This year, the Montreal Jazz Festival is highlighting the outstanding musical contributions and achievements of George Benson, Avishai Cohen, Stacey Kent, Marisa Monte and Édelène Fitzgerald.
George Benson is the 13th winner of the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award, which recognizes the quality and innovation of an artist’s body of work as well as their impact on global pop music.
Avishai Cohen is the 28th winner of the Miles Davis Award, which pays homage to a world-renowned jazz artist, their body of work and innovation in the genre.
Stacey Kent is the 23rd winner of the Ella Fitzgerald Award, which celebrates an outstanding jazz singer who has had a major impact on the global stage.
Marisa Monte is the 18th winner of the Antônio Carlos Jobim Award, which is handed out to an artist who has shone in world music and whose cultural mixes have had an undeniable influence on the history of jazz.
Édelène Fitzgerald is the third artist to receive the Oliver Jones Award, created in honour of the Montreal jazz icon who left an indelible mark on the history of the festival and who today stands as a success story for Montreal’s Afro-descendant communities and a source of inspiration for all of Canada’s cultural communities. It is because of this connection and this history that the Oliver Jones Award is given to young university-level musicians who identify as members of visible minorities or First Nations communities.
The 43rd edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival will take place June 29 to July 8.
