Jazz Fest highlights: Naïka, Payton & Butcher Brown, Marvin Caleb tonight
Three standout shows across the festival Monday evening: pop-soul from Miami-raised Naïka, a Miles Davis and Coltrane reimagining, and Caribbean afro-pop from Montreal's Marvin Caleb.
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The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal is rolling tonight with performances from emerging and established artists spanning soul, jazz reinterpretation, and Caribbean-rooted contemporary music.
At 6 p.m., Montreal's own Marvin Caleb takes the Scène Club Montréal Loto-Québec stage. The Guadeloupean-born songwriter blends zouk, dancehall, afro-pop, and néo-soul, drawing from his Caribbean heritage on recent microalbums Smiley Days and Siwo Boy. Caleb is back at the festival for his second appearance after a late-night set in 2024, and is among 13 artists vying for the Révélations Radio-Canada 2026-2027 award. The show is free.
At 9:30 p.m., Naïka takes the Scène TD stage. Born in Miami to a Haitian mother with Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese roots and a French father who grew up in Madagascar, Naïka draws influence from everywhere. She sings in English, French, and Creole, blending pop with soulful, anthemic R&B. Her debut album ECLESIA dropped in February. Free admission.
At 9 p.m., Club Soda hosts a special pairing: two-time Grammy-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton and the jazz quintet Butcher Brown present A Supreme Blue, a reimagined assembly of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's Love Supreme. Three of the nine tracks from the album are already available online, with the full album dropping July 24. Festival attendees will hear the ensemble a few days early.
