r/montreal • u/Far-Revolution-356 • Jun 18 '25
Événement Le Jazz Fest, c'est ennuyeux ou quoi ? - Montreal "Jazz" Festival is a snooze fest
Je me fais peut-être vieux, mais je trouve que la programmation du Festival de Jazz de Montréal est de plus en plus mauvaise. Surtout depuis la Covid. Que se passe-t-il ? Ils avaient l'habitude d'avoir des concerts gratuits incontournables, au moins un par an, mais je constate qu'ils n'en ont plus du tout ces derniers temps. Leur programmation, en salle comme en extérieur, semble davantage axée sur un mélange de hip-hop urbain et de smooth jazz, avec un peu de folk et de musique internationale. J'ai écouté beaucoup de groupes de cette année sur Spotify ces dernières semaines, et c'est l'une des musiques les plus oubliables que j'aie jamais entendues.
C'est produit par les mêmes personnes qui font Franco, mais je trouve les tubes de Franco beaucoup plus puissants. Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?
I may be that I'm just getting old but I find the programming for the Montreal Jazz Festival is getting worse and worse. Especially since covid. What's going on? They used to have some "must see" free shows, at least one a year but I find they don't have any at all lately. Their programming for both indoor and out seems to be catering to more of an urban hip-hop meets smooth jazz with a bit of folk and international music thrown in. I've listened to a lot of this year's bands on Spotify over the last couple of weeks and it is some of the most forgettable music I have ever heard.
It's produced by the same people that do Franco by I find Franco hits so much harder. What's up with that?
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u/pierre_lev Jun 18 '25
Je crois que la meilleure façon de le vivre est d'aller se promener sur le site et de découvrir sur place :-) .
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u/Rough-Year-2121 Saint-Henri Jul 04 '25
Ca l'a toujours ete! Mais fut un temps... il y avait plus... plus de gros noms, plus de frenezie... Ples de temps, plus de choses en journee... enfin toujours bien que le festival soit la quoiqu'il en soi : )
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u/wkpsych Jun 18 '25
If you don't think Mavis Staples is a must see free show I don't know what to tell you. If you don't think Esperanza Spalding is a must see free show you might not be much of a jazz fan.
The line up is pretty stacked every year, especially if you actually like jazz.
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u/TheInfernalSpark99 Jun 18 '25
Holy shit I didn't know Esperanza was coming. Seeing that thank you.
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u/wkpsych Jun 18 '25
Yes, and Sun Ra's band is playing for free about an hour before her performance!
One of the best back to back schedulings for free jazz fest shows I've seen.
Marc Ribot, Bill Frissel, and Julian Lage are all playing (paid) shows this year too. So it's about as stacked as a lineup could be for jazz guitar giants too.
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u/swagpanther Jun 28 '25
you don't even know who's coming yet the lineup is shit?...sounds like you didn't even check..
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
Especially NOT if you actually like Jazz. I've seen both artists before and they are both awesome. But that is far a few between. Staples is not Jazz and is with most of the music at this festival.
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u/fuck_this_new_reddit Jun 18 '25
vieux bonhomme crie après les nuages
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
C'est peut-être vrai. Ou peut-être est-ce un jeune homme qui rêve que les choses aillent mieux ! Peut-être un vieux grincheux ou un jeune rêveur.
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u/Cognitive_Offload Jun 18 '25
You are a snooze fest and have little experience in free, publicly paid festivals. Try going anywhere else in Canada and pretty much North America. Are you a Ticket Master employee, or just a boring person?
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
I can guarantee I've been to more festivals around the world than most. NA, Asia and Europe. There are way better free festivals out there. This fest ain't free BTW, huge amounts of tax dollars and tax rebates make this festival hugely profitable for Spectra and their American co-owners. Hope you've read up on who owns the festival before talking about ticket master.
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u/salomey5 Milton-Parc Jun 18 '25
There's still good stuff at Jazz Fest, but it often happens on the smaller stages. More and more often, I will go check out unknown bands on the small stages instead of hitting the big stage.
