Jazz, soul & blues
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette (born 1942 in Chicago) is one of the greatest drummers in the history of jazz. Twice he is written into Montreux’s story: he closed the first edition in 1967 with Charles Lloyd and, a year later, held the drums in Bill Evans’s trio whose record won the Grammy.
Jack DeJohnette: two Montreux beginnings
1967, 1968: Lloyd then Evans
On 18 June 1967, Jack DeJohnette closed the festival’s first edition within Charles Lloyd’s quartet, alongside the young Keith Jarrett. A year later, on 15 June 1968, he was back at the Casino, but behind another giant: Bill Evans.
With bassist Eddie Gómez, the trio recorded that night “Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival”, crowned with the 1969 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. It is the only record documenting DeJohnette’s short stay in Evans’s trio.
From Miles to Keith
DeJohnette then ran through the history of modern jazz: he was on “Bitches Brew” with Miles Davis, then, for three decades, in Keith Jarrett’s legendary Standards Trio. Of all the drummers who passed through Montreux, few can claim to have accompanied there Lloyd, Evans and so many others.