Montreux Jazz Festival

A MUSICAL ODYSSEY SINCE 1967

Over 50 years the Montreux Jazz Festival has become a singular rendezvous in the world of music. For this edition, the Festival intends to tell its story and affirm its values and specificities in order to better project itself into the future. From its creation in 1967 by Claude Nobs, who would have turned 80 this February 4th, the Festival rapidly earned a reputation for fantastic concerts, unbelievable artistic collaborations, rare moments, improbable anecdotes, audacity, ambitious projects, and impulsive decisions.

The Festival has welcomed legendary artists into its idyllic embrace. Some, like Prince and Deep Purple, contributed to penning the legend of Montreux through their songs, while others, like David Bowie, Nina Simone, and Freddie Mercury came and lived in the region, or recorded albums here. The Festival has mixed all musical genres and discovered and nurtured talented young artists, carving out a permanent mark on the world map and in the hearts of the public. The Festival continues today to bring to life the unreasonable dreams of its founder. Claude Nobs has inspired in his teams of yesterday, today, and tomorrow his passion and fundamental values: a sense of hospitality, close, friendly ties with artists, an obsession with sound quality, and a gift for bringing about the unexpected so that magic happens. To breathe life into all kinds of music for the greatest possible number in optimal conditions, Montreux has always been committed to progress, both on the main Festival stages and at the free venues.

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A MUSICAL ODYSSEY SINCE 1967

Over 50 years the Montreux Jazz Festival has become a singular rendezvous in the world of music. For this edition, the Festival intends to tell its story and affirm its values and specificities in order to better project itself into the future. From its creation in 1967 by Claude Nobs, who would have turned 80 this February 4th, the Festival rapidly earned a reputation for fantastic concerts, unbelievable artistic collaborations, rare moments, improbable anecdotes, audacity, ambitious projects, and impulsive decisions.

The Festival has welcomed legendary artists into its idyllic embrace. Some, like Prince and Deep Purple, contributed to penning the legend of Montreux through their songs, while others, like David Bowie, Nina Simone, and Freddie Mercury came and lived in the region, or recorded albums here. The Festival has mixed all musical genres and discovered and nurtured talented young artists, carving out a permanent mark on the world map and in the hearts of the public. The Festival continues today to bring to life the unreasonable dreams of its founder. Claude Nobs has inspired in his teams of yesterday, today, and tomorrow his passion and fundamental values: a sense of hospitality, close, friendly ties with artists, an obsession with sound quality, and a gift for bringing about the unexpected so that magic happens. To breathe life into all kinds of music for the greatest possible number in optimal conditions, Montreux has always been committed to progress, both on the main Festival stages and at the free venues.

From its inception the Festival has proven visionary by scrupulously recording every single concert using the latest technologies of the moment. This absolutely unique collection of audiovisual archives contains more than 5000 hours of live music, and has been recognized by UNESCO through inclusion in the “Memory of the World Register”.

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