We always close for the Montreal Jazz Festival, because it is the best in the world. Trust us, we know.

One of the heavy hitters this jazz season is Wynton Marsalis. Eight years ago, he played at the Koerner Hall, but I missed it. I made a decision not to see him on the account of expensive tickets. A three-digits ticket was expensive eight years ago and still is. But I regretted missing the concert. For eight years, he did not play anywhere near the cities I lived in since then. I was not going to miss this opportunity; he was playing in Toronto and at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

This fact, however, presented a dilemma: where to see Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra? In Toronto on June 20 at Massey Hall or in Montreal on June 25 at Maison Symphonique De Montreal?

The dilemma was due to my need to optimize my experience based on a) acoustic and aesthetic quality of the concert halls and b) the date. I have seen concerts at both halls. Maison Symphonique De Montreal is superior to Massey Hall, no question, but going to Montreal on June 25 meant having to come back to Ontario without seeing Trombone Shorty, who is scheduled to play at the main stage at Place de Festival on June 30. (I do have a job in Ontario, you know.) Another factor I took into consideration was to get the earliest show because you never know, life can happen on my side or his. Get them early!

I ended up catching the concert in Toronto at Massey Hall. I am glad I did for the above reasons, but it was not the exhilarating experience it could have been at the Maison Symphonique De Montreal. And I must add, I paid double the amount I refused to pay eight years ago at a better venue.

The experience did two things for me:

• I will never attend another concert hall at Massey Hall. I appreciate the history behind and everything but to me it is not the acoustically outstanding concert hall Wikipedia would like to you believe. I saw Samara Joy there in May, and other artists performers prior to that. I was never impressed by the hall.
• I am so glad I went for the Marsalis concert, because life happened on my side, and I cancelled my Montreal Jazz Festival attendance. It is alright; there will be another one next year.

In the meantime, I have all the best jazz that speaks to me and the Montreal Jazz Festival posters and paraphernalia right at home. I own some of the coolest. 😉