festival's opening day with a special "Hommage à Leonard Cohen" at the Scène General Motors (June 26, free admission) featuring performances by Katie Melua, Madeleine Peyroux, Chris Botti, and Buffy Ste-Marie.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated festival debut will be that of American cinematic icon, director, actor, writer, and (unbeknown to some) jazz musician Woody Allen. Born Allan Stewart Konigsberg in 1935, the three-time Academy Award winner chose his stage name from musical idol Woody Herman.
Allen has been playing the clarinet since his teens and performing live since the late 1960s. Specializing in classic early jazz, Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band will play two shows at the Salle Wilfrid Pelletier on June 29 and 30.
The same venue will house the exciting festival debuts of popular American rock/jazz fusion band Steely Dan on July 1 and 2; and the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, on July 3 and 4.
Canada has produced a pair of sophisticated jazz sisters in trumpeter Ingrid and saxophonist Christine Jensen, who along with Swedish pianist Maggi Olin will be celebrating the release of their album Flurry, an homage to their Scandinavian heritage, at the beautiful Gesu on June 27.
Another female musician of note is clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, whose quartet will be the opening act for bassist Charlie Haden's Quartet on June 30. Cohen is a brilliant composer, virtuosic yet believable, and has been cooking up delicious sounds in the Big Apple since moving there from her native Israel.
And then there are the jazz singers. This year's festival brings Dee Dee Bridgewater (June 26), Dianne Reeves (June 30), and Cassandra Wilson (July 4). Also performing is the legendary 77-year-old Abbey Lincoln, one of jazz's most somber and moving singers. She will be presenting Abbey Sings Abbey, her new Verve release, on July 2. The album offers fresh perspectives on her own original songbook.
Don't forget to check out the jam sessions that happen nightly either at the official festival hotel Hyatt Regency or more intimately at Upstairs (1254 Rue Mackay) where the festival's premier jazz stars are known to drop in impromptu.
For all additional information and to learn about JAZZ IT UP! packages that combine lodging, tickets, and breakfast, visit www.montrealjazzfest.com
Ori Dagan is a jazz musician and writer based in Toronto, Canada.
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