All What Jazz?

A quick glance at major free concerts at Montreal’s Jazz Festival this year shows a distinct lack of, well....jazz.  In recent years some jazz purists have complained that the festival has drifted increasingly far from its roots, and this year’s lineup does little to contradict this argument. 

Let’s begin with Stevie Wonder, the largest outdoor show ever in the festival’s history.  He drew an estimated crowd of over 200,000.  As thousands of cheering fans experienced Wonder under the stars, few were asking the obvious question:  since when did Stevie Wonder have anything to do with jazz?

Some might say they didn’t care, that Wonder is such a legendary musician that his music transcends genres - a plausible argument, perhaps.  But other attendees weren’t buying.

“Shut the f**k up and sing already!”  yelled local musician Nick Hébert while Wonder delivered a rambling eulogy to his recently departed friend, Michael “Wacko Jacko” Jackson.  Dressed to the nines, Nick was expecting a jazz party, not a Motown funeral.  “This isn’t what I came to the Jazz Festival for.  I’m going home!”  he said, spinning on his heel and leaving before Stevie finished his opening number, "I Can't Help It".

Another much-hyped show starred local wunderkind Patrick Watson.  The following day, the press was aglow with “Montreal Boy Makes Good!”  headlines.  Yet none mentioned that, far from being a jazz musician, Watson specializes in the piano music of the non-jazz variety. 

However, for most of his screaming tween fans, this was a matter of little importance.  “He’s so hot!”  giggled Amy, attending the concert with her two best friends Paige and Lauren.  All were 13 and clad in identical black leggings and sparkly bracelets.  When asked if they knew what jazz music was, Lauren said, “Sure.  My dad listens to that stuff all the time.”  When asked to name a single jazz musician, Amy replied, “Stevie Wonder.”  

At the Reggaeton concert, the crowd was thick with herbal aromas and white people embarrassingly demonstrating their hopeless lack of riddim.  “This is an amazing lineup” said Jesse Radz, an ex-member of local ska band The Kingpins.  “They have people from the original Studio One here!”  He explained that this was the first recording studio in Jamaica, and was the birthplace of rocksteady music and ska.  When asked what this music had to do with jazz, he replied, “Absolutely nothing!”

Radz was ready for action in ska-appropriate shiny shoes and a porkpie hat.  But his initial exuberance wore off quickly.  His mood changed mid-set, when the band performed, “No Woman, No Cry”.  “I didn’t come here for a f**king Bob Marley tribute!” he fumed.  “This has nothing to do with rocksteady!” Radz shortly made an ironic exit.

So, what direction should the Jazz Festival take?  There are those who might argue that jazz has roots in a lot of musical genres, so it’s legitimate to have many types of acts perform.  Others might say that pleasing the masses is more important than purity.

But there are those who ask - how much can you stretch the term “jazz”, and still call it a Jazz Festival?