Brian Setzer

Since his debut with the Stray Cats in the early 80s, Brian Setzer has remained true to his initial inspiration. While he created a big band in the 90s, Setzer has always kept a firm toehold in rock and roll. A generous and charismatic showman, his shows have been singled out for their intensity. In 1994, flanked by a large orchestra that would rival that of Count Basie, he treated fans at the Festival to an anthology concert. Sixteen years later, the Brian Setzer Orchestra was called upon to play the opening outdoor concert at Place des Festivals.

George Benson

George Benson started out his recording career as a singer at age 11, but he first made his mark a little later as a guitar player, accompanying the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. In the 1970s, he launched a successful solo venture which saw him embrace pop-oriented material. Relying on his soul-tinged voice, Benson made quite a splash in the charts. In the early 1990s, the musician started revisiting his jazz roots. Recording with the Count Basie Orchestra, he came up with Big Boss Man, one of his better efforts. A man partial to great events, he celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Festival with B.B. King at the old Forum in 1989. A tasty collection of covers, Songs and Stories came out in 2009.

Popa Chubby

Popa Chubby (Theodore Joseph Horowitz, born 31. March 1960 in New York) is a New York blues singer and guitar player. His angry and aggressive style of blues is influenced heavily by Willie Dixon. Like Jerry Lewis, he is more popular in France than the U.S. His parents owned a candy store on the corner of 181st Street and Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. His early memories of hearing the juke box playing the hits of early sixties soul and R&B – and the neighborhood teens flocking around it – made a lasting impression on him. To this day the musical influence of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye are ever present in Popa’s music.

Pat Metheny

This lion-maned American guitarist emerged on the scene in the 1970s. An adventurous multi-instrumentalist, he has sampled almost every genre, collaborated with many other artists and has never been afraid to explore and experiment with new technology. Much loved by his fans and respected by his peers, he continues to leave his personal mark on the jazz world with his signature style.

John Scofield

Active since the 1970s and highly visible from the early 1980s onward, when he was a sideman for Miles Davis, jazz guitar great John Scofield continues to grow as an artist, producing some of his most timeless work 30 years into his career. One of the principal innovators of modern jazz, the musician, composer and arranger has crafted a distinctive sound that falls somewhere between post-bop, fusion and funk. His more than three dozen albums are testament to the stylistic chameleon's inexhaustible musical curiosity.

Shane Murphy

Of Irish descent, the Canadian-born Murphy has performed and gigged at over 1,000 shows across North America since first hitting the local Montreal music scene in 1996. He has been requested as the opener for Grammy award winner Adele, April Wine, Grammy winning British Reggae band Steel Pulse, Our Lady Peace, among others. Murphy has appeared at dozens of local and internationally attended festivals including Canada’s premier showcase for best new music, the 2008 North by Northeast conference, as well as the world renowned Festival International de Jazz de Montreal in 2006.

Pat the White

Patrick Leblanc (Pat The White) is an award winning blues/Rock Jam Band from the Gaspé region of Québec. Pat’s influences include all the great Blues Guitarists from BB King to Albert Collins. Pat’s most recent influences include Duane Allman, Derek Trucks & Warren Haynes. In 2003 & 2004 Pat was awarded the Montreal Blues Society Lysblues Award for “Best Live Performance.”

Harry Manx Band

Bridging East and West, the "Mysticssippi" bluesman Harry Manx fuses classical Indian music with Southern blues. Born in Isle of Man and raised in Canada, he honed his world sound as a traveling musician, playing on street corners, in cafes and at festivals. Manx has since released seven albums in six years, starting with Dog My Cat in 2001, which won Best Blues Album of the Year at the Canadian Independent Music Association. In 2007, he released the roots inspired In Good We Trust. An enthusiastic live performer, Manx plays sitar, banjo, harmonica and lap steel guitar.

