MONTREAL—Once more, the stars of jazz came out for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (Montréal Jazz Festival). For ten days, there was music from noon to 3 a.m. at about 40 venues, located in one concentrated walkable area: the Quartier des spectacles.
The festival offers virtually every kind of jazz, from Dixieland to fusion and blues and gospel, as well as rock, pop, and reggae performed by stars like Seal, Boz Scaggs, and Ziggy Marley and artists of every generation, from veterans like Benny Golson and Dave Holland to new luminaries like Cécile McLorin Salvant. Though the bigger names appear at concert halls and clubs where there is an admission charge, you can spend the entire day at excellent free outdoor concerts (including children’s shows) that provide satisfying and sometimes revelatory music.
