[Montreal] Upstairs will move into the Maison du Festival de Jazz!

Le Quartier des spectacles welcomes Joel Giberovitch and Upstairs!
Upstairs will move into the Maison du Festival de Jazz!

Montreal, Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - Organizers of the Festival International de Jazz de Montrˆ©al are happy to announce that, next year, Montreal's own authentic Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill will move into the future Maison du Festival de Jazz, and celebrated jazz-club owner, Joel Giberovitch, is officially joining their team. Beginning in May 2009, Joel Giberovitch will hold the position of Director of Operations for shows and restaurant services at the resto-grill and the Maison Festival de Jazz, which, inaugurated in time for the 30th anniversary of the biggest jazz festival on the planet, will become the jazz temple in Montreal. Joel Giberovitch will make sure to bring with him, not only his expertise and passion for jazz, but his executive chef Juan Barros and personnel and, of course, the very soul of Upstairs, breathing new life into this brand new hot spot for jazz at the heart of Montreal's effervescent cultural scene: the old Blumenthal building in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles.

With a mission to promote jazz 364 days a year, Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill will now enjoy an expanded space and a synergy with the Maison du Festival de Jazz and the Festival, giving it new possibilities for international promotion¬óand that's excellent news for the local jazz community.

Joel Giberovitch joined Upstairs in 1995. After a few years of operating the business, he realized that Montreal was in need of a Jazz venue, with live music as the heart and soul of the club. For inspiration, he took a trip to New York and returned with the vision that we now know as the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill, an institution in Montreal offering a blend of great live jazz 364 days a year, tasty food, cool ambiance and friendly, efficient service. The programming at Upstairs showcases our Montreal musicians as well as national and international acts. Over the past 13 years, Upstairs has presented more than 500 great artists such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jeff Healy, Sheila Jordan, Dave Liebman, David Binney, Mark Murphy, Ranee Lee, Sonny Greenwich, Lorraine Desmarais, Alain Caron, Franˆßois Bourassa, and many, many, more. Joel Giberovitch and the Festival International de Jazz de Montrˆ©al share a vision: to provide Montreal with a premier Jazz Club with an international presence.

Keep in mind that the Maison du Festival de Jazz¬óan extraordinary gift from the Quˆ©bec government for the 30th anniversary of the Festival¬ówith its jazz club and expanded-capacity Upstairs, complete with an attractive terrace smack dab in the middle of the Quartier des spectacles, will serve as a year-round performance venue, a hall of fame, a gallery and permanent exhibition space, and an important audiovisual documentation centre for preserving and protecting the Festival's musical heritage. The international-calibre promotion venue for jazz and musical practice will be open to the public and is sure to become a major tourist attraction in Montreal and its Quartier de spectacles. And the seven-storey building next to the future Place des festivals will also meet the long-term requirements of producing the Festival, providing adequate premises for welcoming the press as well as technical and logistical command centres, which could in turn be used by other festivals operating in the adjacent public space.