Montreux Jazz returns

DW: Mr. Jaton, 200,000 people flock to the small town of Montreux, Switzerland, each year. And many guests rave about that special kind of magic that encompasses the Jazz Festival. Why do you think people are so enthusiastic about it?

Mathieu Jaton: That is mainly due to the festival’s founder, Claude Nobs. He always tried to provide the musicians with as much space for creativity as possible. And that’s how it is still today. When stars walk onto the stage, they know that they may more or less do, or not do, whatever they want. That’s why numerous very special concerts and jam sessions have taken place here, because the musicians feel good. Quincy Jones, for example, comes here every year. This time, he will spend two entire weeks in Montreux. He has almost become a kind of ambassador of the festival. Each time he comes here, he says: "I am back home." That’s the biggest possible compliment for us.

The festival was founded in 1967 - what has changed during those years?

A lot. When managing a festival such as this one, one needs to constantly reinvent it. A festival ought not be static - the music, after all, isn’t static either. That’s why, each year, we give a lot of thought to what we could do next. Over the past 15 years the music industry has completely changed, partly due to digitalization and social networks. Nowadays, musicians of all kinds and styles present themselves on the Internet, which is where we trace them. That enables us to create new and very special programs over and over again - that is part of our concept. We love it!

As the event has long ceased to focus exclusively on jazz, the term "Jazz Festival" appears to be a bit misleading. How do you create the program?

Making our choices is always a very passionate process, and we try to create a good mixture of musicians and bands who will perform together. Yesterday, for example, when Damien Rice was on the stage, he was preceded by the German musician Nils Frahm - he mixes classical jazz with electronic music. We thought they would fit together well, but then it turned out that they did not even know each other. Once they found out that they would both be performing that very same evening, they got curious about each other’s music and even decided to play something together. That’s the kind of platform we try to create for the artists - one that enables them to exchange ideas.

You tend to concede quite a lot of space in the program to newcomers. What role does upcoming talent play in the festival?

That’s what’s so wonderful about Montreux - newcomers bump into established international stars. For example Benjamin Booker, a young garage rocker from New Orleans - we listened to him thinking: "Wow, what a strong, awesome sound!" Then we asked Lenny Kravitz whether he wanted to share the evening with him, and his answer was: "Of course!" It’s great to have young, upcoming artists perform ahead of the headliners. We always bear the next generation of musicians in mind as well.

And how about the next generation of audiences?

Yes, we do think of them, too. A jazz festival attended by 60-year olds only is unlikely to turn into a huge success. That’s why we need to create more variety by introducing new musical styles. But again and again there are surprises - for example, during the concert of Deep Purple. We thought: "Most of the guests will probably be 55-75 years old." Far from it! I noticed there were three generations present in the concert hall, ranging from 18-year olds who had become familiar with the music through to their grandfathers, 30 to 40-year olds…to some older than 70. It’s amazing to see how all these generations share a passion for the same music.

In 2013, festival founder Claude Nobs passed away - which came as a big surprise. Thereafter, you took over. Nobs had been close friends with many international stars, leaving his mark on the festival across many decades. How did you manage to assume so much responsibility?

I have been working with Claude for 20 years. Together we traveled around the world, meeting the most interesting people and artists. I share his passion for music and the artists, and I have kept this passion also after his death. It was clear to me that I would never be able to replace him, so I didn’t even try. Claude Nobs - that’s 50 years of music history, he was a king in the music business. I do my best to keep Claude Nobs’ spirit alive. But of course, I also bring in a part of myself. And I have come to share my passion with yet a new generation of artists.

How will the future of the Montreux Jazz Festival look?

Next year we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. It’s quite rare that festivals exist for such a long time. It will be a big party. But we will not look back as much as we will look ahead, thinking about the future of the festival over the next 50 years.

This interview was conducted by Antje Binder.