The World of Jazz Festival celebrates its 6th annual festival with a triumphant return to 2 days of live, outdoor performances in Downtown Brampton

 

The World of Jazz Festival celebrates its 6th annual festival with a triumphant return to 2 days of live, outdoor performances in Downtown Brampton

September 10th & 11th, 2022 to feature community, restaurant, and mainstage acts

(Brampton, ON – Aug 30, 2022) After navigating two long years of COVID restrictions on festivals and events, the World of Jazz Festival, hosted by B-Jazzed, returns to its original footprint in Downtown Brampton, a two-day festival featuring restaurant and community performance on September 10th and closing out on September 11th with two stages hosting non-stop, FREE music, a family fun zone, sponsor tents and food vendors from 1pm-8pm in Gage Park. The two-day festival will play host to more than 100 musicians, 17 ensembles, and 8 venues, featuring some of Canada’s finest jazz musicians, as well as local Brampton students and emerging artists.

Festival History

From 2017 to 2019, thanks to an enthusiastic local audience and growing appetite for jazz music, the World of Jazz Festival attracted large crowds to Brampton by presenting live music, cultural diversity, and family activities in Garden Square and at the Rose Theatre. In 2020 & 2021, due to the everchanging pandemic, its constant uncertainties, and the festival and entertainment industry being plagued with cancellations, the festival adopted a hybrid approach, encompassing both live and virtual performances, including a livestream concert from Koerner Hall, Canada’s finest concert hall. With the reopening of Ontario in Spring, 2022, it offered B-Jazzed ample time to consider planning a return to its original festival footprint featuring performances throughout Downtown Brampton across multiple stages.

“As a not-for-profit organization, B-Jazzed dug its heels in to not only survive the pandemic, but to stand tall in the industry as one of the only organizations in the world that found pivots for its annual programming that included live and virtual performances, without cancelling”, says Carmen Spada, Artistic Director of B-Jazzed. “World of Jazz 2022 is more than a festival this year, it is truly a celebration of our organization’s focus, vision, and resilience that not only navigated the pandemic, but ensured that we would be prepared to deliver the events that the residents of Brampton love and come to expect of us.” The weekend schedule showcases the festival’s annual mission and commitment to highlighting multicultural influence in jazz music, while featuring award-winning artists, Brampton-based ensembles and emerging talent. More than 60% of the bands performing over the festival’s two-day schedule are ensembles and musicians based in Brampton. “Considering how many musicians and technicians were without employment throughout the pandemic, the World of Jazz Festival is a wonderful opportunity to ensure adequate compensation for these artists, including over 100 musicians, and over 20 audio/video technicians and graphic designers.

Live Community & Restaurant Performances

The admission-free World of Jazz Festival kicks off on Saturday, September 10th with 10 bands playing live at 7 different Brampton locations, including Gage Park from 10:00am-1:00pm and Long & McQuade Musical Instruments from 1pm-5pm. Acts include Brampton-based ensembles such as Enviro Drum, a group that strictly uses recyclable products as percussion instruments and The Sidemen, playing jazz standards and original music. In addition, there will be live restaurant performances for lunch from
11am-1pm at Segovia Coffee Co featuring Ricky Franco singing Salsa hits, as well as Dinner Jazz from 6pm-8pm, featuring Sharifa Headley singing Samba and Bossa Nova at Mt. Vesuvio’s Ristorante, Antonio Cocuzzo’s guitar duo project at Fanzorelli’s, and Irie Vibes playing Reggae and Jazz Fusion at Lot 25 from 7pm-9pm. Keenan’s Irish Pub hosts Joe’s Jazz Jam, an annual festival tradition featuring a house band and visiting jamming musicians, starting at 9pm.

FREE Outdoor Performances & Family Fun Zone, Sunday September 11th

Gage Park plays host to 2 stages, starting at 1pm on Sunday, September 11th, featuring free, outdoor performances until 8pm in the park. Highlights include 905 Mambo Train, an 18-piece Latin Jazz Orchestra performing arrangements of the music of the orchestras of Tito Puente, Machito, Mario Bauza, and more. Then catch Swing Toronto, a dance troupe dancing the Lindy Hop, Charleston, and other dances from the ’20’s & ’30’s, backed by the Savoy Band. At 5pm, the Dan Bodanis Big Band performs a tribute to Frank Sinatra featuring award-winning vocalist Carlo Berardinucci and the classic big band arrangements of the Count Basie Orchestra that launched the careers of both Sinatra and Basie. Closing out the festival is Oakland Stroke, a 10-piece band based out of Toronto that plays the hits of Tower of Power, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Gage Park will also host food vendors throughout the day, a Family Fun Zone presented by Algoma University, which will feature face painting, balloon twisting, costume characters, a video game truck, and even a LEGO building zone and to top it off, Medix College will be offering free back massages to festival goers at their tent in the park!
“The 2022 World of Jazz Festival clearly has something for everyone to enjoy,” says Joe Asensio, Executive Director of B-Jazzed. “To be able to offer all of these amenities, in addition to world-class, admission-free musical performances right here in Downtown Brampton is not only an honour for B-Jazzed, but a great privilege for the residents of Brampton.”

Community Support

Key to the festival celebrating its sixth anniversary has been the renewed support of the City of Brampton’s Marquee Festivals & Events Fund. This annual municipal investment has allowed the event to grow in capacity and has demonstrated the city’s commitment to the existence of an annual jazz festival. Along with federal grant support from Canadian Heritage, B-Jazzed was elated to receive a 2022 Reconnect Ontario Grant from the Government of Ontario and was recognized recently for this achievement by Brampton Centre MPP Charmaine Williams. New and returning local sponsors include the Downtown Brampton BIA, JN Realty, Long & McQuade Musical Instruments, DUCA Credit Union and Jazzamco, a local advocate for the arts in Brampton.

For the full lineup of musicians, performances, and locations, please visit www.worldofjazz.ca.
Subscribe to the B-Jazzed newsletter at worldofjazz.ca, and follow @worldofjazzfest on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on the latest Festival news.

For further information:
Victoria Miele | Media Relations | admin@b-jazzed.ca | 416-464-0329