The largest jazzfestival in the world is the Montreal International Jazzfestival in Quebec, Canada, which attracted 1,913,868 people to celebrate its 25th anniversary in July 2004. The Java JazzFestival has been held for about 10 years in Jakarta, Indonesia. This event takes place every March and is considered to be the largest jazzy festival in the southern hemisphere. The jazz-festivals in Java feature popular Indonesian jazz-artists such as Yura Yunita and international jazz-artists such as Arturo Sandoval and Stevie Wonder. Just those three names, it's worth traveling from anywhere to see them.
The Montreal International Jazzfestival is held annually from June to July in the city of Montreal. It has been a continuous jazzy festival since the early 1980s and has broken the world record, holding the Guinness World Record of 2004 as the busiest jazzfestival entertaining more than two million people. It has more than 3000 artists from more than 30 countries who perform in more than 650 concerts. The festival is held on 20 stages, including free indoor concert halls and outdoor stages.
During the jazzfestival, parts of Montreal are closed for ten days from noon to midnight to allow several outdoor shows to be held at different locations at the same time. Some of the outdoor stages are located on cordoned off streets and in parking lots. An alternative festival is known as “the Montreal Off JazzFestival” is also held annually in Montreal. This Canadian festival based in Montreal includes numerous international jazzy performances, all of them held at the Montreal Civic Center.
Montreal's first blues and jazzfestival known as the “Rising Sun Festijazz"was founded by Rouè-Doudou Boicel in 1978. From May 10, 1980, a Montreal Jazzfestival was organized, with funding from Alain de Grosbois of CBC Stereo and Radio-Québec. Every year, in addition to hiring international jazzy icons as headliners, the festival also appoints an artist in residence. Now in its eighteenth edition, the Rochester International JAZZ Festival has grown to host more than 320 shows during its week's duration, including a record of more than 100 free shows and more than 1,500 artists from around the world performing in 20 diverse venues in downtown Rochester, New York. This creates a new and unique type of jazzy that can only be found at the Berlin XJAZZ Festival, so for jazz-fans of the younger generation and for those who enjoy the evolution of jazz—head to Berlin, Germany, in May.
It seems that this festival is where the best artists and the best fans come together to share their love of jazz. Lucia Jazz&Art Festival held in May, in case you want to continue traveling and enjoying other islands in the Caribbean. And since 1979, the Copenhagen Jazzfestival has highlighted the city's vibrant music scene. Now in its sixth decade, the festival offers 20 acres of magnificent oak-lined grounds for fans to enjoy, with movies, conferences, exhibitions, food and drinks, an international shopping bazaar and 8 live jazzy entertainment stages.
The live music of jazzs' biggest names, along with the coastal beauty of Fort Adams, make this a festival that should be on the bucket list of any serious jazzy fan. Throughout its more than 40 years of history, the Atlanta Jazzfestival has been the scene of music legends such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone. For this year's edition, the festival has moved to The Gunnery in Washington, Connecticut, a movement that coincides with the conclusion of the four-week Litchfield Jazzcamp. From legendary artists and family favorites to rising stars and new discoveries, the Rochester International Jazzfestival CGI navigates every genre of creative improvised music from every corner of the world.
This event is held at Coachman Park in Clearwater and features a combination of great artists and a wide variety of jazzy styles that are sure to inspire and delight jazzfans around the world. .