The Jazz Festival’s 25th anniversary season confirms, in case anyone was wondering, that our music scene is alive and well. I feel lucky to have caught the shows I did, and wish I’d been able to see them all.

“Who says jazz is dead?” asked Artistic Director Sarah Kim Turnbull—in the context of mentioning the traditional Glenwood Cemetery show. This show featured past AD, saxophonist Colleen Allen, accompanied by PEC’s very own Gord Sheard at the piano, playing duets in the pastoral outdoor setting. It was a special morning of thoughtful exchange between two old friends, accompanied by the rise and fall of the cicadas. Sponsor Elizabeth Crombie noted how moving it was to hear Mr. Sheard’s “For Those Who Never Returned,” an elegy for fallen war heroes, in this context, right in front of artist Danielle Reddick’s wire statue which pays tribute to the WWII veterans laid to rest at Glenwood.

Toronto’s Big Smoke Brass, back for a fifth year, roused cheers and dancing among the tables at Huff Estates Winery on opening night. My teenaged daughter, who had seen this band at her school, was keen to go. This was an accomplishment in itself. TEENAGER ENJOYS JAZZ should be my headline. She was very pleased to hear the band’s latest mash-up of Chapell Roan songs, including, of course, “Pink Pony Club.”

Ahmed Moneka represented a new direction for jazz at the Waring House on the Friday afternoon. Originally from Iraq, the friendly and exuberant singer offered songs in Arabic, weaving together Middle Eastern melodies and harmonies in a popular rhythmic style backed by predominantly Western instruments. The band itself was truly multicultural, featuring musicians originally hailing from Iraq, Istanbul, Sudan, Greece and even Toronto. Selçuk Suna in particular brought the jazz solos on his tenor saxophone, and the Turkish tradition on his clarinet. Drummer Max Sennitt deserves a special callout. He arrived without a drum kit, and in a last-minute moment of County creativity, found himself supplied from the Musical Instrument Lending Library of the PEC Public Library! Although his bandmates teased him about the size of the kit, intended for kids, his sound supported them perfectly.

The Festival’s blockbuster, The Music of Quincy Jones at The Regent, was everything it should have been. Guitarist and music director Eric St-Laurent brought together seven top-notch musicians for a survey of Jones’s vast output as a composer and producer. There were plenty of funky grooves in the instrumentals—the theme from “Sanford and Son” was a standout, with trumpeter William Sparendel channelling the ’60s sounds of Miles Davis and Lee Morgan.

Singer Christopher Plock brought his swaggering energy to finish out the first half with a set of songs associated with Frank Sinatra, including a unique “way out west” backing for “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”

Alana Bridgewater arrived for the second half to take the energy up a couple of degrees with a full set of R&B songs from the Jones catalogue. She belted it out, while Mr. Plock switched over to his bluesy saxophone. The full-house crowd was clearly thrilled to be along for this ride.

The stand-out show for me this year was singer Caity Gyorgy’s recital, accompanied only by pianist Mark Limacher in the intimate space of the Barrel Room at Sandbanks Winery. This was a much-anticipated return after she wowed the festival audience in 2023.

Known for her talent in vocalese, jazzing up songs with improvised scat singing and altered melodic lines, this sparse setting gave us the gentler side of her talents. She sang Great American Songbook standards, adding some gentle humming, scatting, and ornamentation, weaving lines with her accompanist. The aesthetic was more Sarah Vaughan than Annie Ross. 

Some of her original songs display a witty modern set of references, but they draw on the Songbook harmonically and melodically, and most of all, swingingly. Throughout, Mr. Limacher’s piano had toes tapping.

Ms. Gyorgy is a consummate professional. Her playful patter between songs belies her vocal talents and the discipline with which she approaches her delivery, which is both spontaneous and studied. Some of us in the audience were awed by her breath control alone. Where did that phrase begin and end?

She could be Broadway-ironic with a show tune like “Along Came Bill,” languorous on “Asking for Trouble,” and heartbreaking on “April Fooled Me,” which she sang with conviction, simply and without ornament, inspiring Mr. Limacher to sound like Bill Evans.

It is comforting to encounter someone so young and talented so much in tune with the tradition. Caity Gyorgy is the real deal, carrying it forward.

Kudos to the PEC Jazz Festival for bringing her back, and for playing its role in keeping the music alive. And kudos for another fine festival, bursting with energy and variety.