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Music festivals have a responsibility to help “tell the stories” of artists who perform on their lineup, the CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival has said, as Ezra Collective declared they “wouldn’t exist” without festivals such as Montreux “giving us a chance”.
As the historic festival concludes the first of its two-week programme, while celebrating its landmark 60th edition, CEO Mathieu Jaton told The Independent about their approach to curating an extraordinary lineup of both legends and newcomers each year.
“We need to create bridges between the two,” he said. “When we had RAYE at the festival in 2024, the first thing she told the audience was how her heroes had played there decades before – Nina Simone, Etta James – so it becomes about that lineage.”
RAYE opened this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival with a special performance the British star curated herself, featuring surprise appearances from Mark Ronson and Alicia Keys.
Her concert at the newly reopened Stravinski Auditorium marked her third consecutive performance at Montreux, after she made her debut two years ago then headlined the temporary Lake Stage in 2025.
“We have to help younger artists build in the same way that we did with an artist like Prince, who came to Montreux six times in a row,” Jaton said.
“I deeply trust that in the music business we’re in right now, there’s still a place for creation, still a place for what I call the elegance of time. We want to position the Montreux Jazz Festival as a breath of fresh air, a bubble of time where artists have no curfew, no stress… they can stay here for three nights, enjoy the scenery, and feel that creativity again.”
Jaton and Montreux’s team work closely with artists to help them come up with something different to the standard festival set, from one-off performances to surprise guests.
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For the 60th edition, he said the goal was “to anchor the tradition of Montreux having special one-off concerts and its typically eclectic lineup, which celebrates the festival’s extraordinary jazz heritage, while also “turning the festival to the future, and really celebrating the new generation of artists”.
“In that sense, RAYE was perfect for the grand opening and then for the closing night you can have Van Morrison and James Taylor together on stage, which is quite rare… but then we also keep in mind what’s happening in music today, so you also have artists like Tyla or Zara Larsson, for example – celebrating a brand new generation, which is very important to us.”
On Saturday 11 July, this was demonstrated with a tremendous set from the UK’s own Ezra Collective, the Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet who stepped in on a week’s notice after the Isley Brothers were forced to pull out, playing the festival for the third time.
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Ezra Collective delivered thrilling renditions of tracks such as “Joy (Life Goes On)” and “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing” with Yazmin Lacey, also bringing out British rapper and musician Kojey Radical for their 2022 collaboration “No Confusion”.
In between songs, drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso took time to reflect on how the band started out playing in youth clubs, before going on to build their live reputation.
He recalled how the late Quincy Jones was the first person to invite them to play at Montreux: “That magical moment when we got a phone call as teenagers… It’s that same joy and gratitude that I have right now, we’re just so grateful to be playing to every single one of you.”
He added: “We wouldn’t exist without festival’s like Montreux giving us a chance.”
Ezra Collective’s set at the Stravinski Auditorium, which reopened this year after undergoing a multi-million franc refurbishment, preceded a headline show from The Roots, a jaw-dropping performance demonstrating their musical prowess as well as rapper Black Thought’s astonishing, virtuosic skill.
Jaton acknowledged that not every festival could take such risks with its lineup: “It’s irrational, financially, and that’s the world we’re living in where everything is formatted, everything is business-oriented, but then I think that’s the role of a festival like Montreux to keep the irrationality, keep the creativity, and to keep putting music first – that’s why I’m still in love with this institution.”
Montreux Jazz Festival continues until Saturday 18 July.
