May 25, 2007

Jazz fans travel to mecca of festivals

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

Though San Francisco has its own outstanding jazz fest, many Bay Area aficionados trek to Canada for the annual Montreal Jazz Festival. Why? Simply because it is known as the world's best.

For more than a quarter of a century, this annual celebration has blossomed. In 1980, the first festival drew a crowd of little more than 10,000. Today it attracts nearly two hundred times that number of people from all across the globe.

Festival co-founder, Andre Menard, one of the world's leading ambassadors of jazz, says, "We were quite ambitious, but we never in our wildest dreams thought it would draw two million people a year. It's the biggest cultural event in Canada, a very big social phenomenon for Montreal. Every part of the city's society comes to the festival.

"At the same show outdoors, side by side, could be the CEO of the main sponsor and somebody who's on welfare. They both get the same treatment. Everybody's treated like human beings. It's a very friendly, family atmosphere. It's pretty utopian, actually."

Other international jazz festivals take note of Montreal's innovative programming and spectacular success. "When Randall Kline (San Francisco Jazz Festival director) started with the San Francisco festival, he said that his role model was Montreal. That was very flattering," Menard said.

An adjunct to the event, the Montreal Musician and Musical Instrument Show allows the public to try out all sorts of instruments on the festival site. This year, the fest's first Montreal Guitar Show will be part of that.

The 28th edition of the festival runs from June 28 through July 8. An estimated 2,500 artists from 30 countries will perform in more than 500 concerts, indoor or outdoor. Almost three-quarters of them are free.

The eclectic lineup includes Bob Dylan, Angelique Kidjo, Billy Cobham, Bill Frisell, Holly Cole, Manu Chao, Wynton Marsalis, Francis Cabrel, Derek Trucks, Tortoise, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Keith Jarrett, Cesaria Evora, Mike Stern, Seu Jorge and the Spaghetti Western Orchestra. Berkeley's Joshua Redman and Oakland's politically charged rap artists the Coup represent the Bay Area.

Throughout the festival, the entire city is alive with the sounds of jazz music. Like New Orleans' Bourbon Street at its most animated, at festival time, Montreal joyfully exudes music everywhere you turn. You'll hear it on street corners, in cafes, clubs, hotels and restaurants. Impromptu superstar jams thrill fortunate attendees.

"Many come to Montreal as a pilgrimage every year. Lots of tourists come for four or five days and take in as much music as they can," Menard said. "The weather is gorgeous in the summertime.

"Montreal is a great deal for tourists. It's not an expensive city. Everything is in Canadian money, which has a very favorable exchange rate, yet everything is still priced a bit cheaper than in America. You can get a four-star hotel room for about $150 Canadian, which is $120 U.S. CDs are sold for $10 or $12 Canadian. So you can return home with bag loads of great recordings."

But visitors really come for the amazing array of diverse musical artists, rather than the bargains. Of the awe-inspiring roster, Menard said, "It's massive, but you can program your own festival within the festival.

"You have to see it to understand. It's all only for the sake of good music. Montrealers take a lot of pride in it."

Especially in the free outdoor shows, you'll find a panorama of taste-expanding styles, including reggae, rock, folk, country, salsa, blues, electronica and more.

"When I was young, I didn't care for jazz," Menard said. "But then in my college days, in the early '70s, we (Menard and his friends) were struck by John McLaughlin, who was as much a rock musician as he was a jazz musician. He turned us on to great music. From there, we went to Miles Davis. So, we can have music that is in the neighborhood of being jazz, without being strictly jazz.

"You take risks in the programming. Sometimes you make mistakes, but I'd rather make a mistake than do the same thing over and over," he said. "Our approach is inclusive, sympathetic to the people, not just playing to the initiated who already enjoy jazz."

Passionate about the music, Menard doesn't want to see jazz confined to musicologists and elitists. "Jazz is not a dead art form. It has informed a lot of other genres. There's a continuum in music that is important, especially with globalization. Jazz is an American art form that has spread all over the world. It has come back in echoes - very strangely, very differently sometimes from what it was in the first place."

At this festival, you'll have the opportunity to discover many Quebec musical talents, as well as numerous European talents who wouldn't otherwise be exposed to North American audiences. The festival has launched the careers of many marvelous musicians.

Menard and his colleagues try to make each performance a special event, often flying in gifted guest artists to interact on stage with headliners. They like to place the artists in stimulating new musical environments and contexts.

"It's the special little added value that makes a difference, that makes the festival work. It's not a routine performance by the artist. We challenge them. Sometimes the idea comes from the artist, sometimes from us. But always the goal is to make a better show, something more exclusive, more exciting."

A limited number of prime seats are reserved for tourists, but events sell out quickly, so make your travel plans now.

If you go, be sure to purchase a Fun-Pack, which entitles you to numerous goodies, including a souvenir T-shirt, priority access to indoor concerts, and a Friends of the Festival card that comes with a compilation CD and grants cardholders entry into the famed Hyatt Regency jam sessions and more.

You'll find all the info you need, including hotel details, at: montrealjazzfest.com/packages.