The Sutton Jazz Festival ("Sutton Jazz") is back for its 21st edition and with a new program in store. The Sutton Jazz Fest is running from July 2 to Sept. 3 and it will be offering workshops, music at Sutton’s Saturday market, and performances that will fill the streets with jazz at different locations around the village. Dedicated to promoting local and regional jazz, the Sutton Jazz Fest provides musicians with the opportunity to take centre stage and an educational experience for all those who attend. 

“The goal is to promote the musicians that are local and that are also around let’s say Montreal and other places, and we also have an education mission. Meaning that we offer some workshops, (…) and we also want to promote new talent,” said Daniel Dufresne, president for the board of directors of Sutton Jazz. 

Sutton Jazz will be encouraging new talent through its new “Emerging Talent” contest. 

“We will have three different bands that will compete. The winner will have a prize given by CM Victor, which is a music store, and we give the opportunity to the winner to come back next year, have their own show, be paid, and, let’s say, be known at the Jazz Festival,” mentioned Dufresne. 

Sticking with its mission to educate, three different workshops will be offered by professionals at the Sutton Legion.

“We will have three workshops: “History of Jazz,” “Improvisation,” and a “Masterclass” on how to interpret a ballad. (…) The entire program is made so that it’s easy for people to go to a workshop,” said Dufresne. 

Having formerly taken place at Salle Alec & Gérard Pelletier, Sutton Jazz has moved most of its entertainment outdoors to Veterans Park (every Saturday) and Sutton’s Saturday markets. 

“We also play in some restaurants; Mollies, a new restaurant in Sutton, and also Auberge Brouerie. (…) So, different sites and different places where people can listen to jazz music,” noted Dufresne. 

Dufresne said that Sutton Jazz contributes to the quality of life that Sutton is known for.  

“People who have come to the festival gave testimonies about how big it is, how significant it is, how valuable it is for the town, (…). At the cultural level, the fact that we didn’t stop, because that was our intention in 2020. With the new rule of Health Canada, we were able to have an outside festival and many people presented themselves to thank us for the festival,” said Dufresne. 

For information about the Sutton Jazz Festival and for the the full programming, visit the website. 

Listen to the full interview below: