With more than 350 shows in 10 days — two-thirds of them free — the 46th Montreal International Jazz Festival program can be daunting to navigate. To help you make sense of the musical abundance, here are this critic’s top 26 free picks:
Thursday, June 25
Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry, Rebecca Foon
6 and 8 p.m., Club Montréal Loto-Québec.
Montreal multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry, violinist Sarah Neufeld (both of Arcade Fire) and cellist Rebecca Foon (Esmerine, Saltland) play songs from their expansive album First Sounds, 25 years in the making.
7 p.m. Rio Tinto Stage.
It’s all in the family for this veteran Mississippi Gospel-soul group led by Annie Caldwell and her husband Willie Joe, who made one album in 1975, then got a call from David Byrne a few years back and released a six-song EP on his Luaka Bop label.
Friday, June 26
7 p.m., TD Stage.
This legendary British funk band has been sampled more times than you can count. Back on the tour circuit for the past several years, they are not to be missed.
7 and 9 p.m., Rio Tinto Stage.
Formed in 2019, this genre-mashing South Korean seven-piece pansori pop act features four vocalists, two bassists, a drummer, and an irresistibly upbeat energy.
Saturday, June 27
6 and 8 p.m., Rogers Stage.
Kansas City-raised, Seattle-based singer Brittany Davis has been blind since age 3. Her 2024 album Black Thunder, on Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard’s Loosegroove Records, mixes African chants, jazz and deep-rooted soul.
7 p.m., Rio Tinto Stage.
Founded in 1972, this pioneering Peruvian cumbia band released the guest-filled album The World Meets Los Mirlos in 2024, updating their traditional sounds with contemporary touches.
9:30 p.m., TD Stage.
The festival site will be jam-packed for what may well be this year’s main event, a free outdoor concert by the biggest buzz band on the planet, costumed Quebec funk-punk-math-jazz duo Angine de Poitrine. Polka-dotted attire optional.
Sunday, June 28
7 p.m., TD Stage.
With audible influences of Amy Winehouse and Adele, New York singer and TikTok phenom Izzy Escobar is on track to superstardom.
9:30 p.m., TD Stage.
L.A. saxophone behemoth Kamasi Washington took Montrealers on a psychedelic jazz journey when he last played the fest’s main stage in 2022. Consider this the encore.
Monday, June 29
7 and 9 p.m., Rio Tinto Stage.
Puerto Rican-born, U.S.-based singer and educator Fabiola Mendez plays the cuatro, a Latin-American string instrument that looks like a classical guitar. She blends Puerto Rican folk, Afro-Caribbean and jazz influences on her 2024 release Flora Campesina.
8 p.m., Club Montreal Loto-Québec.
Montreal singer-rapper Zach Zoya and pal High Klassified — who has produced tracks for The Weeknd, Future, Damso and A-Trak — are young bucks on the rise. The pair recently released Misstape 2, a showcase for their left-field hip-hop styles. High Klassified returns to the same stage for a solo set at 11 p.m.
10:30 p.m., Rogers Stage.
This forward-thinking groove collective is on the vanguard of a booming British scene that includes the like-minded Ezra Collective. Fusing jazz, R&B and African high life, they make modern music for the dance floor.
Tuesday, June 30
7 and 9 p.m., Rio Tinto Stage.
Hailing from the Khayelitsha township in Cape Town, South Africa, Thanda Choir offers youths an opportunity to sing and consider careers in the arts.
9:30 p.m., TD Stage.
Willow is the daughter of Will Smith. The singer-songwriter, dancer and actress’s latest album Petal Rock Black is a lively romp through jazz, funk and left-field pop.
Editor’s Picks
Wednesday, July 1
Christine Jensen sextet: Modes of Coltrane
6 and 8 p.m., Club Montreal Loto-Québec.
Montreal jazz saxophone luminary Christine Jensen is one of several artists partaking in 100th birthday tributes to John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Tony Bennett at this year’s festival.
9:30 p.m., TD Stage.
Get down to some southern guitar grit, courtesy of this Grammy-winning American roots-rock duo featuring sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell.
10 p.m., Le Studio TD.
Dallas-born R&B singer Liv.e and Detroit jazz drummer-producer Karriem Riggins are Gena. Their album The Pleasure Is Yours boasts a swirling collection of future-soul gems.
Thursday, July 2
6 p.m., Le Studio TD.
If Sade sang in Arabic, it might sound something like this. Syrian-born vocalist Leen Hamo and Lebanese multi-instrumentalist John Abou Chacra will take you on a sonic trip.
6 and 8 p.m., Rogers Stage.
Sporting a similar globe-trotting chill-out vibe is this Indonesian retro-soul trio, led by butter-smooth singer Natassya Sianturi.
9:30 p.m. TD Stage.
Jerusalem-born Palestinian-French-Algerian singer-songwriter-rapper Marwan Abdelhamid performs spirited dance-pop sure to get the party started.
Friday, July 3
7 p.m., TD Stage.
If you like to sing, this one’s a no-brainer. Equipped with an eclectic list of popular songs and entertaining banter, Toronto duo Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman get crowds singing along, in harmony, and having a grand old time.
9:30 p.m., TD Stage.
One of Montreal’s musical treasures, Patrick Watson will swoop you away to another realm with his velvet-voiced falsetto.
10:30 p.m., Rogers Stage.
Tanya Tagaq is a force of nature. Winner of the Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album in 2014, the Inuk throat singer isn’t afraid to challenge her audience with her singular mix of traditional chants and modern beats.
Saturday, July 4
8 p.m., Club Montréal Loto-Québec.
After holding it down with late-night parties above Le Studio TD throughout the festival, taste-making DJs MIMs and Ferias (Guthrie Drake and Alina Byrne) team up for an outdoor dance party featuring an eclectic array of grooves to move to.
9:30 p.m., TD Stage.
St-Louis rap-singer Smino is one of a kind. The gravelly-voiced MC has a fluid, versatile style that will have you bobbing your head in a soul-hip-hop haze.
10 p.m., Le Studio TD.
Two years after mesmerizing an enrapt audience at Le Studio TD, L.A. spoken-word poet Aja Monet is back to drop more socially engaged and spiritually-inclined lyricism over an ethereal soundtrack.
