It’s time for jazz lovers to mark their calendars and book their travel because the Montreal Jazz Festival has been scheduled from June 28 through July 7, 2013. It is the 34th edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival, also known as the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. The ten day musical event will be presented by TD in collaboration with Rio Tinto Alcan.
The Montreal Jazz Festival offers a program of concerts spanning jazz, world music, hip hop, and soul, with variety of styles from vocals to focus on a particular instrument. Performances by legends like Aretha Franklin, to lesser known emerging talents will take place in a variety of settings including smaller clubs, or larger event venues. On April 29, the indoor music program was announced, and the free outdoor activities and outdoor concert program is scheduled to be announced June 4. Tickets for the indoor program go on sale on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at noon. Exclusive pre-sale tickets for Spectra Newsletter subscribers are available May 1, 2013 until Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m.
In support of the festival, a number of hotels and lodgings are offering packages. This year, the Summer Getaway package is being offered with train transportation from most cities in Québec and Ontario, and is available at the Hyatt Regency Montréal (the official hotel of the Festival), Delta Montréal, the St Paul Hotel, Le St-Martin Hôtel Particulier and the Dauphin Montréal. Prices (ranging from $260 to $350 Canadian dollars) are per person based on double occupancy and vary by hotel. The Summer Getaway package offers each guest accommodation in one of the five participating hotels, daily breakfast, a welcome cocktail with guided tour of the Festival site, The Festival Under the Stars souvenir book, and a reusable bottle and a bag, both with the Festival logo. The package also includes a concert ticket for one of three venues including Club Soda, Métropolis or L’Astral (subject to availability); 15 percent off an indoor concert ticket (subject to availability); a copy of the CD Nos stars chantent le jazz, produced by the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal; priority access to free concerts in the Jam Sessions, Open House and Nightcap Heineken series at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal; and a limited edition framed art work by Yves Archambault, the poster artist and illustrator for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.
A jazz dinner-cruise aboard the Bateau-Mouche includes a four-course meal prepared by Chef Louis-François, owner of Marcotte’s Simpléchic Traiteur, and a gypsy jazz musical performance by Christine Tassan et les Imposteures. The cruise operates June 29 through 30, and July 2 to 4. The boat boards at 6:15 p.m. from the Jacques Cartier Quay in the Old Port of Montréal, returning at 10:30 p.m. and costs $137 per person including gratuity. Reservations are required: bateaumouche.ca.
In addition to the dinner cruise, VDM Global DMC is also hosting two culinary walking tours: Atwater Market Goes Jazzy and Flavours and Aromas of Old Montreal. Both two hours tours cost $60 per person and run on Saturdays, June 29 and July 6. Atwater Market Goes Jazzy is offered from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Aromas of Montreal runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon. For information or reservations call:1 855 288-3378.
Visit: montrealjazzfest.com.