JazzTimes – October 2019

JAZZTIMES.COM v

FOR OUR DIGITAL READERS

EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL PHOTOS

Keyon Harrold

Canadian Class

The Montreal Jazz Festival Turns 40

When Alain Simard and André Ménard founded the Montreal Jazz

Festival in 1979, it consisted of two concerts at one theater. Forty

years later, the fest takes over much of Montreal for 10 days, pre-

senting a dizzying array of performers and music styles in multiple

venues, and its growth shows no sign of ceasing. Having achieved

all they wanted and more, Simard and Ménard announced that this

year’s festival would be their last at the helm. That the annual Que-

bec gathering—held from June 27 to July 6—had something of a

valedictory air wasn’t surprising. But the predominant mood was one

of celebration, of four decades well spent. Montreal photographer

SHARONNE COHEN was on call with her camera as usual; here is

just some of what she saw.