Cue the scatted syllables and snapping fingers: The Kensington Market Jazz Festival is returning to the streets of Toronto the weekend of Sept. 27-29, 2024. And when it arrives, it won’t be as just a revered local tradition, but the embodiment of an enduring vision. This ninth edition of the annual salute to all that jazz will make good on legendary singer-songwriter and philanthropist Molly Johnson O.O.C.’s ongoing, dogged determination to fill the city’s beloved heritage district with the sounds and sensations of musical excellence—and to do it better each and every time.
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Last year’s KMJF saw more than 200 world-class players and vocal stylists taking the stage for a whopping 92 performances, in a best-yet showcase of the rich diversity of Canadian jazz. The 2024 schedule is poised to top even that landmark success, with a stunning assemblage of talent delivering a shot of musical adrenaline straight into the vibrant heart of Toronto.
The lineup has been announced and featured performers include Donovan Locke, Richard Underhill, Waleed Abdulhamid, Lou Pomanti, Marc Jordan, Robyn Black, Oakland Stroke, Laura Hubert, John Alcorn, Pat Collins & Brian Dickerson, Heather Bambrick, Shannon Butcher, Whitney Ross-Barris, Miranda Mulholland, Alana Bridgewater, Jesse Ryan, Amanda Martinez Empenadas Ilegales, Hilario Duran, Robi Botos, Sammy Jackson, Joseph Callendar, Alex Pangman, Jay Douglas, Kevin Barrett, Joe Sealy, Brian Dickerson, Eric Liang, Hilario Duran, Billy Newton Davis, Elizabeth, Josh Grossman, Adi Braun, Don Breithaupt, Barbra Lica, Eric St-Laurent, Charlotte Mcafee-Brunner and more.
As always, the featured musos are coming at the invitation of Johnson herself, whose instincts for event curation have been honed by her decades of influence in the fields of jazz and pop. Every year, she and her committee carefully select the featured performers they know to best represent the ideals of true musicianship. The bands that receive Johnson’s call know they’ve been chosen because they’re out there in the trenches every day, playing their hearts out and doing it for all the right reasons.
“I started KMJF to offer Toronto a local, grassroots jazz festival reflecting our market’s rich cultural tapestry,” Johnson says. And having been born and raised in Kensington Market herself, she’s uniquely qualified to carry out her organization’s trifold agenda of celebrating Toronto’s jazz culture, fostering community connection and championing local talent. Under her guidance as Founder and Artistic Director, the KMJF is forever keeping its promise to remain an artist-driven, community-supported and volunteer-fueled endeavor that respects the rich history of Kensington Market and harmonizes with its proud legacy.
This year, the festival is partnering with the ongoing Pedestrian Sunday initiative, which takes hold from 1 p.m. on the last Sunday of the month from May to October. The two events dovetail on Sept. 29, opening the streets of Kensington Market to celebrate the sense of community and culture that flourishes in a friendly, ecologically sound, human-scale environment. Pedestrian Sundays don’t permanently change the streets, but they just might change the way we perceive them—and forever.
Meanwhile, the ticketing arrangement for the KMJF is a look backward in all the best ways. Admission is $20 - $25 in cash only, with no advance purchases with a number of free performances soon to be announced. That means no outrageous ticket fees, no competing with bots for the privilege of attending and no mercenary brokers horning in on the action. It’s a return to the old-school way of seeing shows, when everybody had the same, honest chance at being part of the fun.
Looking out for others is a big priority for Johnson, who has consistently sought out worthy causes to advance throughout her four-decades-plus at the forefront of North American jazz. Not content to rest on her laurels as the winner of two JUNO awards, the Governor General Award, the Order of Canada and the Chevalier Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, she’s brainstormed extravaganzas like the Kumbaya Festival, which for three memorable years in the 1990s brought together a stellar array of musical and artistic talent to raise funds for Canadian AIDS and HIV charities. That work continues today under the rubric of her similarly focused Kumbaya Foundation.
Meanwhile, her follow-up undertaking, the Kensington Market Jazz Festival, has been so successful in its own mission that it keeps extending its public outreach beyond the parameters of the event itself. Over the past nine years, the KMJF has spawned a seasonal music series that likewise takes place in Kensington Market, as well as a kids’ music series presented in collaboration with Tom Mihalik, Yamaha Canada Music Ltd. and St. Stephen’s Community House Youth Arcade. Recordings by artists like Laura Hubert and Billy Newton-Davis have also been produced under the festival’s banner, including a new album from the latter that’s due later this year. In just under a decade, Johnson’s labor of love has introduced hundreds of performers within the umbrella of a festival that’s been engineered to reveal the true depth of the area’s jazz community.
She’s quick to admit, though, that she couldn’t do it alone. Last year’s event relied on the help of more than 100 volunteers, not to mention much-needed funding by the City of Toronto, the Ontario Arts Council and benefactors like Slaight Music, the Emerald Foundation, Wanda Ho & Tom Pladsen and the members of the KMJF’s own board. You can make your own contribution (tax-deductible if it’s over $25) by sending a cheque to Kensington Market Jazz Festival, 861/2 Nassau St., Unit 205, Toronto, ON M5T 1M5. Or donate here.