ABOUT US

Now in its 12th year, the Brantford International Jazz Festival has grown to be one of the largest and musically diverse festivals in the Brantford and Brant County region attracting upward of 28,000 people.

THE IDEA

The idea for Brantford International Jazz Festival originated in 2006 when local jazz musician Frank DiFelice heard of the revitalization plans for the Downtown core in Brantford and the plans for a plaza style town square with a built in amphitheatre. What a perfect venue this could be for a jazz festival. Having produced a successful jazz series – Brantford Downtown Jazz – for the previous 10 years. It seemed the perfect segue. And so with his partner and wife – jazz vocalist Nancy DiFelice and fellow jazz enthusiast – Peter MacNames , the Brantford International Jazz Festival Inc. was created as a not-for-profit corporation in March of 2008.

OUR VISION

The vision was to organize a festival to celebrate jazz and its culture and to promote awareness and appreciation for the many diverse forms of jazz. From its early roots in the Ragtime era to present day, jazz encompasses many distinctive styles. Some of which are: New Orleans jazz dating from the early 1910s, big band swing, Kansas City jazz and Gypsy jazz from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s and on down through West Coast jazz, cool jazz, avant-garde jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, Latin jazz in various forms, soul jazz, jazz fusion and jazz rock, smooth jazz, jazz-funk, punk jazz, acid jazz, ethno jazz, jazz rap, cyber jazz, Indo jazz, M-Base, nu jazz, urban jazz and other ways of playing the music.

So we invite you to make the trip to Harmony Square in Brantford, Ontario for some great music and good vibes. With over 23 bands providing continuous free music during the day, we know you will have the time of your life. Our Saturday night headliner is always a major attraction and not to be missed.