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Our Story

3 DAYS OF TORONTO JAZZ IN THE HERITAGE NEIGHBOURHOOD KENSINGTON MARKET
Born and raised in Kensington Market, singer-songwriter and philanthropist Molly Johnson O.C., had been dreaming of this festival for years. On September 16th, 2016, her dream came true. Together, with her founding team members Ori Dagan and Genevieve Marentette, Social Media Director Céline Peterson, members of the Kensington Market community and countless volunteers, KMJF was born! 
Kensington Market Jazz Festival is proud to showcase hundreds of established musicians on the Toronto jazz scene, in one of the city's most vibrant neighbourhoods, in the heart of Toronto's heritage district. Over the last three years, KMJF has presented over 320 concerts, with over 500 musicians, 25 venues and the help of over 150 volunteers. Heading into the fourth year of KMJF (September 13-14-15 2019), The KMJF Team are hard at work curating and preparing for what is sure to be the most exciting year yet. Under the Kensington Market Jazz umbrella, there have been many other projects that have come to life in the last three years, including winter and spring series in the market, two live recordings, and in April 2018, KMJF Kids Music was launched in partnership with the festival's patron saint, Tom Mihalik of Tom's Place, Yamaha Canada Music Ltd., Discovery Through The Arts, Youth Arcade Studio, and St. Stephen's Community Centre. KMJF has recently received an operations grant from the Ontario Arts Council alongside continued support from Slaight Music and other private donors. 
The Kensington Market Jazz Festival is proud to be an artist-driven, volunteer-fueled festival that has been met with overwhelming support. KMJF wishes to honour the history in the market and strives to ensure that our vision remains in-tune with that of the neighbourhood. We look forward to presenting more music in 2018 with the addition of a couple new venues and some exciting partnerships, and invite you to join in the excitement! 

KMJF PARTNERS 2019

KENSINGTON MARKET BIA, TOM MIHALIK & TOM'S PLACE, YAMAHA MUSIC CANADA, ONTARIO ARTS COUNCIL, GARY SLAIGHT & SLAIGHT MUSIC, EVAN 67, TERRY QUEELEY & QIDEAS, WANDA HO & SPIRIT OF YORK DISTILLERY, EMERALD FOUNDATION,

GEOFFREY DAWE & FESTIVAL STYLE MAGAZINE, GOLD ENTERTAINMENT ACCOUNTANTS, DISCOVERY THROUGH THE ARTS, LONG & MCQUADE, JAZZ IN TORONTO, RASTA PASTA, ORANGE LOUNGE, YOUTH ARCADE STUDIO, KENSINGTON BREWING CO.

150 VOLUNTEERS 

350 MUSICIANS 

12 MUSIC VENUES

BELLEVUE SQUARE PARK, EL GORDO'S BACKYARD, CAFE PAMENAR, HAINAN COMMUNITY CENTRE, KIEVER SYNAGOGUE, LOLA, POETRY JAZZ CAFE, ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, SUPERMARKET, TOM'S PLACE, TRINITY COMMON

12 KENSINGTON MARKET BUSINESS VENUES

AMADEU'S, EATIVE, FRESCO'S FISH & CHIPS,  JIMMY'S COFFEE, NU BUGEL, SUPERMARKET, WAFELS & MORE, WANDA'S PIE IN THE SKY

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