Johnny Summers joins Gerry Hebert, Simon Fisk, Jon McCaslin and others at the Tribute to the Wynton Marsalis Septet later this month

It’s only been two weeks since another successful jazz festival ended in Calgary. Jazz Fest gets a lot of buzz, as it should, but it’s worth remembering that we have a strong reputation for jazz all year round.

This month, for example, you can choose from five great acts, the first of them happening on Thursday, July 9. Check the Beat Niq for After Market, featuring Gerry Hebert, Keith Day, Brendan Rothwell and Jim Johnson. If you’re into ’90s jazz fusion (think Yellowjackets and Spyro Gyra) with a mix of original works, this gig’s for you.

Stick with the Beat Niq this weekend, too. A dynamic group of young musicians known as The Jazz Bloc, consisting of students from University of Calgary and Mount Royal College, has just the right energy to help you end Stampede week. The quintet features Josh Crowhurst, Steve Shepard, Matt Foster, Nathan Waters and Katrina Krogstad and will deliver a mix of swing, ballads and Latin-inspired compositions.

Mid-month, a “local” band will give new meaning to seasonal work. Billed as the Mike Cann Quartet and led by bassist Mike Cann, the group only plays in the summer. Why? It’s the only time they’re all together, since half of them live in Calgary and the rest in Denton, Texas. The quartet will play at Beat Niq on July 18, featuring Mike Cann, Brett McDonald, Carl Janzen and guest Karl Schwonik . Expect a focus on fine original compositions in this performance.

If you’re looking for jazz outside a club setting, Calgary’s Jazz Is Society has just the answer on Saturday, July 25. Jazz on the Lake, an annual event at Heritage Park, combines cool jazz and cocktails with a nighttime cruise. It all starts with cocktails onboard the S.S. Moyie dockside at 7 p.m., then the sternwheeler launches at 8 p.m. for a cruise of the Glenmore Reservoir. There’s jazz all during the cruise, performed by RAEJIS (Resident Artists Ensemble, Jazz Is), featuring John Reid, Allistair Elliot, Gary Wolfe and Kodi Hutchinson. Back to the dock by 9 p.m., you can expect more jazz until sunset.

Promise yourself you’ll end the month at the Tribute to the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Marsalis’ s septet, formed in the ’90s, was one of those exceptional moments in jazz, a group perfect for Marsalis’s arrangements and ideal for his compositions. Add some of the finest jazz musicians around at the time, like Marcus Roberts and Wycliffe Gordon, and you can understand why the group was considered so pivotal in Marsalis’s career. Some of the best in Calgary’s jazz scene will play this tribute gig at the Beat Niq on July 31 and August 1. Catch Johnny Summers, Gerry Hebert, Simon Fisk, Jon McCaslin, Brian Sharron, Mark Wilson and Richard Harding in this two-night-only performance.