The Montreal International Jazz Festival is one of the world's most renowned music festivals, drawing in thousands of attendees each year. Located in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles in downtown Montreal, the festival venue occupies the quadrilateral area bordered by St. Laurent Boulevard and De Bleury Street from east to west, and Ste. Catherine Street and President-Kennedy Avenue from north to south.
The 41st edition of the festival will take place in September. The Montreal International Jazz Festival began with very little funding from Alain Simard in 1979 as a two-night show with two artists at the Theatre-St-Denis, a historic theater in downtown Montreal. In its 40-year history, the festival has earned a reputation for artistic excellence, with major international names programmed alongside rising stars and musicians from the local scene. Originally just a jazz and blues festival, it has grown to include reggae, African, Latin and other world music artists, as well as pop and electronic artists. The festival usually starts during the last week of June or the first week of July and lasts 11 days. The competition is held between Canadian groups performing original music and is part of the festival's outdoor program.
Festival organizers noted that the concerts will be held in accordance with public health guidelines to ensure the safety of artists, attendees and employees. The Festival website has a handy search tool that allows you to view them while filtering variables such as price, location, room type and review ratings. Not to be confused with the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, which is the second largest jazz festival in the world after the one in Montreal. In 1999, a group of jazz musicians from Montreal, disenchanted with the lack of support and exhibition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, created an alternative festival called L'OFF Montreal Jazz Festival. Alain Simard is internationally known for being the creator and president of the Montréal International Jazz Festival, the founder of FrancoFolies de Montréal and the MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE festival. Its first edition at Île-Sainte-Hélène in 1980 attracted some 12,000 festival attendees to enjoy the talent of some 100 artists. The TD Grand Jazz Award is a competition to provide a platform for emerging Canadian jazz musicians.
Several jazz festivals began to emerge in Montreal in the late 1970s, but Alain Simard was responsible for founding what was initially officially known as the Montreal Jazz Festival (“international” came later).If you're looking for more information about this incredible event or other jazz clubs and festivals around the world, you can learn more through their official website. The Montreal International Jazz Festival is an event not to be missed!.
