Lucy Denyer blog Montreal Jazz

We had breakfast in Niagara-on-the-Lake, lunch in Toronto, and arrived in Montreal, Quebec in time for dinner and some live jazz. But first, a quick tour of the city.

The Montreal tourism office has provided the World Tour team with a guide, who hops into one of the Fiestas and directs our convoy to some of the city’s sites. There’s just enough daylight left to check out some architecture and take in the views from some of the many bridges that span the St. Lawrence River (the city is an island).

As the sun sets, we head for the historic city centre. But we can’t explore much of Old Montreal without parking the cars first: the narrow cobblestone streets lined with 17th and 18th century stone buildings are almost all pedestrian areas.

Montreal hosts one of the largest jazz festivals in the world, drawing musicians and fans from all over the globe. But we want to check out local artists, so we head to the Upstairs Jazz Bar. 

We arrive in time to catch Montreal singer Nathalie Renault’s second set. Describing herself as “a little blond girl that shakes up the piano,” Renault performs solo at a grand piano, playing a mixture of her own songs and her favourites, interspersed with stories about the songs themselves, or her adventures as a musician.

Between sets, we ask Renault about Montreal’s jazz scene. She explains that the jazz festival has a huge following outside Montreal, and the audiences can be mostly out-of-towners. Here at the Upstairs Jazz Bar, it’s Montrealers. 

Renault looks around as the room starts to fill up for the third set.  “It’s a great audience,” she says of the crowd at Upstairs. “They’ve really come to hear music – and this is a Tuesday night.”

www.vintage-hotels.com/pillarandpost/default.htm
Www.upstairsjazz.com
www.tourisme-montreal.org
www.nathalierenault.com