Jazz at the Fort Garry Hotel

presented by Jazz Winnipeg &

Upcoming shows

Please note that for this season of Jazz at the Fort Garry Hotel, online advance tickets are $20 + Showpass fees (total $22.14) or $25 at the door, if available.

Jazz at the Fort Garry HOTEL is located in The Club Room on the lower level of The Fort Garry Hotel. The venue is wheelchair accessible with assistance. Please inform the hotel's front desk staff if you'd like to use the elevator to access the lower level.

U of M Jazz Faculty Collective
Sunday, March 15 at 7 pm

Experience an evening of inspired, high-level jazz as members of the University of Manitoba Jazz Studies faculty come together for a special group performance at the Fort Garry Hotel.

Featuring Will Bonness, Karly Epp, Karl Kohut, John Challoner, and Fabio Ragnelli, this all-star lineup brings their distinct musical voices into one dynamic ensemble. While these musicians regularly shape the next generation of jazz artists in the classroom, it is rare to hear them assembled as a collective on the bandstand. This performance offers a unique opportunity to experience the full breadth of their artistry — spontaneous, interactive, and grounded in a deep appreciation for the jazz art form.

*Second show added!*

In A Sentimental Mood: Celebrating the Music of Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington
Sunday, March 22 at 3 pm & 7 pm (sold out)

Due to popular demand, a second matinee-seating of The Jazz Casuals present 'In A Sentimental Mood: Celebrating the Music of Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington' has been added on March 22 from 3-5 pm!

Join us for an evening of sultry ballads and blazing swing as The Jazz Casuals celebrate two of the most significant figures in Jazz history. 

Ella Fitzgerald's iconic voice makes any song an instant hit, and over the course of her nearly 60-year career she recorded quintessential versions of many classics, such as "Sentimental Journey," "Someone To Watch Over Me," and "Blue Skies." As a prolific bandleader, pianist, and composer, Duke Ellington penned thousands of songs, including "Mood Indigo," "Take The 'A' Train," and "Caravan," many of which are now considered jazz standards. Their first studio collaboration in 1957 began a long and musically fruitful relationship, spawning definitive recordings of many of Duke's masterpieces.

With an all-star ensemble of musicians from some of Winnipeg's most popular jazz groups (Dirty Catfish Brass Band, Ron Paley Big Band, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra), come be transported back to the glorious days of jazz, swing, and big bands!

The Jazz Casuals are Krista Herd - vocals; Jacob Herd - alto sax; Ava Maya - bari sax & bass clarinet; McKenzie Walpole - trumpet; Stormy Allen - trombone; Patrick Coyston - piano; Fred Warner - bass; Ben Roloff - drums

The River City Syncopators
Sunday, March 29 at 7 pm

Formed in 2021 by the multi-talented Jonathan Alexiuk, The River City Syncopators bring the sounds of The Jazz Age into the 21st century!

Too long confined to textbook footnotes, or over-compressed audio reissues, this band brings the high-energy, envelope-pushing arrangements of the 1920s dance bands back where they belong- on stage LIVE. With an eye to authenticity, one dozen local musicians of all ages and disciplines dedicate themselves to recreating the completely unique sound of this music - you won't hear this anywhere else!

Please note there is no Jazz at the Fort Garry show on April 5.

Casati - Unlikely Duets
Sunday, April 12 at 7 pm

“Winnipeg-based trio Casati’s effortless harmonies and rich chords stray from traditional jazz and folk music. It’s a shift away from tradition that traces the group’s journey towards a new, inviting sound”
- The Uniter

Winnipeg folk-jazz trio Casati, with guest vocalist Zachary Rushing, presents Unlikely Duets - an evening of less-familiar jazz standards and reimagined favourites.

Known for their unique sound and ability to fuse together contrasting genres, Grace Hrabi, Jesse Popeski & Quintin Bart will explore what makes a duet a duet - is it two people? Two musical ideas? Two more reasons to come hear Casati on April 12th at the Fort Garry Hotel!

“You would almost certainly love to see this trio live in a small-scale environment with a glass at your side. There’s a fresh openness to their singing that feels like a spring breeze.”
- AmericanaUK.com

Owen Clark Quintet - Stories from Musical Ghosts: The Jazz & Night Clubs of Winnipeg
Sunday, April 19 at 7 pm

Drawing from his acclaimed book Musical Ghosts, Winnipeg musician and historian Owen Clark brings Manitoba’s early jazz and dance-band era to life through music and storytelling. Joined by his quintet, Clark weaves together vivid stories of the musicians, bands, and venues that shaped the province’s jazz scene between the 1930s and 1970s, paired with live performances inspired by the sounds of the era.

Part concert, part oral history, Musical Ghosts: the Jazz & Night Clubs of Winnipeg offers audiences a rare glimpse into a rich musical legacy - resurrecting the characters, rhythms, and spirit of a time when jazz and dance music were at the heart of community life in Manitoba.

Featuring
Owen Clark - stories and percussion; Heitha Forsyth - vocals; Rick Boughton - piano; Nenad Zdjeler - bass; Rob Siwik - drums

Chickadee
Sunday, April 26 at 7 pm

Chickadee is a jazz quintet working on Treaty One territory. Inspired by jazz fusion visionaries like Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius as well as folk jazz innovators like Bela Fleck. Chickadee shows are exciting and varied; Chickadee is just as likely to play a fiddle tune as they are to play a modern fusion composition, finding ways to put both under the same banner and make it work.

Founded by bassist and composer Fred Warner, Chickadee is made up of Winnipeg musicians Paul Klassen, Tirian Plett, Nolan Gottfried, and Parker Beesley. They are currently working on their debut record of original compositions, with a release planned for Spring 2026.

Chet Breau Trio
Sunday, May 10 at 7 pm

As the saying goes, like father like son. Lenny Chet Breau is a virtuoso of the guitar, and a veteran of the Manitoban music scene.

Son of the legendary Lenny Breau, (once deemed by Chet Atkins as "…the greatest guitar player in the world"), Lenny Chet Breau Jr. began studying music under his father's guidance at just seven years of age. After graduating from the Los Angeles Musicians Institute of Technology, Lenny Jr. founded the Lenny Breau School of Music in Winnipeg, Canada.

When Lenny Jr. - most call him Chet - is not teaching, he is doing studio sessions and performing live concerts and radio shows. Performing alongside many of Canada’s finest musicians over the years, he has also had the opportunity to play with the likes of Randy Bachman and Joe Pass. In 2006 he released a full-length album, Lone Pine III, to critical acclaim, receiving four out of five stars from the Winnipeg Free Press. The album, a tribute to Lenny Sr., displays Chet’s mastery of a vast array of styles including jazz, flamenco, country, blues and fingerstyle guitar. His second album, a blues EP recorded with his newly formed band, The Lenny Chet Breau Band, was released in 2016. A follow-up jazz EP is currently in the works. 

Fabio Ragnelli
Sunday, May 17 at 7 pm

Originally from Toronto, Ontario, drummer Fabio Ragnelli is a JUNO Award-winning drummer and has been an in-demand sideman performing, recording, and touring with a number of artists over the last ten years.

Ragnelli has toured nationally and internationally, performing at venues such as Massey Hall, The Owl, Koerner Hall, Place des Arts, The 55 Bar, Cornelia St. Café, The National Arts Centre, SMOKE Jazz Club, The Cotton Club in Tokyo, Birldland, SF Jazz Center, The Blue Note Jazz Club, and has also performed at a number of jazz festivals including Haiti, Halmstad, Monterey, and Montreal, among others.

Fabio is the Assistant Professor of Jazz Drumset at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.