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Gipsy Kings

The jazz-fest programmers say you have to be open-minded if you want to keep the crowds coming. “It’s quite a challenge, especially when we’re talking about the main-stage concerts,” says Josh Grossman, who took over as artistic director of the Toronto Jazz Festival in January. “The main stage in Toronto is 1,200 seats. It’s the tent at Nathan Phillips Square, and we do 10 days of programming there. And we have to think very carefully about the kinds of acts that are going to sell 1,200 tickets. Ultimately, there’s a bottom line that we have to worry about.

So there are always going to be concerts on the main stage that jazz purists are going to look at and say, ‘Well, that’s not jazz.’”Acts set to pull ticket-buyers to the aforementioned main stage include former James Brown saxophonist Maceo Parker (June 25), bluesman extraordinaire Taj Mahal (June 27), hip-hop heroes the Roots (June 29), world-music diva Kidjo (July 1) and, one of the only pure-jazz events on the main stage, John Scofield & the Piety Street Band (July 2).

The Vancouver International Jazz Festival has plenty of high-profile fare to satisfy the jazz police – including noted vets like Chick Corea and Bill Frisell. But the Vancouver event is also happy to present an evening of alt-pop star Martha Wainwright re-interpreting the torch songs of Gallic chanteuse Édith Piaf, hardly one for the jazz snobs.

The Montreal International Jazz Festival – the biggest jazz get-together on the continent, maybe even in the world – is the king of loading up with pretty well whatever musician the bookers dig, jazz aficionados be damned.

That’s partly because Montreal has a huge free street component to its programming. That part of the fest has always relied heavily on world music, blues and Caribbean sounds to keep the al fresco party going.

But there’s also no shortage of nonjazz to be had in the big-ticket shows at Montreal this year, including Lionel Richie (June 25), a Back to the Future double bill with the Doobie Brothers and The Steve Miller Band (July 5), Lido Shuffle man Boz Scaggs (June 25),Cape Verde songstress Cesária Évora(June 30), flamenco hit-makers the Gipsy Kings (July 4) and singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading (July 5).

That wide-ranging definition of what is appropriate for a jazz festival is one reason Montreal attracts in the range of two million music lovers every summer.

“We do about 700 shows during the 12 days of the festival,” says Montreal jazz-fest programming vice-president Laurent Saulnier. “The jazz fan can go see probably about 15 jazz shows – with a capital J – each day ... that makes for quite a day of jazz. But we can also do lots of other things. That’s what’s fun.”

Believe it: Nikki to take country by storm 

Nikki Yanofsky will be all over the Canadian jazz-fest circuit this summer. The 16-year-old singing sensation from Montreal will be celebrating the launch of her first studio album with a series of headline gigs at festivals across the country, including those in Toronto (June 25), Montreal (June 27), Edmonton (June 29), Victoria (July 2) and Vancouver (July 3).

Montreal Jazz Festival programming vice-president Laurent Saulnier is happy to underline that Yanofsky has grown up at his festival. The first time she played the Montreal fest, in 2006, she performed for free on the street. It was a huge success, and she’s been part of the festival every year since.

The timing couldn’t be better for the much-hyped teen belter, given that her album, Nikki, was recently launched in Canada and the U.S. The album, produced by Grammy-winning producer Phil Ramone, includes several tunes co-written by Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith and songwriter Jesse Harris (best known for his work with Norah Jones). The disc also includes a number of standards, including God Bless the Child, Over the Rainbow, and I Got Rhythm.




Brendan Kelly writes on music and film for the Montreal Gazette and is a frequent contributor to CBC Radio.