Montreux Jazz Festival

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Music

Published on Tuesday, 28 June 2011 05:00

Written by L E Shannon

The 45th Annual Montreux Jazz Festival runs July 1 - 16, 2011 at the Auditorium Stravinski and Miles Davis Hall at Montreux Music and Convention Center (2M2C) in Montreux, Switzerland.

The Montreux Jazz Festival was founded by Claude Nobs in 1967. Since then, the Festival "has become an unmissable event for music fans in Switzerland and around the world. Its stages have been graced by all of music’s greats, from Miles Davis to Ray Charles and from David Bowie to Prince."

While "Jazz constitutes the Festival’s historic core, other styles of music were quickly integrated into the Festival, bound together by a common thread of mutual curiosity and enthusiasm. Having made its reputation with its ambitious programming choices, the Montreux Jazz Festival offers musicians an ideal platform and an intimate setting for the duration of its two weeks."

The Festival kicks off with:

• Invitation to Illumination with Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin and featuring Cindy Blackman Santana, Dennis Chambers, Etienne Mbappé, Raul Rekow, Karl Perazzo, David K. Mathews
• The Skatalites with Jimmy Cliff

Headliners include music legends BB King, Liza Minnelli, George Benson, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Herbie Hancock, Rubén Blades, Chaka Khan, Ricky Martin, Diana Krall, David Sanborn, among others.

Some of the Events are:

The History of Hip Hop – Tommy Boy 30th Anniversary Concert
An evening of musical performances, art, and dance, showcasing the 4 pillars of Hip Hop: MC'ing, Turntablism, Break Dancing, and Graffiti. Featuring performances by Afrika Bambaataa, Coolio, Digital Underground, House of Pain, Naughty by Nature, Prince Paul

Quincy Jones Presents: A Night of Global Gumbo
with Alfredo Rodriguez Trio, Emily Bear, Esperanza Spalding, Nikki Yanofsky, M Plex, Diana Karazon

Tribute to Miles – Produced by Marcus Miller
with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller

Celebrating 30 Years of Andreas Vollenweider & Friends
The Duwala Malambo Project featuring Richard Bona, Raul Midon, Andreas Vollenweider & Friends

Sting – Symphonicity
Sting performs his greatest hits with orchestra and band, conducted by Sarah Hicks

Boats and Trains
Attendees can enjoy music on the move with

• festive Latin music aboard the Salsa Boat and two Brasil Tropical Boats
• all forms of jazz aboard the New Orleans Jazz Trains and the Goldenpass Jazz Train

The Festival has a full line-up of free events in local parks and nightclubs. Every day for two weeks, festival goers have a wide choice of free concerts, which make up two thirds of the Festival’s complete line-up and account for more than 17 hours of live music every day.

Afternoons and evenings are centered on the Music in the Park program. Some of the artists performing are:

• Best of Jazz: Raphael Jost & Lots of Horns (Switzerland)
• Big Band de L'Ejma-Valais (Switzerland)
• Jazzmanix: Southampton University Jazz & Gospel Choir (UK)
• University of Kentucky Jazz Ensemble (US)
• Shemekia Copeland
• Banda Jazz Sinfonica de Diadema (Brazil)
• Pembroke Jazz Orchestra and Choir (Australia)
• Saint-Louis Blues Band (France)
• Nidi D'Arac (Italy)
• Stereogain (Shure Proberaum Deluxe Winner) (Germany)
• Kolektif Istanbul (Turkey)

At night, more free concerts take place in the Montreux Jazz Café, while clubbers can also enjoy the programming at Studio 41.

Workshops include both informative sessions and conversations with guest performers.
Panelists include:

• Dave Grusin
• John McLaughlin
• Lee Ritenour
• David Sanborn
• Andreas Vollenweider

Workshops include:

• Workshop in Electronic Music
• Environmusic
• Rhythm, Space and Blue[s] in Film
• Genezik, an Amazing Way to Consume and Discover Music

The Montreux Jazz 2 Foundation for Creative and Cultural Exchange was established to:

• facilitate a dialogue between artists at home and abroad
• bring together jazz and classical music enthusiasts,
• build bridges between the public and internationally renowed musicians,
• provide young musicians from across the world with the opportunity to meet and create lasting friendships,
• create a dialogue between music and texts,
• inspire children to explore their musicality,
• export our local culture,
• break down barriers between musical styles,
• mix the arts with music,
• create a high profile platform for popular music

For more information, go to www.montreuxjazz.com.

Montreux Jazz Festival
July 1 - 16, 2011

Auditorium Stravinski
Miles Davis Hall
Montreux Music and Convention Center
Grand-Rue 95
CH - 1820 Montreux
Switzerland
41-21-966 44 44