Welcome to the Montreux Jazz Festival Residency! Emerging bands and big names from the jazz & soul scenes will be coming together from 4 to 7 October 2023 at the Petit Palais at Fairmont le Montreux Palace. On the programme: concerts, showcases, workshops, jam sessions and DJ sets. All activities are free.
Headlining: Billy Cobham, Jacob Lusk (Gabriels), Trilok Gurtu, Rich Medina, Roni Kaspi & many others.
The Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (MJAF) autumn festival is changing its name and visual identity. Known since 2020 as Autumn of Music, the event has become Montreux Jazz Festival Residency to better reflect the unique spirit of this festival built around a residency for young artists.
The residency opens its doors to you every evening from 6pm for a festival of concerts and musical activities. Discover the programme below!
CONCERTS
Each evening, two up-and-coming bands – one Swiss, one international – will take to the stage. The programme features different facets of today’s jazz, R’n’B and soul with a touch of pop music.
On the programme:
- Wednesday: Mira Lora, a young Swiss-German singer-songwriter and Sheila Maurice-Grey, trumpeter with the London group Kokoroko
- Thursday: muralim, a progressive jazz quintet from Zurich, and Maya Delilah, a London guitarist and singer already signed to Blue Note at the age of 22
- Friday: Nayana, neo-soul singer from Lausanne and Jasmine Myra, saxophonist with atmospheric compositions praised by Jamie Cullum
- Saturday: Obliecht, an indie folk band with a touch of Appenzell hackbrett, and Yoni Mayraz, a London-based Israeli keyboardist with hip-hop and electro influences.
The audience will be able to vote for their favourite band as part of the Prix Coup de Cœur donated by bank Julius Baer.
WORKSHOPS
One of MJAF’s key activities, the workshops enable artists to share their knowledge and express themselves – often to music – on a theme of their choice.
On the programme:
- Wednesday: Jacob Lusk, the Gabriels singer who wowed Festival audiences this summer, will talk about the three great voices Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Tina Turner.
- Thursday: Legendary drummer Billy Cobham presents Miles Davis’ album Bitches Brew, on which he played.
- Friday: Debra Richards and Beatrice Venturini, journalists and DJs, will talk about the origins of soul music and its influence on today’s music.
- Saturday: Maria Chiara Argirò, a Roman pianist based in London, will talk about the use of electronic music in jazz.
SHOWCASES
The showcases are short – but intense – performances given in the intimate setting of the Coupole at the Petit Palais.
On the programme:
- Wednesday: 77-year-old French-Congolese pianist Ray Lema will be blurring the musical and geographical boundaries between jazz and afrobeat.
- Thursday: Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, a collaborator of John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinul, fuses East and West.
- Friday: Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas performs solo, drawing on traditional Brazilian rhythms as well as funk and jazz.
- Saturday: An exceptional drum duo featuring Billy Cobham and the 23-year-old sensation Roni Kaspi.
JAM SESSIONS
Montreux’s famous jam sessions will be rocking the Coupole stage every night from 10.15pm! The sessions will be launched on Wednesday and Thursday by Lausanne collective Chic Astral, and on Friday and Saturday by Amaro Freitas and his musicians.
CLOSING PARTY
On Saturday, between midnight and 4am, the DJ sets will feature Rich Medina, one of the most renowned DJs and producers on the American East Coast and a collector of 50,000 vinyl records.