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
The Molson pub is where I was most last year but this years version of that stage is dreadful.
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Jun 18 '25
Bruh, Nas is playing Illmatic with a full backing orchestra.
That’s not good enough?
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
Speaking of grandpas! Nas was awesome 30 years ago
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Jun 18 '25
Illmatic is still awesome though. It’s not like that album stopped being good.
Plus a full backing orchestra.
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 19 '25
I agree. Killing album. Orchestra? Meh. I would rather see him with a full band and a jazz orchestra with people that can solo and bring some of the culture to the music.
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u/agravepasmon-k Jun 18 '25
Je ne connais quasi rien cette année mais voir The cinematic orchestra l'an dernier jouer leur album culte A man with a movie camera, ca a été un de mes concerts de l'année !
J'irais qd meme voir Men I Trust, Los Bitchos et suuns le 2 juillet, grosse journée, il y a aussi le bluesman Kingfish le lendemain qui me fait de l'oeil.
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
Donc 0 jazz a le jazz fest.
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u/agravepasmon-k Jun 19 '25
Pour moi en tout cas, mais je ne connais rien au jazz, donc je vais a des shows que je connais.
Il n’y a aucun artiste jazz cette année?
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u/SwellMonsieur Rosemont Jun 18 '25
En tout cas, l'emmerdification de l'internet s'est attaqué à leur site web. C'est laborieux à naviguer.
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
C'est toujours horrible. Un site aussi peu convivial qu'il puisse l'être.
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u/BBAALLII Rosemont Jun 18 '25
La réponse est dans ton post: tu te fais vieux
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u/Rough-Year-2121 Saint-Henri Jul 05 '25
On peu dire de n;importe quoi que "ca a vu de meuilleurs jours'; ca ne veux pas dire qu'on esy vieux, mais qu'on a beaucoup de donnees (ici, annees pour faire un contraste. Meme quelque chose de recent aura u "top" un moment puis tiendra (ex la carriere de ton artiste prefere). Mais la, on parle de comment le Fest est presente et c'est un fait (je le prend plus en detail dans mon propre commentaire) que les organisateurs misent moins sur les gros super spectacles free et autres en faveur des spectacles payant en sallle. Rien a voir avec l'age, a part y avoir ete avant/apres. et blamer ca sur le Covid est pathetique
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u/T-rexKing Jun 18 '25
You're old and don't know the new amazing artists. 🤷♂️
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 18 '25
Could be. I've listened to most of it the past couple weeks and have to say it's boring and mediocre. Hip-hop beats and crappy faux jazz lines are not my thing.
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u/Rough-Year-2121 Saint-Henri Jul 05 '25
I like Hip-Hop. There is nothing called 'pure" Jazz which by definition is fluid. But the Jazz Fest is going down, more to do with giving less for free (less days, less hours per day, less BIG shows... and putting everything in small venues so the Ticket prices go tru the roof. The overall "mood" of it is affected. (I won't write it all again, I have a long comment detailing it)
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u/Rough-Year-2121 Saint-Henri Jul 05 '25
oufff... Old, young and taste... A lot of young people like crap, and "old" people can appreciate newer stuff. Taste is taste. When you're in a middle generation you start seeing that. Some follow what's trending blindly, others really go through all what's there and pick top notch music.
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u/T-rexKing Jul 05 '25
It's not about taste. There's a great variety of amazing artists. It's lack of open-mindedness. Which people tend to lose when they grow old.
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u/beuvue Jun 18 '25
Je crois que les membres de l'équipe originale (André Ménard, Alain Simard,...) ont tous pris leur retraite il y a deux-trois ans.
Est-ce que la relève est à la hauteur de leur prédécesseurs?
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u/SamGzzz Jun 19 '25
Derrick Hodge, Isaiah Collier, Bilal, Sun Ra Arkestra are all awesome free concerts this year. Do you listen to much jazz?
