Dunlevy: Esperanza Spalding wraps 45th Montreal jazz fest with a breathtaking bang
As programming director Maurin Auxéméry reminded the audience beforehand, Spalding had not performed at the festival in several years. A quick Google search traced her last performance in our city back to — could it be? — 2013. Putting her on the main stage on the final evening was a generous gift to fans and curiosity-seekers alike.
'It's pretty cool the jazz festival got her here for us to listen to, for free — it's amazing,' said Teo Spencer, 37, based in Montreal, but originally from Vermont.
'She's politically informed,' he said of Spalding. 'She understands the jazz canon and can subvert it when she wants to. She's playing an interesting game and playing it well.'
With him was Avery Shoemaker, 29, originally from Minneapolis. The two had been sharing their appreciation of the jazz fest as a symbol of all that Canada has to offer in these turbulent times.
'We've been talking about public good, art being celebrated and beautiful things provided to people for free that you can just show up and enjoy,' Shoemaker said.
Jan Lawrence had been showing and enjoying the offerings on the jazz festival's free stages all week. The Tampa native caught three to four concerts a night for seven nights straight. Among her highlights were New Orleans showman Trombone Shorty, Nashville-based Montreal native Allison Russell, and Arkansas-born, Chicago-based queer singer-rapper Wic Whitney.
'It's been phenomenal, considering it's all free,' Lawrence said. 'The people, the atmosphere, and the quality of the shows — I would definitely do it again. It's so easy navigating the site, so clean for such a big event, and everything starts on time.'
With her was Montrealer Peter King, who accurately called the festival 'one of the highlights of summer' in the city.
It was a week of unpredictable weather and memorable performances. Among this critic's standouts were the opening free outdoor concert by soul legend Mavis Staples; Canadian country-rock heroes Blue Rodeo bringing the hits on the first Friday night; New York rapper Nas performing his classic 1994 debut Illmatic with an orchestra of Montreal musicians; actor Jeff Goldblum telling stories and playing piano for an enrapt crowd at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier; Brazilian jazz fusion throwbacks Azymuth jamming up a storm; Montrealers Russell and Men I Trust, the former in an impassioned homecoming and the latter casting a spell after thunder and lightning delayed their set by 30 minutes while a massive crowd of diehard fans stuck it out; Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayra Starr turning the festival grounds into one big pop party; and 101-year-old saxophonist Marshall Allen leading the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra.
And then there was Spalding. A musical phenomenon, she sang, played and bantered with the crowd, exuding joy, mischief and a strong moral compass.
She opened not on bass, but on piano, pounding out a barrage of dissonant chords on I Want It Now as she listed behaviours we could do without in this world, 'all kinds of things that need to be burned up to invite you into the beautiful, loving things that inspire.'
An informal poll conducted by this reporter earlier in the evening found many in attendance did not know Spalding's music, but it didn't take her long to pull everyone on board. People cheered as she started to sing in astonishingly nimble fashion while her fingers fluttered across her bass on I Know You Know, off her self-titled second album, from 2008.
This was jazz of the highest order — challenging, yet accessible, eminently entertaining and arrestingly beautiful. Goosebumps were felt.
Two modern dancers joined her on stage throughout the evening, enhancing the craft of the songs with evocative choreographies that tapped into other levels of perception.
Her voice soared, loud and clear, far and wide on Touch In Mind near set's end, eliciting a roar from the audience.
And that was the impressive thing on this perfect night. As out-there and otherworldly as Spalding got, people followed her every step of the way.
She closed the 90-minute performance with her rousing, rootsy 2018 ode to Black men, Black Gold, and a wish 'that one day this song won't be necessary.'
When she introduced her band, after, then introduced herself, a heartfelt cheer erupted. People kept cheering, and cheering, until she came back for an encore, proving on top of closing out the 45th Montreal International Jazz Festival with a breathtaking bang, Esperanza Spalding had just made herself tens of thousands of new fans.
This story was originally published July 6, 2025 at 11:31 AM.
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'(And) it would be good if there was more of a consensus about being out in the wildfire smoke.' If you value coverage of Manitoba's arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. 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