Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual jazz festival in the world after Canada's Montreal International Jazz Festival.[1]
Not to be confused with Montreal International Jazz Festival.Montreux Jazz Festival
Jazz, rock, pop
First fortnight of July
Montreux Convention Centre
Grand-Rue 95
1820 Montreux
Switzerland
1967–present
Initiator and head organizer Claude Nobs brought an array of artists to Montreux.[2] Mathieu Jaton has organised the festival since Nobs' death in 2013.
Expansion[edit]
The festival changed in the 1980s: it grew dramatically and included an even wider variety of music styles.[8] Jazz remained important, as did Brazilian music, but more rock and pop artists were also invited.
Miles Davis came to Montreux several times, British hard rock band Deep Purple were invited as headliners eight times, and Status Quo have headlined the festival twice. Other notable artists at Montreux were Sandra, Max Roach, James Brown, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Wynton Marsalis, Art Blakey, John McLaughlin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Cliff, Steel Pulse, Mike Oldfield, Brian May, Marvin Gaye, Rory Gallagher, Leonard Cohen, Nina Hagen, Eric Clapton, Queen, Phil Collins, Joe Cocker, Los Lobos, The Manhattan Transfer, Tracy Chapman, and Van Morrison again.
The expansion that began in the 1980s has continued since then – Montreux transformed from a jazz festival into a world music festival. Quincy Jones co-produced the festival from 1991 to 1993. By 1993, the festival had outgrown the Casino and moved to the larger Convention Centre. The number of visitors rose from 75,000 in 1980 to 120,000 in 1994, and an "Off-festival" developed on the lakeshore promenades and in the cafés of Montreux.
Many "regulars" returned, but many new artists also appeared on stage: Sting, Bob Dylan, Fats Domino, Deep Purple, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, Cheb Mami, Youssou N'Dour, Marianne Faithfull, Ice-T, Jazzmatazz, ZZ Top, Simply Red, Marisa Monte, George Benson, Jazzkantine, Alanis Morissette, David Bowie, Paul Simon. In 1999, the festival saw more than 220,000 visitors.
The festival has also played host to some well-known and talented student groups, including big bands and vocal ensembles. Young, talented musicians are encouraged to take part in several competitions.
Competitions[edit]
Three international competitions are organised by the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation[9] every year: Solo Piano, Guitar, and Voice. Each competition has its own jury composed of professionals and chaired by a world-renowned musician (in 2008: Fazıl Say for the Piano Solo, Lee Ritenour for the Guitar, Patti Austin for the Voice competition). In addition, until 2016, a local competition, the Tremplin Lémanique, was aimed at jazz bands that are based in one of the regions of the Léman lake: the French departments of Ain and Haute Savoie and the Swiss cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais.[10]
: Live at Montreux 2012 (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2013)[CD/DVD/Blu-ray] – recorded in 2012
Alanis Morissette
Arista All Stars: Blue Montreux (Arista, 1979) – recorded in 1978
Atlantic Family: (Atlantic, 1978) – recorded in 1977
The Atlantic Family Live at Montreux
: Baby Consuelo ao Vivo – 14th Montreux Jazz Festival (Elektra, 1980)
Baby Consuelo
Bill Evans: (CTI, 1970)
Montreux II
Bill Evans: (Fantasy, 1975)
Montreux III
: Live at Montreux (Koch, 2005)[DVD]
Bob James
: Bobbi Humphrey Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux (Blue Note, 1974) – recorded in 1973
Bobbi Humphrey
: Live at Montreux 1973 (Eagle, 2012) – recorded in 1973
Canned Heat
and Wayne Shorter: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1988 (Image Entertainment, 2005)[2CD+DVD]
Carlos Santana
: Everything Happens To Me (Jazz Hour, 1994) – reissued as Live at Montreux 1982 (Solid, 2018)
Carmen McRae
Count Basie: (Pablo, 1975)
Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975
Count Basie: (Pablo, 1977)
Montreux '77
Deep Purple: (Eagle, 2007) – recorded in 2006
Live at Montreux 2006
Deep Purple: (Eagle, 2011)
Live at Montreux 2011
: Live at Montreux (Atlantic, 1979)
Dennis Brown
Dexter Gordon: (Prestige, 1973)
Blues à la Suisse
Ella Fitzgerald: (Pablo, 1979)
Digital III at Montreux
Etta James: Live at Montreux 1975-1993 (Ear Music, 2020)
& The Midnight Blues Band: Gary Moore & The Midnight Blues Band – Live at Montreux 1990 (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2004)[DVD]
Gary Moore
Gary Moore: (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2007)
Gary Moore – The Definitive Montreux Collection
: Ao Vivo Montreux Jazz (Atlantic, 1979)[2LP]
Hermeto Pascoal
Dizzy Gillespie: (Pablo, 1977)
Dizzy Gillespie Jam
Dizzy Gillespie: (Pablo, 1981)
Musician, Composer, Raconteur
: Live at Montreux (Montreux Sounds, 1997)
James Booker
John Lee Hooker & The Coast To Coast Blues Band: Live At Montreux 1983 & 1990 (Eagle Pop Entertainment, 2020)
: Live at Montreux (1982)
King Sunny Adé
: What It Is: Live at Montreux (Atlantic, 1973)
Little Milton
: Live in Montreux (Earwig, 2000) – recorded in 1975
Louisiana Red
: Live in Montreux 1976–1994 (Ruf, 1996) – compilation
Luther Allison
: Live at Montreux 1981 (Eagle Vision, 2006)[DVD]
Mike Oldfield
Trio: Monty Alexander Live! at the Montreux Jazz Festival (MPS, 1977) – recorded in 1976
Monty Alexander
LIVE AT THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL 2007 - [LP/CD]
Mötorhead:
& Caetano Veloso & Joao Bosco: "BRAZIL NIGHT - AO VIVO EM MONTREUX - CAETANO VELOSO, JOÃO BOSCO E NEY MATOGROSSO 1983“
Ney Matogrosso
& Wesing; LIVE at MONTREUX FESTIVAL (Warner Bros., 1980)
Naoya Matsuoka
: Remedies For Babylon (Discurios, 1992) – recorded in 1979
Peter Tosh
: Sció live (EMI Italiana, 1984)[2LP] – 1 track recorded in 1983
Pino Daniele
: Live in Montreux 91-97 (Blue Note, 2002) – compilation
Rachelle Ferrell
: Live at Montreux 1997 (Eagle, 2008)[Blu-ray]
Ray Charles
: Live at Montreux 1976 (Eagle, 2008) – recorded in 1976
Stuff
: Live at Montreux 1991 (Eagle, 2016)
Toto
: Montreux Afterglow (Frasco, 1976)
Yōsuke Yamashita
Various Artists: Montreux Summit Volumes 1 & 2 (Columbia, 1977)[2LP] – consisting of an all-star concert with various Columbia label artists including , Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Billy Cobham, George Duke, Benny Golson, Eric Gale, Hubert Laws, Maynard Ferguson and many others
Bob James
Various Artists: Casino Lights (1981) – Featuring duets with and Randy Crawford, Randy Crawford solo, Yellowjackets, and other artists
Al Jarreau
Various Artists: Casino Lights (, 2000)[2CD] – recorded in 1999. consisting of an all-star concert with various Warner Bros. label artists
Warner Bros.
Albums recorded at the festival