Angine de Poitrine

Angine de Poitrine played the night I arrived in Montreal, and… WOW. I’d consider myself a medium-fan of theirs—I’d listened to their discography and their infamous KEXP video, and I liked what I heard and saw, but I was NOT prepared for this show. No doubt due in part to them coming from Quebec, Angine de Poitrine smashed the attendance records at the Jazz Fest. No official numbers have been released, but the event organizers said they beat out Stevie Wonder’s 2009 record (which itself had over 200,000 in attendance), so this show was MASSIVE (and, somehow, I was up front!). The show itself was great as expected, but the energy of the crowd really shocked me. Angine de Poitrine play weird music. They dress up as aliens and play microtonal, polyrhythmic math rock. I love it, but it’s not exactly “radio-friendly” music. And yet I was surrounded by a sea of people dressed in polka-dot outfits, lifting their arms above their head and making a triangle with their hands whenever AdP played a particularly funky lick. This was unlike any other Montreal Jazz Fest show I’d ever witnessed.

Ping Pong Go

Ping Pong Go is another excellent local Quebec band who play what they describe as “gamer jazz.” There is a tradition of playing jazz versions of video game OSTs, but they played original songs. Their brand of “gamer” music is less “dungeon synth” and more “epic boss battle” or “funky stage music.” The musicians seemed to be having a great time performing, and it connected with the audience (although, I seemed to be the only one who reacted to a Careless Whisper quote by the synth player).

Check out their Bandcamp!

Kamasi Washington

I was so excited to see Kamasi Washington perform, especially since his excellent 2024 solo album Fearless Movement. What I wasn’t quite as prepared for, however, was how amazingly talented each band member is. I knew his West Coast Get Down collective included Thundercat on bass and they had done work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, but… wow. Each solo just kept getting better and better. That’s the great thing about jazz—now I need to check out each member’s own discography and collaborations!

Check out Kamasi Washington and his band on NPR Tiny Desk!

Elena Pinderhughes

I saw a jazz flutist was on the schedule, and I had to check her out! She has apparently performed with Herbie Hancock, and her talent was obvious. Amazing musicianship! She's played with tons of great artists, including aTunde Adjuah-- check it out!

Brandee Younger

Brandee Younger was THE breakout performance for me this year. I didn’t know her, but I have been really getting into Alice Coltrane in the past year or so, so I was excited when I saw a jazz harpist was on the schedule. Little did I know she is carrying Alice Coltrane’s jazz harp legacy (and even performed at her memorial service!). She started the show with a spiritual harp piece that Alice Coltrane would apparently play at her ashram. Her playing was masterful and hypnotic. If you like Pharoah Sanders or Alice Coltrane’s blend of spiritual jazz, you need to check out Brandee Younger. The standout song, for me, was the title track from her album Gadabout Season. She also did a killer Marvin Gaye cover as an encore!

Mei Semones

Walking around the festival, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mei Semones on the schedule! I discovered her album, Animaru (2025) when it came out last year thanks to Tidal’s autoplay algorithm. I usually hate discovering music this way, but this album was a hit for me. Very easy to listen to! Something I didn’t realize listening to the album, however, was how integral the violin and viola are. I had (wrongly) assumed that she had hired some set musicians to provide backing strings for the album. These two are members of her band, and seeing them perform gave me great appreciation for the texture their instruments bring to the music. Highly recommended!

Kalia Vandever

It was raining, so I wandered into one of the jazz fest’s covered stages to check out Kalia Vandever, jazz trombonist. I’m so glad I did! This was perfect rainy-weather music. Their trombone was moody and sweet. I need to check out more of their work!

Kassa Overall

I’m usually not a big fan of mixing rap and jazz, but these guys do it right. Big funky beats, amazing musicians, and great solos. Their brand of music combines so many genres: funk, fusion, rap, hi-hop, and more. Amazing band to see live!

