May 30, 2008

International jazz fest features local talents

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

Forget Disneyland. If you love music, Montreal, from June 26 to July 6, is the happiest place on Earth.

For years I'd heard that Montreal presented the world's finest jazz festival. My wife and I attended for the first time last summer. Would the reality equal the hype? No. What we experienced there exceeded our wildest expectations ... infinitely.

The moment you arrive at the festival location - in the heart of the glorious, historical city - it's like stepping from a black-and-white world into a technicolor one. Music fans will realize they've landed not in Canada, but in heaven.

This year, the entertainment-packed 11 days offers such jazz legends as Charlie Haden, Omara Portuondo and Chick Corea. Woody Allen and his band will serve up Dixieland jazz. There'll be a "saxophone summit" that includes Ravi Coltrane and a battle of the bands featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. As always, new jazz talents will also get an opportunity to share the spotlight.

But this festival - which presents nearly 700 concerts (including 450 free outdoor performances) - also reaches beyond genre limitations and this summer welcomes Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, Steely Dan, Katie Melua and Public Enemy.
"There are no jazz police in Montreal," says Laurent Saulnier, the festival's Vice-President of Programming "It's important to be really open-minded about music."

Some might come for a soul, folk or rap artist, stop to hear a jazz performer on a street stage and find themselves intrigued.

"People are afraid of the word 'jazz,'" Saulnier said. "But it's not that dangerous. Jazz is not something so weird. Everybody is familiar with the words 'rock' and 'pop.' Not so much with the word 'jazz.'"

From across the globe, the festival draws fans and performers conversant in jazz. The Bay Area is always well represented. This year's lineup includes blues man John Nemeth, the Latin-spiced folk-rock of Rupa and the April Fishes, as well as the Marcus Shelby Quartet, all based in San Francisco.

Gifted composer/bassist Marcus Shelby will introduce festival-goers to his magnificent, deeply moving new work, "Harriet Tubman," released nationally last week as a double CD.

Shelby says, "It is a big honor to perform at the Montreal Jazz Festival, one of the top festivals in the world. The validation is tremendous and brings a certain sense of recognition to a musician's work. I am particularly excited about this year's festival because the project we are working on has a strong connection to Canada, as it relates to Harriet Tubman's family and her extended work on the Underground Railroad up through Canada after the passing of the Dred Scott Decision in 1857. Sharing this history through music, which connects in a beautiful way to Canada, will be thrilling for us."

In 1993, Shelby played the Montreal Jazz Fest with a group called Black/Note. "It was the first international jazz festival that I performed in and it was an incredible experience," Shelby said. "Herbie Hancock was performing on another stage, as were many other legends that I had listened to over the years as a young musician.

"I remember the French I heard all around me and the excitement in the air for all of the music. I have made contacts with many musicians over the years who live in Montreal and had the privilege of performing with other Canadian musicians (my trumpet player is Canadian) so I look forward to revisiting this great place again."

Shelby eagerly anticipates not only the music, but the interaction. "The festival is so great because (it) consistently provides top quality, diverse music, year after year in a setting that is warm and invigorating," he said. "It's nonstop music.

"I also look forward to meeting the different people from all over the planet that will be there. People from different cultures, languages, races, and religions, there for one purpose - to celebrate the rich American art form called jazz."

Many attendees are inspired to not only listen, but to actually pick up instruments themselves. The festival's activities include a fun-filled children's music park, a charmingly imaginative playground that lets the kids discover how joyful music can be.

Whatever your age, you'll be fascinated by workshops on how to play guitar and harmonica, the expansive Montreal Guitar Show and the Montreal Musical Instrument Show.

Saulnier says, "We hear all the time about people who come to the festival and decide to begin learning a musical instrument. We also hear about those who re-start. They might have played guitar, then stopped to raise a family, etc. Now, after hearing all of the wonderful music here, they are coming back to their first love. We want to encourage that."

With so much to offer, the event attracts approximately 2.5 million people. Thanks to a staff that numbers 2,000, the festival remains idyllic, running with enviable order and precision. This year's edition, the 29th annual, promises to be a particularly memorable one.

"Next year will be our 30th anniversary and I don't know how we're going to top this one," Saulnier said, adding with a laugh. "I don't want to even think about that now."

For details on the lineup, travel packages and more, visit www.montrealjazzfest.com.