Coco Montoya

Although he grew up on a steady diet of rock n' roll, Coco Montoya broadened his musical palette in the mid-1970s when he started playing the blues. The young musician, a drummer at the time, was taken under the wing of the "Master of the Telecaster" Albert Collins, who brought him on tour and taught him blues guitar from scratch. In 1985, Montoya joined John Mayall's legendary Bluesbreakers band, filling a spot once held by Eric Clapton. In the mid-1990s, the guitarist launched a solo career with his debut, Gotta Mind to Travel. In 2007, he released his sixth album, Dirty Deal, on Alligator Records. I Want It All Back followed in 2010.

David Reinhardt

Grandson of the great Django Reinhardt and son of Babik, David Reinhardt was born in Longjumeau, France in 1986. He made his first stage appearance as a guitar player in 1993 at the age of 6, accompanied by his father Babik in a tribute to Django at the Django d'or. Without any concerns for the pressures that might come with such a namesake, David Reinhardt has carried out his family tradition with grace and a style all his own. After the passing of his father in 2001, he naturally took on his role in Christian Escoudé's Trio Gitan. With his David Reinhardt Trio, he has graced the stage of countless jazz events worldwide, including Philips Dubaï International Jazz Festival, Festival Internazionale Jazz Manouche de Turin and Le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

Zeb Heintz

At age 14, Sébastien "Zeb" Heintz started playing the guitar. Two years later, he was already performing in clubs around his native Strasbourg. He absorbed blues guitar techniques such as picking and slide, along with harmony improvisation, while studying at the Centre Musical Créatif de Nancy. In 1996, Heintz moved to Boston to record his debut album,Talkin' to Your Soul, under the newly formed Zeb and the Blues Machine. Another album and two-year touring period later, he joined Doo the Doo in 1998. Awarded best guitarist at the 2001 Euroblues, Heintz founded soul-jazz band SNAP in 2005. His solo effort Straight from the Heart came out in 2009.

Andy McKee

Self-taught guitarist Andy McKee is today considered one of the world's finest acoustic fingerstyle guitarists and soloists. Born in Kansas in 1979, McKee shot to fame in 2006 after a YouTube video of his guitar playing earned him over 78 million plays. His career was instantly launched soon after with a sold-out international tour. Since 2001, McKee has released five best-selling independent solo albums and has recorded with Grammy-nominated artist Josh Groban on his multi-platinum Christmas album Noel. Because of his unique skills and two-handed technique, Acoustic Guitar Magazineawarded McKee with a worldwide silver medal for fingerstyle in December 2008. The Common Ground EP came out in 2009.

Charlie Hunter

Prolific guitarist, composer and bandleader Charlie Hunter has released nearly 20 albums in over 15 years. He is widely regarded as one of today's leading seven-string and eight-string guitarists, thanks in part to his unique and masterful technique and improvisational skills. Hunter learned guitar during his teen years, taking lessons from none other than Joe Satriani. After a brief stay in Paris at 18, he joined political rap group The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. 

The following year, he formed his own jazz trio, and released his first album as a leader. An active and generous musician, he has worked with countless artists, namely DJ Logic, Greg Osby, Mike Clark and Norah Jones. In 2009, Hunter releasedGentlemen, I Neglected to Inform You, You Will Not Be Getting Paid. Matt Schofield

Stéphane Carreau

One half of acclaimed Montréal bossa nova duo Bet.e & Stef, singer-songwriter Stéphane Carreau studied guitar in Paris, under none other than Christiane Legrand - sister of legendary French composer Michel. Later in Montréal, he formed internationally renowned duo Bet.e & Stef. The pair released two platinum-selling albums of Latin classics, with 1997's Jazz/Bossa Nova and 2002's Day by Day. After parting ways with Bet.e, Carreau worked as a sound engineer in the home studio he built, before deciding to make a bold step and write - as well as sing - his own songs. In 2010, he released In from the Cold, a long awaited solo début, with the help of drummer Tony Albino (Pierre Lapointe), percussionist Sacha Daoud (Cirque du Soleil, Paulo Ramos) and ex-Bootsauce bassist Al Baculis. Special thanks to montrealjazzfest.com, last.fm, and Wikipedia.org

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