Jacques-Andre Dupont is a self proclaimed guitar junky with a deep love for Jazz Guitar. As VP of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, co-owner of Équipe Spectra and now founder of the Montreal Guitar Show, Jacques-Andre wears many hats. But underneath his keen business savy is a guy who at the end of the day just wants to kick back and play his guitar like the rest of us.

JazzGuitarLife.com Interview with Jacques-Andre Dupont: This interview was conducted via email March, 2007. Check out his website at www.guitarjunky.ca

JGL: Hi Jacques Andre and thanks for taking the time to speak with Jazz Guitar Life. Before we get into anything, lets talk about the first Montreal Guitar Show that you have founded this year during the Montreal International Jazz Festival. How did this come about and why now?

JAD: It is a pleasure! I love your web site. Three years ago I created The Montreal Musicians and Musical Instrument Show with the mission to promote music making to all clienteles. It was an immediate success (90 000 musicians participated to the event!). Being a guitar lover myself, last year for the second MMMIS, I decided to add a new component to the show: a guitar maker/luthier section. That again was a success. So for the third MMMIS we decided to create a different brand for the luthier component to make sure that it would be easier to market internationally and locally. And we made several modifications to the format of the show for it to be better adapted to the guitar maker needs.

JGL: With artists like Michael Greenfield, Linda Manzer, Bill Comins, Tom Ribbecke and a host of others all in one area how difficult was it to "snag" all that top talent for the Montreal Guitar Show?

JAD: We got a very good response from the luthiers. I’m sure that the fact that we had a highly talended and internationally renowned advisory committee was a HUGE factor. Not many shows can say that they can count on the advices of Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick Davis, Sergei de Jonge, Charles Fox, Oskar Graf, Michael Greenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, John Monteleone, Tom Ribbecke and Jeff Traugott! And since we had decided to top the number of luthiers at 70, we were not able to accept all the requests we got from luthiers wanting to exhibit.

JGL: What can one expect at the Montreal Guitar Show?

JAD: It is already the biggest guitar event in Canada and one of the top in North America. I have tried to sum it up…here it is!

70 OF THE BEST GUITAR MAKERS NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE including Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick Davis, Michael Greenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, Linda Manzer, John Monteleone, Tom Ribbecke or other Jean Rompré and several others.

WORKSHOPS animated by Masters Luthiers like Sergei de Jonge, Charles Fox, Oskar Graf and Ervin Somogyi.

A SCORE OF FREE MINI-CONCERTS WITH Jerome Ducharme, Olivier Pip, Ian Murphy, Brooke Miller, Bob Evans, Andre Lavergne, Greg Clayton, Jason Fowler, David Galarneau, Sebastien Belley.

SEVERAL FREE CONCERTS with Ritary Together, California Guitar Trio, Lionel Loueke Trio and Brooke Miller, David Gogo, Jorge Martinez, John Campbelljohn, Thomas Carbou, Erik Mongrain, Ray Bonneville, Denis Chang Del Vezeau, Mimi Fox, Gift Ross, Jim Weider and special guest Mitch Stein

SEVERAL FREE WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS WITH John Abercrombie, Viktor Wotten and Bela Fleck, Bill Frisell, Alain Charon, Wayne Krantz, Mimi Fox, Russel Malone and Randy Bachman.

A SERIES Of MASTER CLASSES: jazz manouche (Denis Chang), classical (Jean - François Hamel), flamenco (Francis Leclerc), acoustic blues (John McGale), electric blues (Michael Jerome Browne), fingerstyle (Antoine Dufour), fingerpicking (Jean - Luc Thievent) and jazz archtop (Mike Gauthier).

AND A SERIES OF GUITAR CONCERTS PRESENTED WITHIN THE MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL including Wayne Krantz, Béla Fleck, Meshell Ndegeocello, Richard Bona, Richard Pinhas, Bill Frisell, Michael Scofield, Marc Villemure, Steve Adelson, Russell Malone, Toumani Diabaté, Juan Carmona, Jean-Sebastien Chouinard, Garry Burnside, Esperanza Spalding, Alain Caron, Randy Bachman, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Kevin Mark, Roberto Occhipinti, Bryan Lee, MG3 Montreal Guitar Trio, Louis Mhlanga, Roland Tchakounté, Jack Simple, Anthony Gomes and Sylvain Provost.

JGL: What is the difference between the Montreal Guitar Show and the MMMIS (Montreal Musician and Musical Instrument Show) which is now in its third year?

