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The Montreal International Jazz Festival, through the years

Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones and Alain Simard on stage at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1989.
Denis Alix
Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones and Alain Simard on stage at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1989.

The Montreal International Jazz Festival turns 46 this summer. For 10 days starting at the end of this month, free outdoor concerts and packed concert halls will transform downtown Montreal into what co-founder André Ménard calls "a little utopian village."

This episode of Jazz Night in America revisits some of the artists who helped define the festival, with performances by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and Pat Metheny, and the story of how the festival helped launch Diana Krall's career. We'll also spotlight a few artists on this year's festival lineup, running June 25 to July 4. You can see the full lineup at montrealjazzfest.com.

Credits: Host: Christian McBride; Writer and Producer: Sarah Geledi; Mastering: Ron Scalzo; Executive Producer: Steven A. Williams; Executive Producer at NPR Music: Suraya Mohamed; Executive Director of NPR Music: Sonali Mehta.

Copyright 2026 NPR

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Sarah Geledi