Ottawa Jazz Festival
4 reviews 294 Albert St Suite 602, Ottawa, ON +1 613-241-2633 www.ottawajazzfestival.com suggest an edit
03 July 2023 19:00
OJF 2022
The jazz fest was absolutely amazing! It was such a great atmosphere and the line up was fantastic. I'll go back to this festival year after year.
I definitely recommend checking out concerts both at the outdoor stages and the indoor stages at the NAC. You'll get to see a lot of different kinds of music that way. Also check out the late night jamming sessions at Grill 41! I didn't expect to see such great musicians there too.
Out of the 18 shows I saw at the OJF this year, I would say that the best were Julian Lage Trio, Tord Gustavsen Trio, Kamasi Washington, and the Punch Brother, in that order. If you have the opportunity to see any of these musicians at any venue (Julian in particular), definitely jump on it!
OJF 2023 (UPDATE)
While I didn't think this years line-up was quite as good as the previous year, I still thoroughly enjoyed the 2023 jazz fest! My general note was that if you are attending the jazz fest to listen to more real jazz music and less there for the atmosphere/big names, try to catch the indoor shows at the NAC. While I enjoyed Feist, Lord Huron, etc.immensely on the main stage, they aren't really what I would expect at the jazz fest.
The jazz fest was absolutely amazing! It was such a great atmosphere and the line up was fantastic. I'll go back to this festival year after year.
I definitely recommend checking out concerts both at the outdoor stages and the indoor stages at the NAC. You'll get to see a lot of different kinds of music that way. Also check out the late night jamming sessions at Grill 41! I didn't expect to see such great musicians there too.
Out of the 18 shows I saw at the OJF this year, I would say that the best were Julian Lage Trio, Tord Gustavsen Trio, Kamasi Washington, and the Punch Brother, in that order. If you have the opportunity to see any of these musicians at any venue (Julian in particular), definitely jump on it!
OJF 2023 (UPDATE)
While I didn't think this years line-up was quite as good as the previous year, I still thoroughly enjoyed the 2023 jazz fest! My general note was that if you are attending the jazz fest to listen to more real jazz music and less there for the atmosphere/big names, try to catch the indoor shows at the NAC. While I enjoyed Feist, Lord Huron, etc.immensely on the main stage, they aren't really what I would expect at the jazz fest.
29 June 2023 19:00
Ridiculous how badly volunteers are treated! First time trying to volunteer and never heard back after the first meeting! Never again! Very bad first impression!
26 June 2023 19:00
Went to see Melody Gardot. Had premium seats front row. Photographers blocked the view for the entire first song. Irritating. Some tried to crouch down so as not to block the view but others didn’t bother. They need to be relegated to the sides of the stage. Concert was awesome despite the photographers and the torrential rains. Melody kept performing until she was asked to stop due to lightening.
23 June 2023 19:00
Terrible sound quality. Massive distortion. Speakers and amps driven past saturation.