The 2009 Montreal Jazz Festival
The Montreal International Jazz Fest Runs June 30 through July 12
Jun 29, 2009
The Montreal International Jazz Festival celebrates its milestone 30th edition with an extended run starting June 30. The 13-day event, a mix of ticketed and free performances, offers some 350 concerts in all.
The ticketed concerts are always impressive and this year is no exception. Wynton Marsalis, Al Di Meola, Chris Botti, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Branford Marsalis, Joe Cocker, Brian Setzer, and Jackson Brown all perform at Place des Arts.
But here’s how to have fun at the 30th Montreal Jazz festival — for free.
Stevie Wonder Headlines Free Outdoor Concerts at the Montreal Jazz Festival
The Montreal Jazz Fest offers more than 250 free concerts on seven outdoor stages. The festival features four big free outdoor shows under the Grand Evenement concert moniker. Acclaimed superstar Stevie Wonder opens the Montreal Jazz Festival in a free outdoor downtown concert Tuesday June 30 at 9:30 p.m.
Patrick Watson performs next accompanied by a string quartet, a horn section, and guests including Lhasa de Sela and Guy Nadon July 5 at 9 p.m.
Rocksteady: the Roots of Reggae with Ken Boothe, Stranger Cole, Hopeton Lewis, Leroy Sibbles and The Tamlins, and Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt — Bob Marley’s former backup singers — turns downtown Montreal into a well-deserved Reggae-fest July 7 at 9 p.m. The documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae provides the evening’s inspiration.
The double bill closing party July 12 stars Fiesta Cubana with the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Los Van Van at 7 p.m.; followed by Ben Harper and the Relentless7 at 9:30 p.m.
Other Free Outdoor Concert Highlights at the 2009 Montreal Jazz Fest
Pick a stage. Enjoy some jazz. Repeat. Here’s a jazz to do list to round out the fest’s free shows. The shows last from noon to midnight.
- July 1 — People Project — for cosmopolitan international jazz funk influences. At 9 and 11 p.m.
- July 2 — Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves — for a soulful sixties sensibility. At 9 and 11 p.m.
- July 3 — JP Soars & the Red Hots — for renegade gypsy jazz and blues. At 7 and 11 p.m.
- July 4 — That 1 Guy — for inventive musical madness. At 7 p.m.
- July 6 — Tribute to Billie Holiday: Lady in Satin — for appropriate blues accolades. At 8 and 10 p.m.
- July 8 — Souljazz Orchestra — for infectious jazz funk fun. At 9 and 11 p.m.
- July 9 — Chin Chin — for hip hop meets jazz meets funk meets disco. At 9 and 11 p.m.
- July 10 — The Heavy — for soulful vocals and rock funk sounds. At 10 p.m.
- July 11 — Nikki Yanofsky — for a local fan fave with a great big voice — she’s only 15-years-old and full of jazz in her veins. At 9 and 11 p.m.
What’s New at the Montreal Jazz Festival?
Site improvements have transformed the area into Place des Festivals. The area now boasts new staging along Jeanne Mance Street and the permanent new Maison du Festival, a year-round facility that includes a restaurant, exhibition space, high-tech broadcasting center, and the new L’Astral Lounge for music performances.
Getting Around the Montreal Jazz Festival
- Most festival events are located in the heart of downtown Montreal
- The outdoor stages are centered at Place des Arts at 175 Ste. Catherine St. W.
- Metro access is available at the Places des Arts or St. Laurent stations.
- The four block radius around Place des Arts of President Kennedy Avenue and Ste. Catherine, Jeanne Mance, and St. Urbain Streets are closed to traffic.
- Sample the cool Jazz Fest drink of choice: a smooth velvety frozen Amarula, a South African cream liquor shake (for those over 18).
- Call the Montreal Jazz Festival toll free at (888) 515-0515
Skip diving along Ste. Catherine Street in Montreal altogether this summer — the street is closed near the Jazz Fest as well as in Montreal’s Gay Village for a 12-block stretch — and a main Jacques Cartier Bridge rush-hour artery — for Aires Libres, an outdoor pedestrian thoroughfare of restaurants, bars, and shops for seven weeks this summer in Montreal.
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