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![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4113138_web1_20260401-Matt-Duboff-Winnipeg-Jazz-Festival-Lineup-Announcement-003.jpg\")
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Matt Duboff<\/p>\n
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Jazz Winnipeg executive director Angela Heck (left) and artistic director Zachary Rushing reveal the festival lineup.<\/p>\n
The festival\u2019s marquee shows include, on the international side, members of the famous Australian funk-jazz band the Cat Empire (Thurs., June 18, at the West End Cultural Centre), as well as American jazz royalty Miles Electric Band (Sun., June 21, at The Burton Cummings Theatre) and Jason Marsalis Quartet (Fri., June 19, at Desautels Concert Hall).<\/p>\n
From Canada, there\u2019s world-class jazz singer Molly Johnson (Wed., June 17, at Desautels Concert Hall) and Winnipeg\u2019s Soul Supreme presenting a tribute to the late neo-soul icon D\u2019Angelo (Wed., June 17, at the Burton Cummings Theatre).<\/p>\n
\u201cD\u2019Angelo, one of the great R&B artists, passed away this past year. And so we approached Keisha Booker, who curates the Soul Supreme brand here in Winnipeg, about creating a D\u2019Angelo tribute this year. It\u2019s just turned into a really big show,\u201d Rushing said.<\/p>\n
Among ticketed shows, there\u2019s also the Club Room series at the Fort Garry Hotel, which features 10 concert programs across the festival\u2019s six days. Highlights include Jean-Michel Pilc Trio and Robinson Khoury\/M\u0178A, both from France, and the high-flying Winnipeg-born drummer\/composer Curtis Nowosad, now based in New York City, as well as Winnipeggers Erin Propp and Larry Roy\u2019s rendition of Stevie Wonder\u2019s Songs in the Key of Life.<\/p>\n
Old Market Square, as usual, serves as jazz fest\u2019s party central. Seemingly every nearby venue and back alley lights up with music and people, and audiences wander from these happenings back to the square and its beer garden.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It) remains the heart of our festival. It\u2019s free, open to the public, and a vibrant gathering of music and community,\u201d Rushing said.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n World-class jazz vocalist Molly Johnson from Toronto features at the Desautels Concert Hall on June 17.<\/p>\n Local highlights here include Vox Populi, Dr Henry Band, Kelly Bado and Papa Mambo.<\/p>\n The conference brought other upbeat news.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not immune to the fact that it is April 1 \u2026 so please know this is not a joke,\u201d said the fest\u2019s executive director, Angela Heck, at the outset of her remarks. \u201cI\u2019m very pleased to say that this year, we will be posting a healthy surplus for our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n When Heck became Jazz Winnipeg\u2019s ED in 2019 (originally in an interim capacity), she\u2019d inherited a deficit of more than $300,000. Then came the pandemic, bringing new problems of inflation and reduced attendance for the festival.<\/p>\n She relates the organization\u2019s recent successes to its growing international reputation, helping not only to attract big-name artists from abroad, but also to export Winnipeg artists overseas.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Dr Henry Band will play at the festival\u2019s party central in Old Market Square.<\/p>\n Last year, this included taking eight Manitoba delegates, six of them artists, to JazzAhead in Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cExporting our culture is actually self-diplomacy in action \u2026 You can have a dialogue across a trade table, but you can also go out and have a cultural exchange,\u201d she told the Free Press.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t While TD Bank Group \u2014 Canada\u2019s largest corporate sponsor of jazz festivals for at least two decades \u2014 has been pulling back from festivals across the country, Winnipeg\u2019s Jazz Festival still bears its branding, raising the question of how much longer the relationship will continue.<\/p>\n \u201cTD has been a great partner for us,\u201d Heck said. She keeps her cards close to her chest, but signals an openness toward change and fresh relationships.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are still a non-profit cultural organization, and the revenue model is shifting,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for new partners \u2026 We\u2019re quite open to having those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t BNB Studios<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Drummer\/composer Curtis Nowosad, now based in New York, returns to his birthplace for the festival.<\/p>\n Tickets for the festival are available at jazzwinnipeg.com.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/conradsweatman<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Conrad Sweatman Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for\u00a0outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad.<\/a><\/p>\n
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