From 1 to 16 July 2022, the fans of the Montreux Jazz Festival will finally be welcomed back into its iconic venues. Julius Baer, the new Global Partner of the Festival, is excited to be a part of this spectacular journey. Explore the hidden gems among the string of events with this secret guide.
The Montreux Jazz Festival’s free programme features more than 450 activities on 11 stages. Many new discoveries and hidden gems are there to be explored. Julius Baer has picked out some of the emerging talents and established artists and created a guide for each weekend:
Composer, producer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ – Emma-Jean Thackray is no doubt one of the most riveting young artists of the British jazz scene. Radio BBC 6 named her debut album, ‘Yellow’, one of the albums of the year 2021. Thackray transcends musical borders and moves between genres on what she calls a psychedelic trip reminiscent of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane and Madlib.
Time: Friday, 1 July, 9:30 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
About the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation - Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (mjaf.ch)
Carl Craig is a creative visionary, an icon of electronic music, an esteemed composer, a world-class DJ and an ambassador for his hometown Detroit. His long-standing association with the Montreux Jazz Festival began in the 1980s with the festival’s spin-off events in Detroit, from 1981 to 1990. He has shared his art with audiences across the world through numerous channels, not least his own Planet-E record label, which he launched in 1991 with the ground-breaking EP ‘4 Jazz Funk Classics’. At this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival, Craig will conduct the workshop ‘A Music History by Carl Craig’ at 6:00 p.m., where he presents his take on music history from African to electronic music, and will play one of his legendary DJ sets later on at 1:00 a.m.
Time: Friday, 1 July, 1:00 a.m.
Location: La Coupole
Singer, songwriter and producer LNDFK is one of the participants in Jazz in Motion that stand out. LNDFK is the moniker of Linda Feki, who was born in Tunisia and grew up in Naples, Italy. The multifaceted artist had her breakthrough at Primavera Sound 2019, where she intrigued fans and critics alike. On her newly released album ‘Kuni’, LNDFK navigates a maze of diverse styles with panache and elegance, fusing jazz, neo-soul and hip hop influences and distilling them with experience and sensitivity.
Time: Saturday, 2 July, 10:00 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
About the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation - Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (mjaf.ch)
Shooting star Tsew The Kid was born in Paris in 1996 and has roots in Madagascar. His music is a mix of diverse influences and moves easily between RnB, hip hop, rap and Latin. After a well-received mini album in 2019, Tsiry Ralaiarisedy, as he is named in real life, wanted to take, in his own words, “a tiny step into the big league”. His very promising debut album ‘Ayna’ was released recently.
Time: Saturday, 2 July, 11:00 p.m.
Location: Lisztomania
The 32-year-old British singer-songwriter is the shooting star of the year. As a participant (and runner-up) of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, he reached an audience of unprecedented size. Before that, Ryder had played in various bands, wrote songs and lived in Hawaii for a while, where he ran a vegan coffee shop. During lockdown, Sam Ryder began to post covers of famous pop songs, attracting the attention of prominent fans like Alicia Keys, Sia and Elton John. In 2021, this led to a recording deal with Parlophone, which also released his most popular song, ‘Space Man’.
Time: Wednesday, 6 July, 8:00 p.m.
Location: Terrasse ibis MUSIC
London’s production duo Blue Lab Beats are in hot demand right now. When it comes to their music, producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr. DM have an unequivocal mind-set and lifestyle. They merge vibes and elements from jazz, hip hop, soul, funk, R&B and boom rap into what they call their ‘Jazztronica’ music. They burst upon the scene with releases on legendary jazz label ‘Blue Note Records’, where they have now made their full-length debut with the album ‘Motherland Journey’.
Time: Thursday, 7 July, 9:30 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
London-based emerging artist TSHA had an incredible year in 2021. Tipped by everyone from Annie Mac to Bonobo to Gorillaz and widely played by British radio stations, she has been hailed as "future artist’ or ‘club superstar DJ". Touring almost incessantly, she has now released her latest single, ‘Boyz’, on prominent indie label ‘Ninja Tune’. TSHA’s club music is multi-layered and game-changing. That’s why artists such as Foals or Lianne La Havas have brought her in as a remixer. The Montreux Jazz Festival selected TSHA as an up-and-coming Spotlight Artist.
Time: Thursday, 7 July, 0:00 a.m.
