Established in 1987, Toronto Downtown Jazz exists to promote the art of jazz and engage a diverse public through an internationally-renowned organization devoted to year round activities and initiatives.

Our largest event each season is the Toronto Jazz Festival. What began in 1987 as an eight day showcase of jazz has become known as one of North America’s premier jazz festivals, with ten full days of free admission and ticketed performances across the city.

Each year the Festival presents over 100 concerts, the majority in free admission settings, primarily featuring local and Canadian artists, along with outstanding international visiting artists - the top musicians from at home and abroad. Festival programming is rounded out by a suite of educational and outreach initiatives, as we seek to foster and develop new generations of jazz musicians and supporters.

The Toronto Jazz Festival has become a destination event, not just for music lovers but for some of the greatest jazz celebrities in the world, reinforcing its reputation as a leader in artistic excellence and outstanding production standards. As we prepare for our 40th anniversary in 2027, your support can play an important role in expanding the Festival, and helping us to achieve our goal of adding regular year-round programming to our activities.

Since 1987, Toronto Downtown Jazz has:

• Presented over 35,000 artists, 85% of whom were Canadian
• Presented over 3,400 free public events
• Contributed over $580 million to the GTA economy
• Been blessed with over 71,000 hours contributed by volunteers
• Welcomed 12 million people to the Festival