Feist, Jolie Holland And Femi Kuti Headline Montreal Jazz Festival

Blues? Check. Soul? Check. Hip-hop? Check. Techno? Check. Jazz? Uh, check.

That's right, like most mature music festivals, the Montreal International Jazz Festival has expanded and evolved beyond its purist roots to include every tangentially jazz-related style under the sun. In previous years, the fest has welcomed artists as diverse as Roni Size, Marianne Faithfull and The Kingpins, and this year's 26th edition is no different.

From Thursday, June 30 through Sunday, July 10, the Jazz Fest will fill concert halls, theatres and downtown streets, the free outdoor shows run from 11 a.m. to midnight. Among the highlights of the indoor shows, international indie pop sensation Feist plays the Spectrum on opening day, Thursday (6 p.m., $26.50). Apart from material from her landmark album Let It Die, the Calgary-born, Paris-based chanteuse will preview a pack of new tunes.

On Saturday at the Spectrum, renowned Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith will be joined by the Alex Cuba Duo, who take the classic Buena Vista sound into the future (6 p.m., $26.50).Sunday promises a triple shot of electronic groove with Bonobo, The Herbaliser and DJ Food at Metropolis, a must for Ninja Tune lovers (9 p.m., $28.50).

Make way for legendary Creole jazz man Dr. John on July 4, straight from Mississippi to Place Des Arts (6 p.m., $39.50-$54.50). It's Afro-beat night on July 6, when Nigeria's Femi Kuti continues to follow in his father Fela's footsteps. Local openers Afrodizz will pay tribute to Fela when the show kicks off at Metropolis (9 p.m., $26.50).

Jolie Holland, who co-founded Vancouver's The Be Good Tanyas, plays her sweet and sensual roots-music stew on July 7 at Club Soda (7 p.m., $26.50). July 8 sees legendary Canadian crooner Paul Anka playing his set of contemporary covers at Place des Arts, proving that not all things that happen in Vegas stay in Vegas. Canadian hip-pop rising star K-OS is the one to watch on July 9 at Metropolis, with opener Shawn Hewitt (9 p.m., $26.50).

Along with the usual glut of festive Dixieland and forlorn blues guitarists, the Jazz Fest's outdoor program promises its fair share of star power. Local world groove combo Dibondoko play the Loto-Quebec stage at 8 and 10 p.m. on Thursday.

Detroit-based funk-soul brother Amp Fiddler brings the groove to the Stella Artois stage at 10 p.m. on Friday.

On the TD/Canada Trust stage, Vanessa Rodrigues rocks her Hammond B3 (with guitar and drum backing) at 7 and 10 p.m. on Saturday.

Sunday finds Montreal's own Les Moonlight Girls paying tribute to '40s pop vocal trio The Andrews Sisters on the GM stage at 9 and 11 p.m.

Champion And His G-Strings promise to turn Ste-Catherine Street into a giant dancefloor as their guitar-based techno rolls off the GM stage as of 9:30 p.m. on July 5 (with vocals by Betty Bonifassi of Triplettes De Belleville fame).

On July 7, Israeli star Avshalom Farjun teams up with Eyal Sela to showcase the lovely strains of an ancient Arabic stringed instrument called the qanun, on the GM stage at 6:30 p.m. Over at the TD Canada Trust stage, Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards blow blues out of the water with a jazz barnstormer featuring Healey on trumpet and trombone, as well as guitar, on July 9 at 7 and 10 p.m.

On the final night of the festival, July 10, local "future beat" collective Kobayashi hit the Loto-Quebec stage at 8 and 10 p.m., bridging cool jazz and hip-hop to their heart's content. Note that all the outdoor stages are located between Ste-Catherine (south), President-Kennedy (north), Bleury (west) and St-Urbain (east).

For those who like it hot, take note that Club Soda hosts techno, electro and house DJs (plus one singer and one post-rock band) at midnight, every night of the festival. These include Brazilian Girls, Do Make Say Think, Four Tet, RJD2 and Akufen.

Have a look at the Jazz Festival site for more info and details, including the program for the Cinematheque Quebecoise's Cine-Jazz film festival. Bonjazz!