Jazz Police - The 2011 Montreal Jazz Festival

Jazz Police

Home

Main Menu

Follow Jazz Police on Twitter

Like the Jazz Police on Facebook

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

The 2011 Montreal Jazz Festival – Coming June 25-July 4

Written by Sheila Horne Mason

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

The Montreal International Jazz Festival, June 25 – July 4, 2011, will present artists from all over the world, including Diana Krall, Kenny Garrett, k.d. lang, Joshua Redman, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Esperanza Spaulding, Hugh Masekela, Misteur Valaire, Wanda Jackson, Dave Brubeck, Peter Frampton, Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, The Roots, Tony Bennett, Nikki Yanofsky, John Legend, Hilary Kole, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Marianne Faithfull, Brad Mehldau, Bootsy Collins, Erik Truffaz, and Milton Nascimento. Believe it or not, that’s just a sample of the people who will appear in over 800 concerts at the Festival’s 32nd edition. Tickets are now on sale, and a few concerts are already sold out. For more information on ticket sales, go to www.montrealjazzfest.com.

In addition to the all the great indoor concerts, the Festival is famous for the free outdoor concerts that go from noon to midnight every day. The first major free outdoor concert will officially open the Festival on Saturday, June 25 with French singer Ben L’Oncle Soul, and the B-52s will perform in the closing concert on Monday, July 4.

Dee Dee Bridgewater©Kevin Mason

One of the highlights of this year’s Festival is sure to be the celebration of George Wein’s 85th birthday. The founder of the Newport Jazz Festival is considered the “father” of jazz festivals, and he will be performing with the Newport All Stars: Randy Brecker, Anat Cohen, Lew Tabackin, Howard Alden, Lewis Nash, and Peter Washington. Mr. Wein will also be honored with the third Bruce Lundvall Award, which is given to recipients who have made outstanding contributions to the world of jazz. Other 2011 award honorees include Sade, Stanley Clarke, and Youssou N’Dour.

Angélique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, and Lizz Wright will honor the vocal and political legacies of Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln, and Odetta in a show called Sing the Truth! This extraordinary trio of singers will be accompanied by pianist Geri Allen and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. Dee Dee Bridgewater will be paying tribute to Billie Holiday in a concert aptly named To Billie with Love: A Celebration of Lady Day. Ms. Bridgewater will bring her own special magnetism to Ms. Holiday’s legendary repertoire.

Return to Forever IV will be coming back to the 2011 Festival by popular demand. The group features Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Frank Gambale.

Dave Brubeck©Kevin Mason

Another Festival highlight is the fifth anniversary of the Montreal Guitar Show, from July 1 – 3. This event features artists and artisans who have devoted their careers to this amazing instrument, which is so important in jazz. Guitar fans can admire, try out, and purchase the most beautiful handcrafted guitars by the world’s greatest luthiers. There will be mini-concerts and free workshops, making this show a must for guitar aficionados. For more details, visit the site at www.montrealguitarshow.com.

Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats (GRUBB) is a group of Serbian teenagers who will be performing in North America for the first time. An entirely new sound, blending rap and hip-hop with traditional Roma music, will be showcased at this unprecedented artistic event. Billed as a humanitarian show, the aim of the project is to promote educational and job opportunities for Roma youth. This show will be unlike anything seen at the Festival before, and leave it to Montreal to host the premier of GRUBB in this continent.

The Festival will once again hold a film festival featuring movies with a jazz-related theme or soundtrack. This year’s offerings include Iberia, Tango, and Flamenco, Flamenco. A nightly jazz dinner-cruise, Croisière Jazz, runs from June 26 – July 1 on the beautiful Bateau-Mouche. For more information and reservations, call 1-800-361-9952 or go to www.bateaumouche.ca.

La Petite École du Jazz (The Little School of Jazz) is dedicated to introducing children to the joys of jazz. The school will once again give daily interactive musical performances featuring the famous blue Festival mascot, Ste-Cat. This dynamic and popular event adds a family-friendly touch to the Festival, and this year they are presenting a brand new show.

Hilary Kole©Kevin Mason

Delicious food is available all over the Festival, and according to the website, “90 to 95 percent of the food sold on the Festival site is purchased less than 40 km from its point of distribution. As well as supporting the local economy, these local food purchases allow us to reduce carbon emissions stemming from the transportation to market of products from abroad.” This is part of the initiative launched in 2008 to make the Festival carbon-neutral. In addition to the great food on the site itself, Montreal’s Chinatown is within walking distance, and offers an array of different types of Chinese cuisine. Marché Jean Talon (The Jean-Talon Market) is a favorite of Montreal residents, and boasts some of the best prices and a true taste of the city. Marché Maisonneuve and Marché Atwater are other open-air markets that offer wonderful fresh fruit, cheeses, flowers, and more.

The city of Montreal also offers many other attractions for people of all ages. Canada Day will take place on Friday, July 1, 2011, with fireworks and parades. Parc Jean-Drapeau, the site of the 1967 World’s Fair, and is now devoted to green spaces, and the Biodôme is an ecosystem showcase. Olympic Stadium, originally built for the 1976 Olympics, is now a public sports center, and the area around the stadium has recently become popular for skateboarding and BMX biking. The peak of Mont Royal offers the best view of the city, and the scene at sunrise is particularly breathtaking. The section of the city called Old Montreal offers beautiful 17th and 18th century architecture, cafés, and quaint shops. Montreal’s City Hall, the majestic Hôtel de Ville, provides a free 45-minute guided tour. The famous underground city, RÉSO, has metro stations, stores, museums, hotels, restaurants, and banks. Pointe-à-Callière Museum explores the history of Montreal, and offers an exceptional guided tour that is free with admission. Centre des Sciences de Montréal has a fascinating interactive exhibition, Indiana Jones and the Archaeological Adventure, where people can relive the expeditions of the globetrotting movie archeologist. This exhibition is presented by the National Geographic Society, and made possible by Lucasfilm Ltd. The first exhibition starts at 10:00 am, and there are departures every 15 minutes, so there’s plenty of time to fulfill your Indiana Jones fantasies before the daily Festival activities begin.

The Festival, officially named the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, is both a wonderful vacation destination and a great bargain for music lovers. You can supplement your indoor concert tickets with the abundance of free musical offerings. You will get a chance to see some the biggest names in jazz and world music, as well as many of the up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. The Festival is the largest in the world, and is widely considered one of the very best. Whether you go for the entire run, or just a long weekend, visiting Montreal for the Festival is an unforgettable experience.

In addition to the official website at www.montrealjazzfest.com, the Festival is also on Facebook and Twitter.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites