The Saskatchewan Jazz Festival (branded as the

SaskTel Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Canadian crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provincial government, it provides wireline and wireless communicati ...

Saskatchewan Jazz Festival for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

held in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. Established in 1987, it has largely been held at the gardens of the

Delta Bessborough The Delta Hotels Bessborough, formerly and commonly known as the Bessborough (), is a historic hotel in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The hotel is within the Central Business District, a commercial district in Saskatoon. The Bessborough was des ...

hotel in Saskatoon, and features performers representing many genres—but particularly

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

Concerts

The event features live performances from various locations in downtown Saskatoon; two of the festival's main locations have been the

hotel (which hosts the ticketed " TD Mainstage" events), and Victoria Park along the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

, which hosts events that are free to attend. Other festival venues have included the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Awards

The Special Recognition Award is awarded for making significant contributions to Jazz of Saskatchewan or Canada. Since 1989 musicians, educators, or supporters have received this award.

History

The first sponsor of the Jazz festival was du Maurier Ltd, and the festival was only held in Saskatoon for a short run of only 5 days. Saskatoon, Regina,

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...

, and Prince Albert are various venues which include performances. 2003 there was also performances held in

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...

. 2006 saw the 20th anniversary of the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival and was recorded as the second largest jazz festival of Western Canada with attendance of over 40000. The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The event returned for 2021, although downsized with only Canadian talent due to travel restrictions. In 2022, the festival moved its free programming to Saskatoon's downtown Victoria Park, including Canada Day festivities headlined by country musician

Tenille Arts Tenille Jade Dakota Arts (born April 19, 1994) is a Canadian country music singer from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She released a self-titled extended play and her debut studio album '' Rebel Child'' with 19th & Grand Records before signing a joint ...

. In 2023, citing economic conditions and a pivot to provide a streamlined event with more free programming, it was announced that the events held at Bessborough would be moved to Victoria Park.

References

External links

SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival

The 21st Annual SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival First Shows Go ...

News Release – Canada's New Government Supports Saskatchewan Jazz ...

Spirit of Vancouver – October 30, 2003 – TD Canada Trust Announces ...
{{coord , 52.1260, N, 106.6581, W, display=title Festivals in Saskatoon Jazz festivals in Canada Music festivals in Saskatchewan Summer festivals Recurring events established in 1992