Montreux Jazz Festival pays homage to music legend Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones maintained strong ties with the Montreux Jazz Festival over the past 30 years. Keystone-SDA

The Montreux Jazz Festival has paid tribute to the music legend Quincy Jones, who died on Sunday at age 91. The US trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, composer and producer worked with musicians ranging from Count Basie to Michael Jackson. He was the festival’s music ambassador.

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The Montreux Jazz Festival was Jones’s second home every summer for over 30 years.

“Quincy Jones first came to the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990. He was co-producer between 1991 and 1993. It was the start of a great friendship with [festival founder] Claude Nobs, who called him his ‘brother from another mother’,” Mathieu Jaton, director of the festival, told the Keystone-ATS news agency.

+ US toasts Quincy Jones and Claude Nobs

In 1991, Nobs and Jones organised a legendary concert by Miles Davis, who died a few weeks later. Since then, Jones returned every year, organising special tailor-made evenings with stars such as Phil Collins, Petula Clark, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, Simply Red and Jon Batiste.

“Since Claude Nobs’s death in 2013, Quincy redoubled his presence and availability,” said Jaton. “His 85th birthday concert in 2019 brought together a younger generation of artists, for a highly symbolic moment. Since Covid, he hasn’t been back, for health reasons.”

Always incredible projects

“Like Claude Nobs, Quincy had a broad vision of music and was interested in all styles. It was quality that counted. He was the first to bring hip hop to Montreux in the early 90s. He also gave the festival enormous credibility,” said Jaton.

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When Quincy Jones arrived in Montreux, he would declare “I’m back home”, he said.

“Untiring, he always had incredible projects. He went to jam sessions and loved to discover young musicians. In Montreux, he met new talents such as Jacob Collier and Alfredo Rodriguez, whom he took under his wing as producer and mentor. He was always available,” recounts the festival boss.

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Jaton remembers his first meeting with “Q”.

“It was 1994 and I was waiting tables at Claude Nobs’s chalet. I was cutting Quincy’s salmon. It became a tradition,” he smiles. Far from being an inaccessible superstar, “he was a wonderful man, incredibly generous”, he added.

Translated from French with DeepL/sb

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