From June 29 - July 9, 2006, Montreal is once again hosting its annual Jazz Festival. I picked up a schedule at a Chapters store the other day, just to see if there might be any names in there that I had heard of. I was more than a little surprised at the contents. I suppose I’m a bit of an urban neophyte; the biggest city experience I’ve had before Montreal is Halifax, and while the ‘Fax is a lovely city, it just isn’t on the same scale as cities like Montreal. In the past I’ve made half-hearted attempts at getting out to the Halifax Jazz Festival, mostly just to take in the atmosphere and see what some of the free shows were like. Tracy has even volunteered there in the past, and I have it on her authority that it’s a wonderful time.

As good as it might be however, I don’t know that it could compare to what I saw inside my little schedule brochure. There are dozens and dozens of artists that are playing, and that’s on top of over 300 outdoor, free-of-charge shows. For performances that require tickets though, a few names jumped out at me. Names like Etta James, Tony Bennett, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Chris Botti, Dave Brubeck, and B. B. King. Okay, maybe Chris Botti doesn’t quite belong in that list yet - but trust me that he’s an amazing trumpet player just the same. But.. Etta frickin’ James! Tony frickin’ Bennett! Dave frickin’ Brubeck! B. B. frickin’ King! These are living jazz & blues legends, and although the tickets to each of their shows are understandably pricey, I don’t know if I could forgive myself if I didn’t try to take in at least one of their performances. Care and I would be looking for company though, with free lodgings for any out-of-towners - any takers? The full schedule, prices, and everything else, can be found on the Montreal JazzFest website.

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