Check out some photos of some of the first few days of the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, courtesy of our wonderful volunteer photography crew!

JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ CANCELED
We regret to announce that, due to a family emergency, José González has canceled his Canadian tour and will not be appearing at the Jazz Winnipeg Festival.

Tickets that were purchased by phone or online will be refunded automatically. Tickets that were purchased in person must be returned to the Jazz Winnipeg office (007-100 Arthur St.) for a refund.

KIND OF BLUE AT 50
with Jimmy Cobb's So What? Band
with John Stetch TV Trio
Monday, June 29
8:00 pm
*NEW VENUE* West End Cultural Centre

Legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb's tribute to Miles Davis' timeless recording Kind of Blue  will now be taking place at the West End Cultural Centre. The newly-renovated venue opened last month with an expanded capacity and a new state-of-the-art sound system.

Tickets purchased for this event at the Manitoba Theatre Centre will be honoured at the new venue, but please be advised that all seats are now rush seating.

In other news, we regret to announce that, due to illness, bassist Buster Williams will no longer be performing with The So What? Band. Buster will be replaced by John Webber.

ELIZABETH SHEPHERD ADDED TO JILL BARBER BILL
Sunday, June 28
8:00 pm
West End Cultural Centre

We also regret that, due to injury, Jeanette Lindstrom will be unable to open for Jill Barber on Sunday, June 28.

However, we are pleased to announce that Elizabeth Shepherd will be filling in on the bill. Shepherd is a vocalist/pianist from Toronto who was one of the hits of last year's festival, and will be in town performing with Jane Bunnett's Embracing Voices.

We are thrilled to report that it was announced Monday that three of this year's Jazz Winnipeg Festival artists are in the running for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize.

The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on solely artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 and includes a $20,000 cash prize.

Of the 40 artists that made the list, Jill Barber, Beast, and Land of Talk are all performing at this year's festival.

Along with dozens of other amazing performers, the Groove-FM Jazz Winnipeg Festival is your chance to see some of Canada's most critically-acclaimed artists!

Congratulations to Jill Barber, Beast, Land of Talk, and all of this year's nominees!

Lots of great acts desend on Manchester, TN this weekend for the Bonnaroo Festival. Now in its 8th year, the festival has got such great acts as Bruce Springsteen, The Beastie Boys, Wilco, TV on the Radio, Erykah Badu, and dozens more on stage. And while a lot of us up here aren't lucky enough to make the trip down, we here at the Jazz Winnipeg Festival take comfort in knowing that a couple of Bonnaroo performers, Al Green and Vieux Farka Touré, will be heading up to play our festival afterwards!

For those of you taking the trip to Tennessee, have a blast! For the rest of you, check out Al Green and Vieux Farka Touré here at the Jazz Winnipeg Festival for a little taste of this year's Bonnaroo!

Al Green, along with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, plays the Jazz Winnipeg Festival on June 30th at the Centennial Concert Hall.

Vieux Farka Touré, with guests NAfro Band, plays the Pyramid Cabaret on June 26th.

Tickets for both shows are available online HERE.

Vieux Farka Touré, son of legendary Malian blues legend Ali Farka Touré, is making a name for himself.

His new album, Fondo, released on Six Degrees Records on May 26th, is a stirring combination of traditional instruments and modern production. "Black African rock" is how Touré describes the koroboro sound that he and his band turn out in their high energy performances.

He will perform at the Pyramid Cabaret on Friday, June 26 as part of the Club Series with Nafro Band opening up the evening. Check out the video for a taste of Vieux Farka Touré's unique sound.

For more on Vieux Farka Touré click here.