Jazz, soul & blues
Quincy Jones
A legendary producer, arranger and composer, Quincy Jones was far more than a guest of Montreux: he was Claude Nobs’s close friend and one of the festival’s artistic pillars. In 1991 he co-directed its edition and conducted the orchestra for Miles Davis’s final concert, a moment etched into jazz history. His attachment to the town can be seen everywhere: a bust in the garden of the Montreux Palace, a signed portrait given by the painter Franck Bouroullec to the Montreux Jazz Café, and one of the large halls of the renovated 2M2C that now bears his name.
Quincy Jones: three years as co-director, thirty years of loyalty
Co-director of the festival
In 1991, Claude Nobs made Quincy Jones the official co-producer of the Montreux Jazz Festival, a three-year term, until 1993. For Nobs it was a dream fulfilled: bringing into the direction of his festival one of the most decorated producers in the history of music.
The two men shared the same idea of programming: not to be confined by a genre, and to make jazz, soul, pop and classical music talk to each other on the same stages.
The opening masterstroke: persuading Miles Davis
The co-directorship opened with a feat. Together with Claude Nobs, Quincy Jones obtained from Miles Davis what nobody had obtained: that he play his old repertoire again, when he had refused any form of looking back for decades.
So on 8 July 1991, Miles Davis performed the arrangements written for him by Gil Evans in the late 1950s. Quincy Jones conducted the orchestra. It was the only time in their lives that the two men shared a stage, and one of Miles Davis’s last concerts; he died on 28 September that year.
The recording was released in 1993 as “Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux” and earned Davis his seventh Grammy.
A friendship that outlived Claude Nobs
The relationship between the two men went far beyond the professional: it was described, on both sides, as brotherly. Quincy Jones returned to Montreux every summer, to play, to programme, or simply to listen.
When Claude Nobs died in January 2013, many expected the bond to loosen. The opposite happened: Quincy Jones kept coming every summer and took on the role of the festival’s ambassador. His visits continued until 2019.
He died in November 2024, aged 91. The festival paid tribute to him as one of its godfathers.
What remains in Montreux
His bust, arms raised like a conductor, stands in the garden of the Montreux Palace, among those of the artists Claude Nobs had brought to town. At the Montreux Jazz Café, a portrait painted by Franck Bouroullec carries his handwritten dedication.
One of the large halls of the 2M2C now bears his name. His concert of 8 July 1991, filmed, belongs to the festival archives inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World register.
Related places
▸Buste de Quincy JonesBustOpen the place →
© Visit Montreux The legendary producer, conductor’s arms raised, a historic partner of Claude Nobs.
▸Funky Claude's BarVenue with memorabiliaOpen the place →
© Reisememo.ch, CC BY The former Harry’s Bar, haunt of the stars and of the festival’s jam sessions, renamed in tribute to Claude Nobs.
▸Quincy Jones HallHall of the 2M2COpen the place →
Photo coming soonThe large space of the renovated 2M2C, with a lakeside terrace, named in tribute to the festival’s faithful friend.
▸Portrait dédicacé de Quincy JonesPaintingOpen the place →
© Visit Montreux A large painted portrait of Quincy Jones, signed in his own hand, on display at the Montreux Jazz Café.
▸Montreux Jazz FestivalFestival / 2M2C convention centreOpen the place →
© Visit Montreux The heart of the festival since 1993: under one roof, the Auditorium Stravinski and the halls that host half the history of music every summer.
▸2M2C, Montreux Music & Convention CentreConvention centre / concert hallsOpen the place →
© Visit Montreux The permanent building that hosts the Montreux Jazz Festival each summer, and the town’s cultural season the rest of the year: the Auditorium Stravinski and the neighbouring halls under one roof.
Photos
Quincy Jones, Montreux
