Montreal jazz fest to toast anniversaries
Davis's Kind of Blue, Blue Note Records, Newport fest also celebrating landmark dates
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | 10:31 AM ET
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To celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, the Montreal Jazz Festival plans to share the spotlight with others also celebrating milestones, including the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis's seminal album Kind of Blue and the 70th anniversary of the Blue Note record label.
Drummer Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving musician from the original Kind of Blue sessions, will bring his So What Band to the festival to celebrate the album's anniversary. Davis — the late trumpeter, bandleader and composer — will be the inspiration for other concerts, including Miles from India (a fusion of Davis's music and Indian culture) and Sketches of MD, a tribute to Davis by saxophonist Kenny Garrett.
More than a dozen current Blue Note artists are part of this year's lineup, including acclaimed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who will open the festival with his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. His saxophonist brother, Branford Marsalis will also drop in with his quartet.
George Wein, founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, will celebrate the 55th anniversary of his pioneering event by bringing the Newport All Stars to Montreal.
Festival features 150 concerts
Celebrated artists set to take one of many Montreal stages this summer include Tony Bennett, Ornette Coleman, Dave Brubeck (celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album Time Out), Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne, Al Jarreau and Molly Johnson, Pink Martini, the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and Brian Setzer.
Rising young stars to be showcased include Sophie Milman, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Michael Kaeshammer and Jill Barber.
Outside of jazz, organizers have programmed a host of other musical genres as usual, with acts spanning rapper Mos Def, R&B legend Kool & The Gang, Malian guitarist and singer Vieux Farka Touré (son of the legendary Ali Farka Touré), R&B vocalists Estelle and Divine Brown, indie rockers The Dears and electro-funk duo Thunderheist.
Montréal Variations, a show celebrating the city by assembling Oliver Jones, Alain Lefèvre and other great homegrown pianists, will close the festival.
Overall, organizers will offer more than 150 concerts as part of 15 programs.
The 30th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival runs June 30 to July 12.
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