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 19 '25
Yeah, Bilal is great just not Jazz or "jazzy". Just because you put a 7th in a chord somewhere doesn't mean your playing jazz. Sun Ra is dead so that's a tribute show which I am not into as for the others...Watching some guys wank their boring pentatonic lines or chromatic mush over a three chord vamp is not my idea of a good jazz show. It's faux. They don't play songs with changes because they can't play changes.
If that's jazz, then jazz is dead.
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u/ontheclimbingtree Jun 22 '25
There's good expensive paid shoes. Maybe a little less impressive ones than previous years (not a blanket statement.) but also, the free shows are not too exciting this year. Esperanza and ghost note are kinda it.
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u/Far-Revolution-356 Jun 22 '25
What are the good paid shows? I didn't see anything that got me excited.
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u/ontheclimbingtree Jul 04 '25
Bill Frisell, Bonobo, Thundercat, Nas, I think there were a couple more but yeah nothing crazy.
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u/PrettyMrToasty Jun 27 '25
Moi j'suis bien d'accord avec toi, le jazz semble presque inexistant au festival de jazz cette année.
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u/Rough-Year-2121 Saint-Henri Jul 04 '25
I TOTALLY agree with you. They blame it on Covid? Yeah right! More like organizer greed -or cheapness- (two sides of the same coin). La programmation (not that there are no good acts) indeed has less " incontourna-bles ", mais aussi le "overall feel" du Fest declinait deja avant 2020.
They sure were glad in 2004 when they broke the Guinness Book of records for a Jazz fest attendance (2M). They were so proud for mega (still) FREE outdoors shows strating with Ray Charles (way back) or Stevie Wonders in 2009, with more before and after is what made it big . Used to be, one day (Tuesday?) was renowned for downtown being record packed for a HUGE one, every year... But status cemented, they slacked off on those (and worked harder for our dollar). Big names are confined to smaller and smaller rooms making for fewer tickets at higher prices. Smaller outdoor stages for "curious bees walking between were cool to sample various "side" styles (as you mentioned), from folk to Hip-Hop to more osbcure -which is nice- but now they're the norm! There used to always be a known central headliner but now? Indoors. Yes, there are free shows. But I don't care what numbers they're throwing at us, the free, outdoors experience DID get thinner. In 2011, no way they'd give us Prince free! It there ever was to be ONE big crowd event, there it was, but NO! ($$$).
Also, seems it's a night festival now, so less TIME to wander around (not enough day beer/food sales?) Street entertainers and small, often local band to used to entertain families (or just people who avoid crowds but liked the Fest); now it's it's tumbleweed. And speaking of time, the Fest also got... shorter! I mean, I used to spend all day relaxing and having lunch on the last Sunday, but those Sundays are no more. I was really shocked when I rendez-vous'd a friend a couple years back just to meet as the crew was packing. Beautiful Sunday. What gives? Going for max profits in minimum time and not living up to their roots is a pity. But Pleeease don't add insult to injury by scapegoating Covid!?
Hope everyone manages (or managed) to catch something good and and fun in spite of all : )
NOTE: Tu dis que c'est les memes organisateurs que les Francos. Je crois qu'ils veulent pousser le plus de gens a allez voir les Francos, donc plus de "free" plein air... Et donc font leur profit ailleurs. Possible que l'un paye pour l'autre? Ils pourraient balancer un peu, y'a de la marge pour que tout marche ; )
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u/AnythingButRootBeer Jun 18 '25
I really dislike jazz music, i don’t think I ever wanted to be there…
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u/GPLG Jun 18 '25
Ça a toujours été un low tier festival.
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u/Rough-Year-2121 Saint-Henri Jul 05 '25
Pas toujours, non. Mais c'est de moins en moins un truc plein air, plus en plus du 'petite salle a gros prix)
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u/chocheech Jun 18 '25
I've seen some excellent free shows the last 2 years and am looking forward to some this year as well