The International Festival de Jazz de Montréal has announced a digital edition that will feature livestream concerts by Canadian artists and archival concerts by Oscar Peterson, Jaco Pastorius (pictured), Sarah Vaughan and Miles Davis.
As the music world adjusts to life in isolation, musicians and music fans have taken to the web to forge new connections. Livestreamed concerts, Zoom interviews, virtual masterclasses, online festivals — this is jazz in the present tense. That’s long been our motto, and that’s why we’ve put together these guides to the best jazz concerts taking place on the web each week. These concerts are handpicked by our editors. Perhaps we’ll “see” you there.
Monday, June 29
Emmet Cohen Trio, “Live from Emmet’s Place”
Pianist Emmet Cohen, a jazz original with a deep reverence for the tradition and an even deeper sense of swing, stages a weekly trio performance every Monday, live from his living room. (He’s lucky enough to be quarantining with his bandmates — bassist Russel Hall and drummer Kyle Poole.) “Live from Emmet’s Place” streams on Cohen’s Facebook page at 7:30 pm ET. Donations for the band are accepted, and 20% of proceeds go directly to the Heart to Heart, an international organization that strengthens communities through improving health access, providing humanitarian development and administering crisis relief worldwide. —Brian Zimmerman
Tuesday, June 30
Sarah Vaughan at the 1983 Montreal Jazz Festival
As part of their newly announced online initiative, the Montreal Jazz Festival will be airing nightly videos of archived performances from festivals past. On June 30, they’ll present a historic set by jazz vocal queen Sarah Vaughan from 1983. The show begins at 8:23 pm on the Montreal Jazz Fest Facebook page (and can be streamed via the player above). Expect the perfect Sarah Vaughan cocktail: divine singing, trenchant swing and witty banter. —Brian Zimmerman
Wednesday, July 1
Blue Note at Home: Maurice “Mobetta” Brown
The Blue Note Jazz Club continues its excellent run of live-from-home jazz concerts with a performance by trumpeter Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, an impassioned young trumpeter whose style bridges jazz, hip-hop soul and R&B. His set — part of a weekly digital residency — begins at 8 pm ET on the Blue Note New York Facebook page. —Brian Zimmerman
Thursday, July 2
Guitarist Rafiq Bhatia at National Sawdust
Guitarist/composer Rafiq Bhatia is an omnivorous experimentalist who moves fluidly between jazz and rock, acoustic and electronic, and Indian and American musical influences. On July 2, he will be participating in National Sawdust’s Digital Discovery “Festival” of streamed performances from venue alumni. The performance will be streamed at 6 p.m. ET on the venue’s website and is an avant-garde collaboration with video artist Sara Sheikh Bridge during which he will overlay four versions of himself to create one set. The project is titled 400th, in tribute of one in every 400 New Yorkers who have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic. —Matt Micucci
Friday, July 3
Joe Lovano Trio Fascination with Ben Street and Andrew Cyrille
Streaming Live at the Village Vanguard continues on Friday, July 3, at 7 p.m. EDT and Sunday, July 5 at 2 p.m. EDT with the Joe Lovano Trio Fascination featuring Ben Street on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums. This is the latest iteration of Lovano’s Trio Fascination group, which was originally created by the trailblazing tenor saxophonist in 1997, comprising Dave Holland on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. Tickets are $10 and available at villagevanguard.com. —Brian Zimmerman
Saturday, July 4
Sullivan Fortner Trio Live at Smalls
Sullivan Fortner, a pianist whose compositions are broadly conceived and whose improvisations are as surprising as they are certain, will perform a special late-afternoon set at Smalls Jazz Club in Manhattan on July 4, running from 4:45 to 6:30 pm ET. The early show leaves plenty of room for fireworks, in more ways than one. It can be streamed on the Smalls website. —Brian Zimmerman
Sunday, July 5
Live from Our Living Rooms: Keyboardist Jason Lindner
Keyboardist Jason Lindner — a member of the jazz ensemble handpicked by David Bowie to appear on the rock icon’s final album Blackstar — takes the virtual stage as part of Live from Our Living Rooms, a platform that helps musicians and fans connect through online workshops, webinars and concerts. Lindner’s concert begins at 8 pm on the Live from Our Living Rooms website. Preceding the performance, viewers can take in a masterclass on “Opening Your Ears” with drummer-composer Tyshawn Sorey at 1 pm or a webinar on “Compositio and Staying Inspired” with keyboardists Billy Childs and Patrice Rushen at 3pm. —Brian Zimmerman