MUMBAI: For its 30th edition, the Montreal International Jazz Festival gave itself a facelift, but kept its grasp on the traditions that keep music lovers coming back every year.

Such contrasts always dominate the event, but perhaps that was even more true this year. The new-look festival played host to one of its most impressive lists of veteran players ever. The joy of seeing breakout artists truly arriving was tempered by the sad departure of the walking encyclopedia who defined jazz in this city. And, of course, the lousy weather, which defied the law of averages, was mostly overshadowed by brilliant performances.

There's no shortage of praise for the festival that has left all pretenders to the throne in the dust.

To see this festival grow – with six people in the office when I started here in 1980 – and what they've accomplished (is the exciting part),... said Oliver Jones, the 75-year-old dean of Montreal pianists. Everywhere I play in the world, musicians give me their bios to bring back to Montreal. Everyone wants to play here. I'm very proud of that....

Jones and guest Ranee Lee christened L'Astral, the intimate 350-seat venue in the new headquarters, Maison du Festival. L'Astral drew mostly enthusiastic reviews from press, public and performers.

It felt good for two reasons,... Jones said. Being a Montrealer, I knew the necessity of another jazz club. And with the amount of musicians in town now, their exposure should be more than 12 days a year. It's very elegant, the sound is good and it's just the right size....

While Jones was playing the new club, another 200,000 or so were squeezing into the new Place des Festivals to catch the festival-opening blowout by Stevie Wonder. Local pianist David Ryshpan, who included a version of Wonder's Visions on his latest disc with the Indigone Trio, got a more private audience.

At Wonder's media conference earlier that day, Ryshpan asked a question about songwriting. (Wonder) said, �We could talk about that all day. Let me answer everybody else's question and then we can hang later,' ... Ryshpan said. The superstar later regaled Ryshpan with such revelations as how I Can't Help It, which he co-wrote for Michael Jackson, was a takeoff on the bebop classic A Night in Tunisia.

Not surprisingly, the ghostly presence of Jackson, who died only days before the festival opened, made its way into a few halls. Artists as diverse as Toots and the Maytals, Ornette Coleman, the Miles from India ensemble, the reggae veterans at the Rocksteady blowout, the Harlem Gospel Choir and Florence K gave musical or verbal shout-outs to the late superstar. Our unofficial running count of Jackson props is now at 11, but that might not even scratch the surface.

The fact that jazz giants like Coleman would tip the hat to a pop singer speaks to one of the festival's great strengths: its musical diversity.

Ben Harper, who first played the festival in 1994 as an opening act for Colin James, said the scope of music being presented every year has been a specific help to jazz.

The finest jazz festivals, like the Montreal International Jazz Festival, always open the door to other styles of music, which I found incredibly exciting as a fan,... Harper said during a media conference Sunday before his closing-night free blowout on the GM stage.

I quickly realized the music that (co-founder) Andr?© (M?©nard) was bringing in outside of jazz was bringing new fans to jazz at the same time,... Harper said. It widened the fan base of jazz internationally. And Montreal has always been one of the greatest stages I've ever been able to present my music on....

Michael Bourne, senior writer for the jazz bible Downbeat, said the scope of music at the festival actually redefines jazz.

I remember writing a piece after seeing an electronic group at Club Soda,... Bourne said. I used to run from that kind of music, and all of a sudden, I realized that with their sampling and electronics, they were throwing riffs back and forth – just like the Basie band. That's the wonderful thing about this music: There are so many ways it can be played....

Bourne – who took his friend Tony Bennett to his favourite pizza place, Pizzedelic on St. Laurent Blvd., during the festival – reported that both Bennett, 82, and Dave Brubeck, 88, were delighted with their reception here this year.

Brubeck told me it's a serious jazz audience in Montreal,... Bourne said. He said, �You know you're going to have an audience full of sharp minds.' Tony Bennett got seven standing ovations. He said, �I could have sung until six in the morning and they would have stayed.' ...

Armando Ortiz of Horizonte, Mexico City's only round-the-clock jazz radio station, singled out the same two artists for special praise.

The big element of the Montreal festival is surprise,... Ortiz said. While in most years that would come from alternative music, this year it came from the traditional sources that we didn't expect. It was exciting to see Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck with the freshness and eagerness of 20-year-olds....

