During seven glorious days in June 1986, a fledgling jazz festival in Vancouver, Canada, burst into the consciousness of local and international jazz fans. The du Maurier International Jazz Festival had a stunning lineup: Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Ornette Coleman, Abdullah Ibrahim, Tony Williams, Jay Clayton,…

From sisters Tia Fuller and Shamie Royston, Kneebody co-founders Shane Endsley and Kaveh Rastegar and the late Ron Miles to historic figures like Paul Whiteman and Jimmie Lunceford, Denver has been called home by a plethora of jazz talent. Now that home has its own festival. The inaugural Denver Jazz Fest, which ran…

Les DeMerle learned by doing. DeMerle toured around with the Harry James Big Band for more than a decade and put together groups with tenor saxophonist Don Menza, trumpeter Randy Brecker and others, but the drummer first gained some notoriety around the age of 14 with a review in this very publication. Across…

Mention the word “festival” to jazz fans and chances are they’ll first think of legendary annual events at Newport, Monterey, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, Montreal or Montreux. However, quality jazz festivals take place in a variety of lesser-known locales as well. Although these festivals are smaller in…

In preparation for this year’s bountiful Jazz Festival Season, DownBeat brings you a detailed preview of the best fests scheduled to take place in the months to come. Be sure to check for festivals happening in your area — be it East, West, South or Midwest regions of the U.S. and Canada, or International…