JAD: The MGS is 100% guitar…And even more specifically…High end guitar. Only small production high end luthiers were invited this year. MMMIS is all musical instruments: from guitar to piano, brass, percussion , electronic gear, etc…It is as well a great event (100% free), quite interactive and tons of activities and workshops. For example we organize activities for non musicians to get them to be interested like «learn the guitar in 1 hour», «learn the saxophone in 1 hour», «learn harmonica in 1 hour» or Djembe Jams, etc…All the info can be found at www.mmmis.ca

JGL: I don't doubt that this first installment of the Montreal Guitar Show will be a huge hit. Do you have any plans in the works for next year?

JAD: Oh yeah! But I will wait for the show to happen before going into that.

JGL: Could you talk a bit about the Ste-Cat permanent guitar collection?

JAD: This is one of my favourite projects! Always in the spirit of promoting music making, I created the Ste-Cat permanent guitar collection. At least two guitars per year are commissioned to luthiers participating to our show, chosen randomly. This forms a bank of exclusive collector’s instruments which are loaned for a year to young Quebec musicians. I know that for a young musician to be able to afford a world class instrument is a big issue…So we are making it happen for some lucky ones! Last year we started the collection with an archtop by Peter Hopkins (www.hopkinsguitars.com), a classical guitar by Jean Rompré (www.jeanrompre.ca) a lefty flat top by Rick Davis (www.vtguitars.com) and a flat top by Tim McKnight (www.mcknightguitars.com). These guitars will be exhibited at the show!

JGL: The guitar talent in Montreal during the Jazz festival is nothing less than extraordinary. Pat Metheny has practically become a "second son" to Montreal, while this year Mike Stern is hosting five nights of great music in various formats, Wayne Krantz is performing three nights in solo, duo, and trio settings and there's much more. Russell Malone, Bill Frissell, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, Sylvain Luc and many more will be gracing the various stages to delight Jazz Guitar lovers. What is it about Montreal and the festival that attracts such amazing artists year after year?

JAD: The Festival is obviously a Festival that most musicians seek to do. And Montrealers are big guitar fans. Ask Pat Metheny about the 1989 concerts in front of 150 000 people…Not many jazz guitar players got to live such an experience!

JGL: As VP of the Montreal Jazz Festival and a self-proclaimed guitar junky do you have any input in which guitarists get picked for the lineup?

JAD: No. We have a very talented programming team with André Ménard, Laurent Saulnier and their gang! They do an amazing job of bringing the stars you dream to see and the artists you need to discover.

JGL: Is there one particular genre of music that you listen to the most and who are your fav guitar players?

JAD: I’m a very curious listener. I love everything. From Opera to heavy metal! I have a thing for good country. I like old blues, and jazz of course. I love singer songwriters. I listen to well established artists and I love to discover artists on myspace. Lots of great undiscovered gems. As for guitar players…I am a huge John McLaughlin fan (especially since his Montreal Jazz Fest concert in 2005). I do not get tired of Stevie Ray Vaughan. One of my most important concerts was last year in New-York, when I got to see and hear David Gilmour. I love as well top cats like Joe pass, Vince Gill on the telecaster. And I tend to listen for hours to Eric Clapton live version of River of Tears! But you know, every day I discover amazing players and it makes me happy!

JGL: On your website you describe yourself as a "week-end guitar player (good enough to have fun but not to impress you!)" Did you ever want to pursue music/performance as a career or was there always some other career path that you knew you would be following early on?

JAD: I was never good enough…I wish I was, but I new I could not make the cut…But I still play because it makes me happy…As a teen, I used to play in bands and it was a very happy time of my life! But as I got to university I needed to work to afford it. And then, the office the family and the last thing you know it has been 15 years since you've picked up your guitar When I turned 40 years old, I understood something was missing…And thanks to my good friend and guitar player Arno, I re-entered a music store…I was hit by a bus! I got back to it and went crazy!!! And now other then my lovely wife and my amazing daughter, this is my passion!

JGL: Your guitar collection is quite envious and I'm sure you derive a great deal of pleasure from it. What got you into collecting and is it something that you do for the investment aspect of collecting or is it more just for the joy of it?

JAD: It started as a pure joy thing…But I must say; I quickly understood that it could be as well a sound investment…Quite better then Nortel or Enron J. But what makes it so important to me are the people you meet. The great musicians that amaze me, the collectors that share the passion and those amazing luthiers, artists in their own right!

JGL: Is there anything you would like to add for Jazz Guitar Life readers?

JAD: Just one more thing…Please tell your friends about it…The more people come the more chance we get to have this world class event become the guitar destination it can be!

JGL: Thank you Jacques Andre for taking the time to talk to Jazz Guitar Life and much success with all your endeavors?

JAD: Thanks for this opportunity to share all of this with you. Keep Jazz Guitar Life alive. It is a great site!

For more information about the Montreal Guitar Show, visit www.montrealguitarshow.com