Leading local avant-garde saxophonist Jean Derome had special praise for another veteran, 81-year-old cool alto saxman Lee Konitz. It's always nice to see artists that are in fine form despite diminished physical resources,... Derome said.

There was an embarrassment of riches for everyone. Rockabilly cats and suburban couples got to jive in the aisles during the Brian Setzer Orchestra's concert; alternative-music lovers caught an enthusiastically received blowout by Patrick Watson, as well as acts like the Dears and cutting-edge electronica artists like Bonobo after midnight; reggae fans were treated to the unforgettable Rocksteady megashow; boomer folk-rockers saw a mellow and satisfying Jackson Browne performance and blues devotees got to see Buddy Guy at his very hottest.

In the end, more than ever, the big draw was the music that gave the festival its name – and even the 20-somethings got in on the act.

Today's jazz artists grew up on rock,... said Justin Wee, 23, who launched NextBop.com at the festival with Sebastien Helary, also 23. We found among our friends that it was very difficult to get young people interested in jazz if you start them with hard bop of the '50s. But they adore the Bad Plus, and that's their starting point into jazz....

The Bad Plus, who bring rock attitude to jazz, played the festival this year, as did Hiromi, whose hurricane-like keyboard stylings encompass prog-rock and fusion influences, along with some wonderful, more traditional-sounding approaches.

There's all kinds of hybrid music, but the core of the festival is real jazz,... said writer Karen Tina Harrison, who has come up for 14 of the last 15 fests. It's become an annual pilgrimage for jazz junkies throughout the world. It doesn't hurt that Montreal is a fantastic city – and so much friendlier than Paris!...

Important jazz milestones were part of the celebration, with 50-year anniversaries for the genre's two most well-known and widely praised albums: Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out. It was also the half-century anniversary of Ornette Coleman's free-jazz debut in Manhattan in 1959.

Coleman received this year's Miles Davis award (recognizing the work of influential jazz musicians) from festival organizers – an irony in that Davis, 50 years ago, said Coleman was psychologically screwed up....

The legendary Blue Note label also celebrated an anniversary at the festival – its 70th – with an exhibition of the label's iconic album covers and 13 concerts featuring Blue Note artists like Wynton Marsalis, Erik Truffaz, Bill Charlap and Joe Lovano.

Bruce Lundvall, the label's head for 25 years, was here to collect a new festival award for important non-musicians in the field – a prize named after him.

Trumpeter Enrico Rava, who performed with pianist Stefano Bollani on opening night, turns 70 along with Blue Note this year. But he's a tad less nostalgic about the label than others.

Obviously, there are masterpieces, with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock and others,... Rava said. But so much hard bop sounds the same. I'm moving soon and plan to reduce my Blue Note collection....

The Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill had been slated to move from its Mackay St. spot to the Maison du Festival this year. Those plans fell through, although the Soir?©es Jazz Upstairs series remained on the program – in the club's original location.

Club owner Joel Giberovitch explained that there was no falling out. I'm closer to (festival president) Alain (Simard) than ever before. It's simply that I listened to my regular customers who've gotten into the habit of coming here,... he said. I just didn't feel like leaving the area. Alain understood perfectly....

Upstairs is where Len Dobbin, Montreal's most knowledgeable and passionate jazz expert, spent his last evening. The writer, radio personality and keeper of the flame suffered a fatal stroke at the club on Wednesday. Like many others, festival co-founder M?©nard found it strangely fitting... that Dobbin died doing what he liked best: sitting in his favourite chair at the club, which he called the office,... at the ready for jazz.

No one who stopped to chat with Dobbin between shows, or waved to him on the way to a concert this year, could have guessed it would be for the last time. Len Dobbin always seemed like he would be at the festival forever.

Downbeat's Bourne, fittingly, waxed emotional when he talked about what keeps drawing him back.

I don't bother going to European festivals anymore,... he said. Coming to Montreal is like going to Europe without the jet lag. (The festival) keeps getting bigger and better, and the ?©quipe is the best I've seen in any festival. They make you feel like part of the family. These are my loved ones – so it gets very personal....