Toronto pianist Nancy Walker has won the $5,000 Grand Prix de Jazz at the 2003 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. Her quartet was selected over nine other bands from Ontario and Quebec; each was judged by a jury on the basis of its performance at the festival. Montreal bassist Karine Chapdelaine, of the quartet Without Words, received the $3,000 Prix Etoiles Galaxie de Radio-Canada for her composition Prisoner of a Dream.
Three other musicians were honoured in the course of the festival for their overall career achievements.
Bobby McFerrin received the vocal Prix Ella-Fitzgerald, Joe Zawinul won the instrumental Prix Miles-Davis, and Kenny Wheeler was awarded the Canadian Prix Oscar-Peterson. The festival concluded on Sunday. Staff