Edmonton's Jazz Festival is Online and Continuing in June

The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival wrapped a successful Opening Weekend featuring Edmontonian, Canadian, and international musicians including Andrew Glover, Funkford Family, Bria Skonberg, Julian Lage, Veronica Swift, Emmet Cohen, and the great Sheila Jordan, featured in an exclusive CKUA radio and online interview.

The 2020 Festival continues from the comfort of your home. Join us online through June and every weekend until July 31 and enjoy free performances and interviews from musicians locally and around the world.

"Thank you to the hundreds of viewers who spent time with us this weekend, and to the many talented people on screen, and behind the scenes, who helped bring you our online experience," says Festival Artistic Director & Producer Kent Sangster. "For 15 years our community has come together to present the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival," continues Mr. Sangster. "This event carried on a 25+ year tradition of celebrating the city's talent, history, and love of jazz through a summer festival. For 2020 we had to get creative and we thank everyone for their words of encouragement, for sharing their talent, and supporting us on this new adventure."

The Festival organization says, "We miss working with our festival crews and our volunteers and celebrating our successes with them as well as with our sponsors and partners. It is the support throughout the years of these amazing members of our jazz festival family that have helped us build our festival to what it is today."

Some presentations will feature an exclusive interview with the artist and Kent Sangster.

"We are not only showcasing the music of some of the best artists in jazz today we are also providing our audiences a unique opportunity to hear them talk about their music and themselves," says Mr. Sangster.

The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival is grateful for the ongoing support of our presenting sponsor TD Bank Group, and their continued commitment to supporting music and culture in our community.

"Music has the power to unite us. It brings us together and connects us. The last few months have been challenging for everyone, and I know many have listened to artists that provide comfort, reassurance, and positivity," said Robert Ghazal, Senior Vice President, Retail Banking, Prairie Region. "TD is very proud to be a part of the Edmonton International Jazz Festival and the creative digital experience this year. While we may not be able to gather in person, we can all be together through our shared love of music and community."

Starting this week the Festival introduces a unique online visual and jazz music experience. Jazz Moments combines improvised music from local jazz musicians and an original piece of visual artwork from local visual artists. Take a moment to enjoy great art and great jazz, online everywhere, from our local artists.

Unless otherwise stated, artists have pre-recorded their performances and edited for sound quality, in some cases live from empty venues. All the Festival artists are paid to participate.

Rather than requesting donations for the Edmonton Jazz Festival Society, TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival 2020 has started campaigns in support of a few select community charities. Please see our list below.

Musicians in June:

Christine Hanson

Saturday June 27 8:00 p.m.

Livestreaming from Werkstatt Edmonton

Music captured Christine Hanson's soul at an early age. She started cello lessons at the age of four. "I had a choice between piano, violin and cello," she says. "But I really wanted to play the guitar." After finishing her classical training at the University of Alberta, she finally picked up an axe-and quickly became proficient enough to take jazz studies at MacEwan University. In 2006, she won CBC's Galaxie Award for Best New Artist at Junofest.

Shelley Jones & A Touch of Cole

Sunday June 28 7:00 p.m.

Pre-Recorded Live from Yardbird Suite in Edmonton

Vocalist Shelley Jones, guitarist Wes Yaciuk and bassist Wes Caswell have teamed up together for a new musical project called A Touch of Cole, which features the timeless music of Natalie and Nat King Cole. Paying tribute to the "unforgettable" musical legacy of both father and daughter, A Touch of Cole weaves together a collection of classic "Cole" standards that take the audience on a musical journey that spans from Jazz and Latin, to Soul and R&B. As part of their show, A Touch of Cole also performs timeless standards from artists such as Peggy Lee, Nina Simone and Billie Holiday.

Community Charity Initiative

Rather than requesting donations for the Edmonton Jazz Festival Society or our performers, the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival is honoured to support the community by highlighting a selection of local charities whose work they believe makes our community a better place to live, work, and play.

The Festival wants to celebrate the resiliency and community-minded spirit of Edmonton, and wants to give back to the community. Below are the local organizations chosen for the inaugural Community Charity Initiative. The Festival encourages viewers and supporters to learn more about their important work and contribute to their cause. TD EIJF will be matching community support with a gift of $500 to each listed charity.

Edmonton Food Bank

The Come Up

United Way of Alberta Capital Region

WIN House

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