DOMi & JD BECK

Of the entire bill this year, I was most excited for DOMi & JD BECK. They did not disappoint. This was one of the best shows I’ve ever attended, full stop. For the uninitiated, DOMi & JD BECK are a duo, (former child) jazz prodigies, and have just one LP released (at time of writing). I love their debut, but I’m not a huge fan of some of the vocal features on it. In general, I tend to like music without lyrics, and I’d much rather concentrate on their virtuosic playing than words. So, it felt like they were playing a show concocted especially for me when they played their (yet to be released) upcoming sophomore album SANS VOCALS (since they, apparently, haven’t decided who will sing on it yet). It’s, for me, the best version of an album I’ve been looking forward to since their 2022 debut. Their playing was so physically demanding that they had prerecorded “interludes” between each song so their hands could take a break. DOMi’s solos have matured a lot since their debut, and JD’s drumming was SO tight and creative (he had a metal chair attached to a cymbal stand to bang on!). I’m really looking forward to the album release, and I can only hope that vocals enhance rather than detract from their already excellent compositions.

Nubya Garcia

Nubya Garcia was one of the artists I knew going into the festival. She might have the best tenor saxophone tone in the world today, and it was such a treat seeing her play. Something I noticed about really pro sax players like her is that it looks like she's almost squeezing her sax when she plays-- her fingers never leave the sax keys even a centimeter because lifting your fingers that extra centimeter just means it's another centimeter they need to travel, should that key need to be pressed. It's total command of the instrument: all notes are available instantly. There's no searching, no hesitation... she makes playing saxophone seem as effortless as talking. Check out her NPR Tiny Desk concert!

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

Trombone Shorty might be the most famous living trombone player, and for good reason. He is an amazing showman and really hyped the crowd up. He was one of the big headliners, so there were probably over 100,000 filling the surrounding city blocks. Towards the end of the set, he came into the crowd and came right up to me! (See GIF below!!)

Sumak Brass Band

I couldn't find much information about this band online, but I think they are another local Montreal jazz band. They play Turkish and Balkan inspired music, so I wanted to give them a shoutout because I've never heard anything like that before! Really unique and fun music... Check them out!

Julien Fillion

I wasn't familiar with Julien, so I found him by randomly wandering around and trying to find something cool.. I'm so glad I wandered his way! He's a Montreal local who plays some really groovy sax beats. He's got two drumset players in his band, which I thought was a little excessive at first, but they were so locked in locked in. It was awesome! With your eyes closed, it sounds like there's only one drummer, until you realize that one drummer must have four hands. Check out his newest album!

Derrick Hodge

Oh. My. God. This was one of the best musical experiences I've ever had in my life. Somehow, I was unfamiliar with Derrick Hodge, a bass player whose trio also consists of drums and keys, but that has thankfully been remedied, as I've been going through his discography ever since experiencing this show. Each musician was so locked in... it was like they were casting a magical spell on the audience. Similar to how Nubya Garcia seemingly effortlessly spoke truth through her saxophone, Derrick Hodge did so with his bass. And boy, did he have a LOT to say. There was absolutely no hesitation, no thinking about notes or chords. He speaks the language of music so effortlessly and it felt like his soul was absolutely dying to share this music with the world. Check out the Color of Noize, the title track off his 2020 album

Los Bitchos / Men I Trust
Julius Rodriguez

It rained that day, so a lot of the outdoor concerts were cancelled or delayed, including Los Bitchos and Men I Trust. I was most looking forward to Men I Trust (and, since they are from Quebec, they are kind of hometown heroes), but I missed most of their set because I decided to see an indoor concert while it was storming outside. While I am sad I missed most of their set, I am happy I discovered Julius Rodriguez. Once again, it's amazing to discover truly world-class musicians you never knew existed. He's a total piano master who brings jazz into the modern era. Check out his NPR Tiny Desk!

Fantastic Negrito

Fantastic Negrito was easily the best showman of my time at the festival. He came out wearing a shiny gold cape painted with the words DICTATOR OF TASTE. He almost felt like a John Waters character singing the blues, and it was SO much fun to experience. His first song began with the refrain “Aliens came down to Earth and said EAT LESS SUGAR, AND HAVE MORE SEX!”

Fievel is Glauque

I've been a big fan of Fievel is Glauque since their debut studio album, Flaming Swords, so this was my most anticipated show. Unfortunately, the first part of their set was mired with electronic issues, but once it got sorted out they were amazing. To my surprise, they mostly played new, unreleased songs. It's always nice to hear old favorites, but it was cool to hear new stuff too! Check out this single off their newest record!