Jazz is music for everyone. This is what the Festival Québec Jazz in June intends to demonstrate in its fourth edition.
There will be 80 shows, 260 musicians, indoor concerts, free outdoor events from June 17 to July 5. Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen, who revolutionized jazz music, will make his first visit to Quebec on June 30 at the Théâtre de la Cité universitaire.
Courtesy picture
Tord Gustavsen
“It can’t be, not to like this music. There is a jazz for everyone. We want to open small doors in people’s homes,” said bassist Patricia Deslauriers, artistic director of this young event.
The musician gives as an example some concerts which are gateways, for those who have the taste to learn about jazz.
The concert Styx Jazz Experienceon June 21, with Jean Ravel and Joel & The Outsiders, at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, is one such show.
“People are familiar with the music of Styx, and the arrangements of the songs will bring them to jazz. They will not be lost,” she remarked.
Tribute to Vic Vogel
Patricia Deslauriers also made reference to Marie-Denise Pelletier who will sing jazz for the first time as a guest, on June 25, at the Imperial Bell, in the concert of bassist and double bassist Carl Mayotte.
The singer, who studied jazz at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, dreamed of playing jazz and that’s what she will do in Quebec. Carl Mayotte dreamed of playing with Marie-Denise Pelletier because it was the very first show he saw. The singer Marie-Claire Linteau will also be part of this evening where we will pay tribute to the French-speaking repertoire of songs from Quebec and elsewhere.
“Marie-Denise Pelletier is going to do four songs in French that everyone knows in jazz arrangements. There is also the concert of Kim Richardson, whom people know with Live from the universe, on July 2, at the Imperial, which will present a brand new show, “she said, during a maintenance.
A major free performance will launch the event on June 17 on the Desjardins Stage on Maguire Avenue. Saxophonist Janis Steprans – who will conduct, with nine musicians – will pay tribute to Vic Vogel, with new arrangements written by the pianist who died in 2019. About thirty free concerts will be presented on this site.
François Bourassa, Marianne Trudel, Carl Mayotte, Marie-Denise Pelletier, Kim Richardson, Yves Léveillé, Vincent Gagnon and Dan Thouin, Jordan Officer, rising stars Pulsart Trio as well as Julien Filion and Al Dimeola are also part of this fourth edition.
►The full program is online at junejazz.ca.