MONTREUX VILLE CRÉATIVE: Montreux in 1967

When Charles Lloyd took the stage in Montreux in 1967, no one could have imagined that this fledgling festival on the shores of Lake Geneva would become one of the world’s premier music events. Yet his performance at that very first edition immediately helped establish the Montreux Jazz Festival’s international visibility and credibility.

At the time, the American saxophonist was one of the most innovative figures in contemporary jazz. Surrounded by a legendary quartet featuring Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee, and Jack DeJohnette, Charles Lloyd embodied a generation of musicians who opened jazz to influences from rock, world music, and free improvisation, thereby attracting a young audience far beyond traditional jazz circles.

This workshop revisits this defining moment in Montreux’s history: the meeting between Claude Nobs, a festival still in its infancy, and an artist already regarded as a major figure on the international scene. Through audiovisual archives, photographs, concert excerpts, and historical accounts, this workshop explores how Charles Lloyd helped put Montreux on the global jazz map from the very beginning.

The workshop also highlights the enduring ties between the artist and the Festival, as well as the spirit of openness, curiosity, and musical freedom that has defined Montreux’s identity from the very beginning.