Sly5thAve’s Tribute to Dr. Dre at the Montreal Jazz Festival

For the 2019 edition of Montreal’s Jazz Festival, the city’s own National Jazz Orchestra will be performing the iconic album “The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute To Dr. Dre”, by multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer Sly5thAve.

Sly5thAve himself will be leading the concert and the evening will be spent delving into the songs that were originally created by the famed Los Angeles born producer, Dr. Dre. Attendees should expect to hear orchestral versions of classic Dr. Dre songs like California, Still D.R.E, The Next Episode and more.  

Born in Austin, Texas, Sly5thAve was exposed at an early age to a vibrant mixture of West African music, soul and jazz and would later receive formal music training at the University of North Texas. He was mentored by songwriter and jazz musician, Philip Lasseter – who has been credited for masterminding the arrangements of seven Grammy-winning projects along with the likes of Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin.

One of his most treasured achievements was when Sly5thAve was selected by Prince to be the arranger and lead trumpeter of Prince’s New Power Generation band, in which he spent two years.

Take a look at some of the behind-the-scenes photos from Sly5thAve’s rehearsal with the Montreal’s National Jazz Orchestra.

The concert will be held at the Monument National in Place-Des-Arts on July 3rd, 2019 at 8:00 PM.

You can purchase tickets here.

Words & Photography: Jon Carlo Tapia