While the Toronto Jazz Festival will feature some top names over its 10-day run, experts say this is also a chance for Torontonians to both expand their musical horizons and explore their city.

"Aretha Franklin and Dave Brubeck -- you're not going to get two better shows than that," said Tom Tytel, who books acts for the Rex Hotel, one of Toronto's top jazz venues.

Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, opened the festival Friday night. The 69-year-old sang for a crowd of thousands at David Pecaut Square on King Street West.

Brubeck, a 91-year-old pianist, is best known for the piece "Take Five." He performed Friday at the acoustically excellent Royal Conservatory of Music's Koerner Hall, located at 273 Bloor St. W.

Franklin and Brubeck aren't the only big names who will be gracing the event's stages.

Festival artistic director Josh Grossman is hotly anticipating the jazz super ensemble Return to Forever IV, comprising pianist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White and guitarist Frank Gambale with special guest violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.

All are outstanding performers in their own right, with Clarke putting on a great show at the 2010 festival, Grossman said.

Return To Forever is the latest installment of a jazz-rock fusion collaboration that first began in the late 1970s. "It's very high energy, really kind of explosive," he said.
 
Other big names include:

  • Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
  • Dave Holland Quartet
  • Bootsy Collins
  • Jessye Norman
  • Stax! Featuring Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and Eddie Floyd
  • The Roots
  • Los Lobos
  • Nikki Yanofsky
  • Branford Marsalis

Grossman said the festival will be the world-premiere venue for a new album by saxophonist Marsalis and his long-time pianist Joey Calderazzo -- "Songs of Mirth and Melancholy." That performance is to take place on June 29 at 8 p.m. in Koerner Hall.

"It's a beautiful album. It moves between the worlds of jazz and classical music -- and everything in between," he said. "In Koerner Hall, it's going to sound stunning."

Tytel noted that Marsalis played the festival last year with a quintet, but people going this year shouldn't expect to hear the same music.

While many will be drawn to the main stage, both Tytel and Grossmen said people should look beyond that for interesting acts.

The Grandmasters series at the Glenn Gould Studio, located at John and Front Street West, will feature some hot young pianists such as Jacky Terrasson and Vijay Iyer.

"These (players) are really tearing it up, and as far as I'm concerned, really represent where the music is going," Grossman said.

For those who want to more deeply explore jazz, he recommends the Incubator series of seven concerts at the Music Gallery, located in St. George the Martyr Church at 197 John St.

"The musicians that are featured … all push the boundaries a little bit more," he said, adding they might fit well into a "hidden gem" category.

Grossman also recommends Atomic, comprised of five musicians from Sweden and Norway. He also mentioned the Gord Grdina Trio from Vancouver and Trio M from the United States.

An off-the-wall choice for the festival is musician-comedian Reggie Watts, who does improvisational sets using only his voice and a looping machine. He might be familiar to fans of talk show host Conan O'Brien.

"This guy is brilliant," Grossman said. "One of the essential elements of jazz is improvisation. Reggie is able to do that in his comedy, but also in his playing when he's on stage. I think it's a great fit for a jazz festival."
 
Local talent at the festival includes:

  • Dubmatix, a reggae, dub and electro DJ, who will be opening for the Spanish Harlem Orchestra
  • DJ John Kong, who will be opening for the Roots
  • 5 after 4, opening for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
  • Singer Molly Johnson and the Count Basie Orchestra

The festival will offer free shows every day at noon and 5:30 p.m. "We almost exclusively feature local talent at these shows," Grossman said, adding it's a way to raise the exposure of talented local artists.

The festival will feature 350 concerts and 1,500 musicians performing at more than 40 venues.

Grossman said if a person isn't a knowledgeable jazz fan, they should rally to the Hub at David Pecaut Square and catch some of the free acts and the 2 p.m. workshops, where jazz will be discussed.

"It's a great way to get a vibe for the festival," he said. "You'll be able to pick up on what people are excited about seeing."

Grossman said the festival has put a lot of work into its festival website, including the artistic director's guide to the festival. In it, Grossman offers a blog with his own thoughts about various artists and why you should see them. He says the blog goes beyond the usual bio and focuses on "what I think is special about the artist."

Tytel, whose bar isn't officially affiliated with the festival but has its own special programming, recommended exploring the different venues as a way to explore both music and the city -- and to check out Jazz 91.1 FM for festival tips.

He recommended treating the festival as a voyage of discovery -- one that should be approached with an open mind.

"With a rock show, you go expecting to hear a song played exactly the same way on the album. This is completely different," Tytel said.

But if you accept that difference, you might just hear some music that will leave you blown away, he said.