Musician Leonard Cohen poses backstage after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press)

Leonard Cohen's return to his hometown during the Montreal International Jazz Festival will be sweetened with a prestigious award for his lifetime contribution to the international music scene.

Cohen will be awarded the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award, an honour that's only been given twice before — to Paul Simon and to Bob Dylan.

The Montreal poet, artist and singer will be giving three pre-opening concerts June 23 to June 25, while the festival runs June 26 to July 6.

"Through 40 years of classics, he has forged a singular, inimitable musical signature," festival organizers said in their citation for Cohen.

The festival is also presenting awards to other musical greats:

• Aretha Franklin wins the Ella Fitzgerald Award for a jazz singer of international calibre.
• Gilberto Gil of Brazil wins the Antonio Carlos Jobim Award to honour artists distinguished in the field of world music.
• McCoy Tyner, a pianist and the last living member of the legendary John Coltrane Quartet, wins the Miles Davis Award for music that regenerated the jazz idiom.
• Dave Young, a double bass player, wins the Oscar Peterson Award, which salutes a Canadian musician who's made outstanding contributions to jazz.

A fourth Cohen concert has been added in Toronto in his ongoing Canadian tour, the Sony Centre for the Arts announced Wednesday. He will now be playing Monday, June 9.