The first edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival China will take place in Hangzhou, in the province of Zhejiang, from 5 to 8 October 2021.
This new Festival licence will offer an eclectic programme on the theme “When West Meets East”, combining Chinese and Asian music and of course jazz, which has been enjoying a new lease of life in the country in recent years. This new partnership pursues the Montreux Jazz Festival’s desire to forge links with other continents and to mix different musical cultures.
Hangzhou shares many similarities with the original Festival venue. A lakeside town and tourist destination, it is situated on the shores of the West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as are the Lavaux vineyards and the audiovisual archives of the Montreux Jazz Festival. The balance between heritage and innovation is also at the heart of the values shared by the Festival and Hangzhou. The city combines a thousand-year-old culture with meteoric digital development, home to many companies engaged in digital transformation.
« The Montreux Jazz Festival is a legendary event, revered by music lovers from all over the world. I played there for the first time in 1982 and today, 40 years later, I have the honour of being the musical director of the Festival in China »
Ted Lo, Musical Director of the Montreux Jazz Festival China
« We are delighted to welcome Hangzhou and the passionate team of Montreux Jazz Festival China into the great Montreux Jazz Festival family. After Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, we are pursuing our journey of mutual cultural and musical exchange, values which have always been dear to the Montreux Jazz Festival. »
Mathieu Jaton, CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival
Since the end of the 1970s, the Montreux Jazz Festival has exported its savoir-faire, its unique heritage and atmosphere to various cities around the world. Sao Paulo, Detroit, Atlanta, Singapore, Monaco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and now Hangzhou will all have hosted one or more editions of their own Montreux Jazz Festival. Since 2008, the Montreux Jazz International company has been managing the international development of the brand, through festival licences and Montreux Jazz Café franchises.