A World of Jazz in One City – Montreal, Quebec

by William MacDonald
Jazz has a long history in Montreal; in fact, it was well known that for many years, Montreal produced more famous jazz musicians and hosted more musicians from elsewhere than anywhere else in the world. This is partly attributed to Montreal being a city that accepts and promotes musicians that let their creative styling free, and jazz in Montreal has always been a musical style influenced by emotions and politics alike. With its deep, long standing love of the jazz genre, it is no wonder that the city is know everywhere as a Mecca of jazz. Plus we are responsible for Oscar Peterson. Not bad for a city of about three and a half million.

In the 1970s, people began to notice the amount of jazz coming out of the city, and the number of famous jazz musicians coming to Montreal to perform. And, the idea of a festival of some sort began to form. But, it was not until 1980 that the idea came to fruition. In that year, the first International Jazz festival was held. And, the festivities quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. The first festival featured the likes of Ray Charles, Vic Vogal, and Gary Burton and had an attendance of over ten thousand. Though that number seems low now, it was a great turnout for the festival, and another one was planned for the next year. Since that time, the International Jazz Festival has gone full steam ahead.

Held annual during the summer season (June and July) the International Jazz Festival in Montreal is so unique because it features successful and famous jazz artists as well as unknown small bands alike, giving the unknowns a chance to find their niche in the musical world. Normally, more than 500 concerts are held over a series of ten days, and attendance at the latest festival reached the hundreds of thousands. The attendance brings a great recognition to the many artists performing as well as the small and large venues who host the performances throughout the city. The various Montreal events leading up to the festival though through out the year are also important to note. An acquaintance of mine is a professional saxophonist. If he lived anywhere else he would have to take up a day job (he has had to a few times which is why he was musician on a cruise ship for eleven months), but since he lives here he can apply for government grants and write music all day and perform at night. Pretty sweet deal.

Montreal is known for its love of music and Montreal concerts are wild. The cityís long history of a popular jazz scene makes it the perfect place for such a world wide and well known musical event. For anyone who loves the genre, Montreal, especially during the time of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal is a must see.
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