Location: Ipanema
MJF Spotlight - MJF (montreuxjazzfestival.com)
To mark the 15th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation, various musicians who are supported by the foundation have been invited to a special event. Among them is the phenomenal pianist Tigran Hamasyan. He dazzles with a stunning mix of brilliant technique, complex rhythms and idiosyncratic harmonies, meshing jazz and progressive rock with the sounds of his native Armenia. Hamasyan has won numerous awards, among them the German Jazz Prize in the category ‘Artist of the Year – international’. His new album ‘StandArt’ features highly original interpretations of well-known jazz standards.
Time: Friday, 8 July, 9:30 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
About the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation - Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (mjaf.ch)
8 July, Yendry
Yendry Cony Fiorentino aka Yendry is a Dominican-Italian singer-songwriter. She first came to prominence in 2012 in Italy, where she participated in the sixth edition of X Factor Italy and won herself a recording deal with Sony Music Italy.
9 July, Sam Tompkins
Singer-songwriter Sam Tompkins from Brighton, UK has lived a full life already, and he is only 25. His solid experience was noticed by superstar Justin Bieber, who called him his ‘new favourite artist’, and he also counts Elton John and Bastille among his fans.
10 July, RIOPY
Jean-Philippe Rio-Py, known professionally as RIOPY, is a French-born British pianist and composer. Self-taught since a very young age he has performed in many prestigious venues and has released several albums. His music is categorised as contemporary classical.
Time: Friday, 8 until Sunday, 10 July, every night at 9:00 p.m.
Location: Lisztomania
MJF Spotlight - MJF (montreuxjazzfestival.com)
The French trio Emile Londonien, consisting of Matthieu Drago (drums), Nils Boyny (synth) and Théo Tritsch (bass), hails from Strasbourg in Alsace, France. Musically speaking, they travel between jazz, broken beat and house music. Their music has helped establish ties to London, where they have also appeared. Their latest and very engaging single ‘Skylight’ has been released on the ‘Omezis’ label this year.
Time: Sunday, 10 July, 8:00 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
Legendary DJ and radio presenter Gilles Peterson discovered Secret Night Gang in Manchester’s dynamic live music scene and quickly signed them to his label ‘Brownswood Recordings’. Secret Night Gang’s eponymous debut album was released in October last year. The cross-generational group around singer Kemani Anderson infuses the UK street soul sound with a fresh and summery mix of soul jazz, R&B and gospel.
Time: Thursday, 14 July, 9:30 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
Following on from weekly jam sessions in South London, Steam Down emerged in 2017 as a musical collective fronted by multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Ahnansé. The group, which Ahnansé prefers to call a ‘music organisation’, quickly made a name for themselves in London’s new jazz scene. They mesmerise audiences with energetic, deep-reaching and explosive performances that weave in and out of jazz, soul, gospel, electronic influences and rap. Listening to Steam Down’s EP ‘Five Fruit’, one feels that same energy coming through, supported by socio-critical themes and reflective texts. The Montreux Jazz Festival selected Steam Down as up-and-coming Spotlight Artists.
Time: Saturday, 16 July, 9:30 p.m.
Location: The Memphis supported by Julius Baer
MJF Spotlight - MJF (montreuxjazzfestival.com)
In the context of the lo-fi hype, Ross From Friends became known as a trio. But behind the professional name stands a single character: British producer and DJ Felix Clary Weatherall. In order to perform his music live, he brought on two friends: John Dunk on sax and keyboards, and Jed Hampson on e-guitar. Among others, Ross from Friends released the EP ‘Epiphany’ in 2019 on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label. Mixmag describes his music as a combination of various electronic influences, with ‘the liveliness of hip hop, Japanese boogie and house music’.
Time: Saturday, 16 July, 11:00 p.m.
Location: Lisztomania
Important information
All programmes, acts, artists, times and locations are subject to change.
Furthermore, the bank proudly supports ‘The Memphis’ stage, located in one of the free venues, the Lake House. ‘The Memphis’ consists of an American-style jazz club dedicated to jazz music in all its forms. The atmosphere will be changing throughout each evening, with workshops and creations, concerts by up-and-coming groups and the legendary jam sessions.
Photo credits:
1. Lead image: ©FFJM 2022
2. Image, 1. weekend: ©FFJM 2018 Emilien Itim
3. Image, 2. weekend: ©FFJM 2022
4. Image, 3. weekend: ©FFJM 2022
