The five greatest sets in the history of Montreux Jazz Festival
The legendary Montreux Jazz Festival started last week, with Chaka Khan opening up the festival with a headline double bill. One set was playing the classics, the other was a montage of songs in honour of the great Quincy Jones. Suffice it to say, things are well and truly underway. The festival has one of the richest histories in music, as its stage has been home to a range of different artists, all of whom have gathered in a bid to deliver some of the best live performances of their careers.
The whole town is steeped in musical history, as it’s been the home to many artists, the birthplace of plenty of great records, and the inspiration behind countless songs. When you look back in the music history books, chances are there is a chapter title that in some way relates back to Montreux.
The festival is flexing its versatile music muscles this year, as there are no two days that look remotely similar. There are some legends on the bill, those who have played the festival before, such as Neil Young and Santana. Then you have newer artists, those who are putting their own stamp on the festival with what they determine to be head-turning performances. For instance, JADE performed on July 9th, a set which marked her first solo show outside of the UK.
When we look through the decades of Montreux, we stumble across a range of legendary names, each of which has contributed towards the rich history that the festival has. It begs the question: who are some of the best artists to play here? Well, we’ll try our best to answer that question, as these are what we believe to be the five greatest sets in the history of the Montreux Jazz Festival.
The best Montreux Jazz Festival performances:
Nina Simone
Nina Simone has always been celebrated as one of the greatest vocalists in the world. It’s not just that her voice is technically good, but she carries emotion in every single note in a way that no other artist can come close to. Her set at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1976 may well be her most emotional set of all time.
Life was difficult for Simone during this period. She was in the process of leaving her abusive husband and was getting out of America. While she wanted to leave the country, she was also leaving friends behind. Her set at the festival ended up being one of the most emotional displays of music ever performed, a perfect way to highlight how sound can be connective, but also a release, a sense of community, and a catalyst for escapism.
Deep Purple
Deep Purple’s set was great at the festival because Deep Purple were notoriously an excellent live band. Their performance was packed with the energy and chaos that fans had come to expect, but there’s another reason as to why the set goes down in history. It’s because it’s one of the first instances where a song written about Montreux was played in Montreux.
A lot of people recorded albums in Montreux, and Deep Purple were no different. In fact, they all famously headed down there, on the Lake Geneva Shoreline, to make records with a mobile. They arrived in the town to make new music at the same time when Frank Zappa was playing in the Casino. A deranged fan lit off a flare that started a horrible fire. Luckily, nobody was killed, and the sight of the flames was enough to inspire Deep Purple to write their classic ‘Smoke On The Water’.
The band have since returned to the festival a number of times and played the song that was inspired by the fire there. Isn’t it funny, tragedy and genius… they often go hand in hand.
Miles Davis
It won’t surprise you, given the name of the festival, to learn that the Montreux Jazz Festival has its origins rooted in jazz music. As such, there have been a number of different jazz musicians who have played there, but one of the most important is the formidable Miles Davis.
It’s tricky picking the best set that Davis has ever performed in Montreux, so we won’t try; instead, we will bundle all of his eleven appearances at the festival into one section. His music is so moving and innovative that it stands as a testament to the festival, a place that inspires creativity and individuality. Davis is at the heart of everything this festival stands for.
Santana
Sanata is set to play at this year’s festival on July 18th. It’s a gig which promises to be a spellbinding masterclass in Santana’s unbelievable musicianship. However, this isn’t the first time Sanatana has played at the festival. His first performance there was in 1970, and it proved to be an incredibly important and moving piece of art.
While the festival has its roots in jazz, as you can see from this year’s line-up, there is a great deal of variety on show. Sanatana’s set in 1970 will no doubt have been a big part of opening up the festival, so that it welcomed multiple styles of music. The way that he merges different cultures and genres is inspired and has played a huge part in making Montreux what it is today.
D’Angelo
How do you even begin to define an artist like D’Angelo? His albums are more than just pieces of music, but instead feel like moments in time. Whenever you are sitting down to listen to Voodoo or Black Messiah, you know that you won’t be doing anything else for the next hour. This is music that demands your undivided attention.
With such prolific albums, it begs the question: Can D’Angelo live up to the hype when it comes to his live shows? The short answer is yes. While he may not perform a great deal, when he does, he does so in style. His performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2000 is one of the festival’s best live performances ever.
