Soaking in the sights and sounds of the Montreal International Jazz Festival was a true joy! Here are some of the moments I captured for JazzTimes, in words and images.
Saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia, a prominent figure on the London jazz scene, graced the main stage, captivating an audience of thousands with “Odyssey” and other compositions from her 2024 recording, Triumphance. “This music is meant to help you feel, to move, to love,” she shared with the audience. “It’s music for the soul, not just for the academies or the institutions.”
One of the highlights during Baltimore trumpeter Brandon Woody’s set came with a tender call and response between his horn and the audience on “Real Love Part 1,” drawing in everyone in attendance. The tune appears on Woody’s compelling debut recording, For The Love Of It All (Blue Note), out this summer, featuring his band Upendo. His confident, warm and radiating sound in amalgamating tradition and innovation establishes him as a rising star in contemporary jazz.
Bassist Linda May Han Oh enchanted with her trio, pianist Fabian Almazan and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. Getting to a slightly late start after a flash thunderstorm, she played music from The Glass Hours (Biophilia, 2023) and introduced the audience to material from her upcoming Strange Heavens, dedicating “Halo” to “all of you angels out there, who support live music. Thank you for braving the storm!”
Returning to Montreal after playing the festival with Sons of Kemet, UK tuba phenom Theon Cross opened for Chicago drum star Makaya McCraven at Club Soda on June 27, then played two sets the following night at Place Tranquille, as part of the expertly programmed Jazz Time series. The crowd loved every minute, savoring the material from Cross’s new album, Affirmations: Live at Blue Note New York (New Soil).
Drummer Jim Doxas, a pillar of the Montreal jazz community, was one of the busiest musicians at the festival: reuniting with his brother, saxophonist Chet Doxas, to play a set with Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius; playing in Christine Jensen’s Quartet, and performing as part of the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet. Doxas also co-produced, together with Céline Peterson, a concert celebrating the Oscar Peterson centennial. At the end of the evening, Doxas was surprised and moved to receive this year’s Oscar Peterson Award, bestowed in person by Dr. Oliver Jones, 90 years old, who Doxas worked with for 15 years.
Montreal trumpeter Rémi Cormier surprised the audience with one of his heroes, celebrated American saxophonist David Binney, who played his own set on opening night. Together with Cormier’s band of up-and-coming local artists, they explored material from Cormier’s Rich State of Mind, coming out in January 2026. “David and I are working on a single together,” he later shared. “We never rehearsed; he sightread the whole thing! A monster!”
Pianist-vocalist Alexis Lombre, performing as a leader after playing with artists such as Jonathan Batiste and Terri Lyne Carrington, delivered on her mission to “keep the ‘soul’ in music alive.” Signaling where she’s coming from with Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” and Stevie Wonder’s “Jesus Children of America,” Lombre also performed her own material (“Come Find Me”), amalgamating gospel and jazz into her soul-R&B mix.
I caught trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr. playing alongside saxophonist-vocalist Camille Thurman as part of Darrell Green’s fierce, tight-knit quartet. Skillfully carrying on his family’s legacy, Roney shone on material from the recent collaborative release Confluence Vol. 1: Alhambra, as well as pieces from other projects they’re working on, his dynamism, virtuosity and creativity on full display.
Oakland native Fantastic Negrito (Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) took an electrified audience to “where the Gods of Africa meet the ghosts of Mississippi,” spanning the blues heritage of the American South, R&B, funk and roots music. With shredding guitars and deep emotion, this magnetizing artist shared his highs and lows as the Son of a Broken Man, the title of his 2024 album.
Honored with this year’s B.B. King Award, gifted Mississippi blues guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram returned to Montreal, this time playing the festival’s main stage, demonstrating exactly why he is one of the most prominent artists on the blues scene. Heading down into the massive, adoring audience with his guitar, playing with deep soul and sometimes with his teeth, Hendrix-style, Ingram is a consummate performer. You may have caught him in the closing credits of Sinners, alongside blues legend Buddy Guy. JT