Ottawa (Wednesday, June 19, 2024) – Throughout its 44 years, the Ottawa Jazz Festival has hosted countless numbers of prolific musicians. A veritable ‘who’s who’ of music’s greatest artists are set to perform at this year’s Festival from June 21 – 30. Several of the 2024 lineup, of all ages and backgrounds, can claim the music world’s most coveted award – the GRAMMY and/or a GRAMMY nomination. Browse through this year’s lineup:
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer performs at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage on June 21st alongside vocalist and long time collaborator Gillian Margot. Geoffrey has appeared multiple times at the Grammy's with 4 nominations reaching back to 2010. In 2023, he won the Grammy for Best International Compositions with the song Refuge.
On June 26, Al Di Meola is headlining the Main Stage at Confederation Park with his band The Electric Years. Back in 1975, he was a GRAMMY Award winner playing guitarist for the famed Return To Forever, Di Meola took home the GRAMMY for
with their album
.
On June 28th, you can catch renowned jazz drummer and composer John Hollenbeck at the NAC’s Fourth Stage in Marianne Trudel’s Time Poemshow. Hollenbeck holds 6 GRAMMY nominations reaching back to 2006, and almost all exclusively for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will headline the Main Stage on June 22nd. They received their GRAMMY recognition in 2008, when they were extensively featured on The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Down in New Orleans album which won the award for Best Traditional Gospel Album at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards.
Parliament Funkadelic ft George Clinton, or P-Funk are bringing the funk on June 22nd to the Main Stage. At the 2019 ceremony, the legendary George Clinton and his monumental Parliament Funkadelic band were celebrated with the GRAMMY Recording Academy’s high honour, Lifetime Achievement Award.
Norah Jones performs on June 29 at 8:30pm on the Main Stage. It should come as no surprise that she boasts a copious number of GRAMMY wins. Since her breakout in 2003, Norah has been nominated a grand total of 19 times at the GRAMMY Awards, and she has won an impressive 9 of those nominations.
Super Blue will perform on June 27th at the NAC Azrieli Studio. Chicago born jazz vocalist and icon Kurt Elling, holds a remarkable 16 nominations and 2 GRAMMY wins. Elling was again present at the most recent 66th GRAMMY’s for the newly formed Super Blue (in collaboration with guitarist Charlie Hunter), nominated for Best Alternative Jazz Album for their sophomore album The Iridescent Spree.
On June 28th, the Main Stage 25-year-old Laufey will headline the Main Stage. It’s impossible to ignore the meteoric rise of this Icelandic phenom. The jazz vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist took home the GRAMMY for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album with her universally renowned Bewitched at the 2024 ceremony, making her the youngest to ever win in this category.
Headliner and Opening artist of the 2024 Ottawa Jazz Festival on June 21st is Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue. Shorty was also present at the 2024 awards ceremony, as he was among the nominees for his participation in New Breed Brass Band’sMade in New Orleans. Trombone Shorty was nominated twice before for his 2010 album Backatown and his playing on John Batiste’s We Are, the latter of which took home Album of the Year at the 2022 ceremony.
Also performing on June 21st, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society brings the big band vibes to the NAC Azrieli Studio. With the release of their album Dynamic Maximum Tension, the group was nominated at last year’s GRAMMY Awards for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, a category they had been nominated in 3 times before.
Performing at the NAC Azrieli Studio on June 29th is Aja Monet. 2024 was a big year for the contemporary wordsmith as her album When The Poems Do What They Do was nominated for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.
These talented artists add tremendous depth and excitement to the lineup of the 2024 Ottawa Jazz Festival.
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