The final weekend of the 2023 Winnipeg Jazz Festival brought some amazing music to Old Market Square. Friday night was latin night and The Cube free stage was packed with dancers. Saturday night closed out the festival with a full day of amazing music. Check out all the amazing band we got to see this weekend.
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Canadian Jazz Club Series at the Royal Albert Arms
Continuing on from all the great music that started off this series, Friday night saw local pianist, and 2022 recipient of the Juno for Jazz Album of the Year, Will Bonness, take the stage. Joined by a fantastic quartet, Bonness was playing music from his latest album ‘Is This A Dream?’ Saturday night closed out the Canadian Jazz Club Series was two more great shows. Opening the night was Aline’s étoile magique, featuring one of Canada’s finest jazz violinists Alene Homzy. Following that show was the acclaimed pianist/compser Gentiane MG. MG has won a plethora of awards for her work including the OPUS Award for Discovery of the Year (2020), the CBC/Radio-Canada Jazz Award (2018), Francois-Marcaurelle de la GMMQ Award (2017), and her album Eternal Cycle was highlighted by CBC music as one of the 10 outstanding Canadian Jazz Albums of 2017.
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Latin Night at The Cube
Friday night is always the busiest night at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, and this year was no different. Latin night brought the party with five great bands. A stalwart of the local music scene, Marco Castillo & Brazilian kicked things off followed by local favourite The Mariachi Ghost. The evening continued with a stage full of percussion instruments with Son D’Aranke and then longtime local hero Papa Mambo. Vancouver’s Mazacote closed things out with hard-hitting latin music rooted in Columbia, Mozambique, and Venezula.
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Closing Out the Festival in Old Market Square
The final day at The Cube in Old Market Square started chill with the 10-piece Winnipeg Jazz Collective, but the party kicked off after that with the local soul cover band The Solutions. From Vancouver, the Mary Anchina Quartet blended jazz with funk and soul for a fun experimental set and Mauraine brought some high energy hip-hop as the sun went down. The night, and the festival, ended with local, and internationally acclaimed guitar god Ariel Posen, shredding our faces with his blend of rock, roots, and blues.
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