Montreal Jazz Fest Welcomes Eclectic Cast

Montreal's jazz festival this year promises to breach the banks of its genre, with an eclectic cast of performers ranging from Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck to Robert Plant and Prince.

The festival officially opens on Saturday with an open-air show from French soul singer Ben l'Oncle Soul.

He will be preceded Friday evening by a sold out performance by Prince, who asked to perform late night concerts at the last minute and was to take the stage at 11:30 pm on Friday and Saturday at the 2,000-seat Metropolis.

Plant will also perform a sold-out concert on Friday, which is a national holiday for Francophone province Quebec.

The festival, the 32nd of its kind, will feature some 500 performances, around 350 of them free, and will run until July 4.

Known for taking a broad view of the genre, the festival this year will welcome Diana Krall, Oliver Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater -- for an homage to jazz legend Billie Holliday -- all in traditional indoor venues.

But it will also feature American guitarist Marc Ribot, known for his ethereal strumming, who will give three performances, including a highly anticipated one with Los Cubanos Postizos.

Tunisian oudist Anouar Brahem, with melodies inspired by Sufi Islam, will also perform with his short-necked lute on three occasions.

The B-52s will headline a "grand closing event" on July 4.