Stevie Wonder to headline Montreux Jazz festival

[1382hitsville]

Stevie Wonder will be joined by Pharrell Williams and Damon Albarn when he headlines the 48th Montreux Jazz Festival later this year.

The full line-up for the festival, which runs from 4-19 July, includes Van Morrison, Massive Attack, hip-hop duo Outkast and Jamie Cullum.

Wonder's appearance fulfils a long-held wish of the festival's late founder Claude Nobs, who died in 2013.

"We tried to get Stevie many times," said festival director Mathieu Jaton.

The veteran star will play at the Swiss resort's Stravinsky Auditorium on 16 July, with seats priced at 450 Swiss francs [[£304).

Williams, who stole the show at this year's Oscars with his performance of Despicable Me 2's Happy, will perform at the festival on 7 July.

Pharrell Williams
Williams recently announced he will join the US version of The Voice as a coach
"He is the artist we had to get this year," Jaton told Reuters.

"You hear Pharrell Williams everywhere on the radio and television. He has produced incredible pieces," he added, alluding to Williams' string of hit performances on tracks like Daft Punk's Get Lucky and Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines.

Thicke will also perform at the event, as will Chris Rea - who returns to the Montreux stage for the first time in 14 years.

Announcing the line-up, Jaton spoke about the on-going work to digitise the 6,000 hours of recorded music from Montreux concerts across the years.

"The digitising is nearly done," he said. "The archives were recognised by UNESCO last year as part of the world's cultural heritage."

"We have the same spirit and way of doing things, but of course we miss Claude."

The Swiss festival was founded in 1967 and has hosted stars including Miles Davis, Ray Charles, David Bowie and Prince.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26880925

[jack020]

It is cheaper to see him in Europe at the Northsea Jazz festival in Rotterdam july 12!

Vrijdag 11 juli: Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke, Mavis Staples, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gregory Porter, Mehliana featuring Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana, Tom Harrell "Colors of a Dream", Paloma Faith, John Scofield Überjam, Joshua Redman Quartet with Metropole Orkest Strings conducted by Jules Buckley, Robert Glasper Experiment with Metropole Orkest conducted by Vince Mendoza, Booker T Jones

Zaterdag 12 juli: Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Joss Stone, Quincy Jones Presents Nikki Yanofsky, Alfredo Rodriguez Trio & Andreas Varady*, Martial Solal Trio, Snarky Puppy & Friends, Children of the Light Trio: Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Ibrahim Maalouf, The Cat Empire, Sons of Kemet, Kenny Garrett Quartet, Dirty Loops, The Metropole Orkest Big Band plays Quincy Jones: "This is how I feel about jazz" conducted by Jules Buckley, Benjamin Clementine

Zondag 13 juli: Outkast, CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Darkside, The Daptone Super Soul Revue featuring Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Antibalas, The Sugarman 3 with special guests Saun and Starr and Master of Ceremonies Binky Griptite, Oscar D'Leon, PRISM featuring Dave Holland, Kevin Eubanks, Craig Taborn and Eric Harland, Buika, Electro Deluxe, Allen Stone, Neneh Cherry & RocketNumberNine