Spanning all genres and inspirations of jazz, swing, jive, fusion jazz, hot jazz, boogie, diverse cultures and traditions, the Ottawa Jazz Festival has been a trailblazer for more than 40 years in Ottawa, Canada. As the only outdoor music festival in the city's downtown core, Jazz Fest highlights, "a wide range of Canadian and international musical greats to Canada's capital, "^[2] as well as, new and emerging talent that covers the spectrum from pop, rock to lush harmonies.^[3] As a jazz festival, its core purpose is to provide a diverse range of jazz programming, but also includes music spanning genres such as blues, rock and indie.^[4]

Set against the striking backdrop of Downtown Ottawa, audiences have a selection from ticketed and free shows in several venues including Confederation Park, Marion Dewar Plaza, the National Arts Centre and select local clubs. The event has drawn as many as 300,000 visitors in past years and presents over 850 artists more than 100 concerts.^[5][6]

The festival was founded in 1980 when local musicians Bob Misener, Tony Pope and Bill Shuttleworth came together to organize a weekend of jazz music in Major's Hill Park.^[7] In 1989, the jazz festival moved to what is now the location of its Main Stage at Confederation Park. In 1996, Catherine O'Grady took over as Executive Producer of the festival. Since her arrival, management has worked alongside the board of directors and a supportive community to see an audience increase of 300%.

In 1999, Wynton Marsalis's group Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra helped the festival set a new record with 8,000 people in attendance - which helped put the event on the map.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the festival.^[8] A virtual concert series called Tenacity was streamed to both domestic and international audiences instead.^[9] In August 2021, with many pandemic-related restrictions still in place, the festival returned for a four-day span of live and virtual concerts with over 50 artists performing.^[10] 2022 finally saw the return of a full in-person festival with a nine-day lineup that enlisted the likes of the Punch Brothers, Kamasi Washington, Holly Cole, Cory Wong, Cory Henry, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and more.^[11]

Under the guidance of Catherine O'Grady, the Ottawa Jazz Festival has served as a key economic driver for Ottawa's downtown core thanks to the rise in tourism and boost to local businesses it provides each summer.^[12] Since 2009, the festival has brought in over $448 million in tourism spending.^[13]

The first several decades of the festival's programming was shaped by Jacques Émond, and it is now handled by Petr Cancura - who assumed the programming manager role in 2011.^[14]

The festival has featured many dynamic jazz artists on its stages, including Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Buddy Guy, The Roots, Earth, Wind & Fire, Salif Keita, Dave Brubeck, Mavis Staples, Roy Haynes, Toots Thielemans, Branford Marsalis, Béla Fleck, Kenny Werner, Stanley Jordan, Sonny Rollins, Terence Blanchard, Diana Krall, D.D. Jackson, Maynard Ferguson, Kenny Rogers and John Mayall.

In an effort to spice up long and dreary winters, the Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival showcases a series of unique concerts and collaborations with consummate jazz artists. These shows exist to foster an environment of creative engagements for jazz artists in the off season and to satiate music lovers’ jazz appetites.

In 2023, a two-day festival ran in February and saw artists such as Sarah Neufield, Kenny Barron and Thus Owls perform.^[15][16]

Unfortunately, the 2024 event is postponed and will return in 2025.

Music students from high schools and universities across Ottawa are invited to apply and participate in the Jazz Youth Summit, an intensive program for young musicians that runs during the Ottawa Jazz Festival. Participants are selected through an audition process (with pre-recorded auditions). This program provides training and workshops from visiting international artists and performance opportunities at the Ottawa Jazz Festival for young and hopeful Canadian jazz musicians. They are given the chance to work on original material and attend masterclasses by acclaimed visiting international artists. Past clinicians have included Ethan Iverson, John Hollenbeck, Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider, Tim Berne & Aurora Nealand, Joel Frahm, and Michael Winograd to name a few.^[17]

Only nine students, ranging from ages 16 to 23, are selected for this unique adventure. Their journey culminated with a Main Stage performance opening for the legendary Herbie Hancock on June 30.

At the end of their journey, four out of the nine participants receive bursaries from Stingray Music and Stingray Radio - chosen by merit by the program's Director and the Festival's Programming Director - in contribution to advance their education in music.^[18]

• The Main Stage at Confederation Park
• The OLG Stage at Marion Dewar Plaza / Ottawa City Hall
• The Azrieli Studio at the National Arts Centre (Capacity - 300) ^[20]
• The Fourth Stage at the National Arts Centre (Capacity - 150) ^[21]
• Grill 41 at the Lord Elgin Hotel - Late Night Jamming Series