Jazz festival offering free concerts galore
Sharon Jones, Jamie Cullum highlight no-charge outdoor shows
Funk-soul queen Sharon Jones and jazz-soul crooner Jamie Cullum lead the charge for the free outdoor programming of the 37th Montreal International Jazz Festival from June 29 to July 9.
Jones found musical success relatively late in life. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native worked as a corrections officer at Rikers Island penitentiary before being discovered by the retro-funk label Daptone Records and releasing her debut Dap Dippin’ With Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at age 46. The fiery performer launches the festivities with an opening night blowout June 29 at 9:30 p.m. at Place des Festivals.
British singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum straddles the line between jazz, pop and soul. The wildly charismatic performer had the adoring crowd at Montreal’s Maison symphonique in the palm of his hand for his performance at last year’s jazz fest. Let’s see what he does with a much, much bigger audience when he takes over the mid-fest, big gig slot on July 4 at 9:30 p.m.
Montrealer Erik West Millette’s West Trainz project closes out the free blowouts, July 9 at 9:30, with a “big multimedia concert.” The upright bassist has travelled the world as a sideman for Quebec acts including Marie-Jo Thério, Bïa and the late Lhasa de Sela. He brings his innate sense of groove and a mixed bag of images, instruments and stories, with help from an all-star cast.
In between, the jazz fest will offer more than 600 free shows over 11 days, in styles ranging from pure jazz to hip-hop, reggae, blues and swing, by bands from countries far and wide.
The main TD stage in Place des Festivals will host rising Montreal jazz-pop crew Busty and the Bass (July 1); American Sacred Steel gospel group The Campbell Brothers, performing a tribute to John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme (July 5); rockin’ swing veterans Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (July 7); and the Balkan grooves of Devil’s Tale, featuring guitarist Adrian Raso and the Fanfare Ciocarlia (July 8).
Jazz-leaning offerings dominate the 6 p.m. slot on the TD stage, including performances by: Russia’s Igor Butman and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra (July 1); the Montreal All City Big Band (July 6); and the Latin-jazz of the Rachel Therrien Quintet (July 7).
New Orleans funk outfit Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen kick off the good times June 29 on the Rio Tinto Stage.
The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers are not quite a gospel act but a freewheeling L.A. folk-roots outfit — they brand themselves “an apocalyptic Gospel/Americana band” on their Twitter feed; they’ll show us what they mean July 1.
Other highlights on that stage include Quebec chanteuse France d’Amour (July 2); Guadeloupe’s Malika Tirolien (July 3); Minnesota jazz-blues act Davina and the Vagabonds (July 6); and Montreal’s Louis Armstrong tribute group Misses Satchmo (July 9).
The Club Jazz Casino de Montréal hosts shows away from the fray (on Bleury south of Ste-Catherine St.), with acts including singer Laila Biali (July 6), pianist Marianne Trudel and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen (July 2), trumpeter Hichem Khalfa (July 5) and Juno-winning Montreal saxophonist Joel Miller’s Dream Cassette project with vocalist Sienna Dahlen (July 6).
Things get funky in the evening with New York’s viral subway jazzpunk buskers Lucky Chops (June 29) and Montreal afrobeat outfits Afrodizz (July 2 and 3) and Papagroove (July 6 and 7). World music dominates the Turkish Airlines and CBC/Radio Canada Stage with performances by: the Orchestre Tropicana d’Haïti (July 1), Istanbul crew Baba Zula (July 2), Montreal’s Lorraine Klaasen (July 4), and rapR&B duo Heartstreets (July 7).
Blues fans will converge on the Bell Stage for the likes of Popa Chubby (July 2), Jim Zeller (July 3), Matt Schofield (July 4) and David Gogo (July 5).
Things wind down each night with free midnight shows at L’Astral, the Savoy du Métropolis and the Bistro Le Balmoral.
More than 600 free shows over 11 days, in styles ranging from pure jazz to hip-hop, reggae, blues and swing.