Chaka Khan Headlines Musical Tribute To Quincy Jones At Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz festival kicked off its 59th edition on Friday 4th July with Chaka Khan's musical homage to 28-time Grammy Award winner Quincy Jones. Legendary Soulstress Chaka Khan led the tribute to Quincy Jones–former Ambassador and co-producer of the festival–who died last year aged 91. Held on the stunning Lake Stage overlooking magical Lake Geneva, the emotional celebration was a joyful opening night full of music and brimming with love for the legendary Music Producer who was instrumental in shaping the soul of Montreux Jazz Festival. Chaka Khan's tribute to Quincy set the tone for an extraordinary two-week programme of live music in Montreux, which ends on 19th July.
There was no more fitting way to open the 2025 Montreux Jazz Festival than by honouring the legacy of legendary American Music Producer Quincy Jones–who passed away last November–in a one-of-a-kind show created especially for Montreux and fronted by iconic Chicago-born singer Chaka Khan on the fourth of July–US Independence Day. Chaka was joined by several special guests with a link to Quincy to pay a musical tribute to their friend and mentor. The unique concert was streamed worldwide as part of the Festival's livestream programme.
MJF LAC. Scène du Lac. ChakaKhan © Lionel Flusin © Lionel Flusin
Following Chaka Khan's show stopping tribute to Quincy Jones, legendary folk singer Neil Young took to the stage on Sunday 6th July, and a host of world-class performers–including Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and Grace Jones, as well as Pulp and Alanis Morissette (fresh from standout performances at Glastonbury)–will grace the Lake Stage for a lakeside swan song before the Festival returns to the Montreux Convention Centre in 2026 for its 60th edition.
After a first act featuring her greatest hits, kicking off with a storming rendition of hit I'm every woman , Chaka was joined on-stage by a host of special guests who have shared the stage or studio with Jones over the decades including; Siedah Garrett, Lalah Hathaway, Rahsaan Patterson, Mica Paris, SEVEN, and Marc Sway. The starry ensemble of musicians covered multiple hit songs produced by Quincy including Man in the Mirror (which Grammy Award winning singer Siedah Garrett co-wrote), Give Me the Night and The Secret Garden , as well as Chaka tracks Tell Me Something Good to Do You Love What You Feel .
Chaka Khan's star wattage shone through her stage presence and powerful voice, which belied her 72 years and diminutive form, and she captivated the packed audience on the Lake Stage for an energy-filled set lasting more than three hours. The performance was titled To Q With Love –inspired by Frank Sinatra's affectionate nickname of 'Q' for Quincy–and a touching montage of archive footage featuring early performances by Chaka Khan, and images of the festival's founder Claude Nobs with Quincy, was introduced in a pre-recorded video message by Michelle Obama.
MJF LAC. Scène du Lac OST. Chaka Khan & Siedah Garrett © Lionel Flusin © Lionel Flusin
Highlights of the magical evening–aside from Chaka's spellbinding performance–were emotion-filled renditions of Quincy hit records by Soul Queens Siedah Garrett, Mica Paris and Lalah Hathaway, and a joyful appearance by Swiss-Brazilian singer and percussionist Marc Sway. Set against the backdrop of a balmy July evening on Lake Geneva, the uplifting concert was a fitting homage to Quincy Jones and cemented the impact of his legacy on Montreux and on the history of music.
MJF LAC Scène du Lac OST. Marc Sway performing at Chaka Khan concert. © Lionel Flusin © Lionel Flusin
Chaka Khan told the crowd: 'This here tonight is a tribute to one of the most amazing men on the planet, and in music. As a father, a grandfather, an uncle, he was many things to me. And I know in your heart of hearts, where your music part lives, that he's part of it. So, we're gonna' do a little tribute–no a big tribute actually–to Quincy Jones.'
This was a unique moment to witness in Montreux as iconic Soultress Chaka Khan performed her greatest hits in a one-off tribute to the late, great Quincy Jones–former co-producer and ambassador of Montreux Jazz Festival–before the performances return to a newly renovated Casino in 2026.
MJF LAC. Scène du Lac OST. Siedah Garrett performs with Chaka Khan © Lionel Flusin © Lionel Flusin
Before her rendition of Man in the Mirror Siedah Garrett recounted to the audience: 'This song changed my life. This song has opened so many doors, has allowed me to be on this stage tonight honouring the late, great, Quincy Delight Jones. So he [Quincy] was looking for one more song to round up the 'Bad' album [by Michael Jackson]. So Glen [Ballard] and I wrote this song and Michael loved it and recorded it.'
Arriving by boat across the glistening water of Lake Geneva from stunning Hotel des Couronnes in Vevey was the ultimate mode of transport, the lake stage appearing above the crystal clear water of Lake Geneva in a magical prelude to an unforgettable night of life-affirming music.
An Electrifying Farewell
As the final chords rang out and Chaka brought the night full circle with a rousing encore of I'm Every Woman , a tangible electricity surged through the crowd and everybody danced, including the most reserved concert goers. A perfectly fitting end to an unforgettable evening of music on the Swiss Riviera.
More than a concert, the performance felt like a musically spiritual communion–an expression of love for Quincy and his legacy, a joyous celebration of Chaka Khan's contribution to music history, a showcase for the talents of her supporting singers and musicians, and an ode to the natural beauty of Lake Geneva and Montreux.
MJF LAC. Scène du Lac OST. Chaka Khan © Lionel Flusin © Lionel Flusin
Streaming for the World, from Montreux with Love
All performances from Montreux Jazz Festival 2025 are being livestreamed for free via the Festival's official YouTube channel, continuing its mission to bring live music to audiences around the world, without borders. The full and updated streaming schedule is available on the festival website.
With To Q With Love , Montreux didn't just open a music festival—it opened a portal. To memory. To melody. To the spirit of Quincy Jones.
And surely–as Chaka's performance unfolded under the starry night Sky of Montreux– Quincy Jones and Claude Nobs were listening from the heavens.
A Starry line-up at Montreux Jazz Festival 2025
Chaka Khan's Quincy Jones tribute kicked off a two week festival programme with a a standout lineup including RAYE, Benson Boone, The Black Keys, FKA Twigs, Alanis Morissette, J Balvin, Bloc Party, Joe Bonamassa, London Grammar, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and Celeste.
All the concerts will be available to livestream for free on the Montreux Jazz Festival's official YouTube channel, bringing Montreux's iconic lakeside experience directly to music lovers everywhere and continuing the Festival's ambition to bring live music to as wide a public as possible. The full and updated broadcast schedule is available on the festival's website.
With this extraordinary opening night, the Montreux Jazz Festival 2025 is officially underway, promising two more weeks of unforgettable moments on the shores of Lake Geneva.
For more information or tickets go the festival website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Verge
3 days ago
- The Verge
Thanks for sharing.
Lawyer and venture capitalist Hank Barry, Napster's former CEO, recalled famed music executive Quincy Jones asking him whether a particular Dizzy Gillespie track he had sought for years was available over Napster. Amazed that it was, Jones brokered peace talks with the industry, though they didn't work out.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Forbes
Sunday Conversation: Maren Morris On New Music, Women Scorned And More
Maren Morris' superb new album, DREAMSICLE, is an infectious, engaging collection of songs largely rooted in pop. This has led to a whole hullabaloo about Morris leaving country behind, the same way it did when Neil Young began playing synths in the '80s, when Joni Mitchell embraced her love of jazz, hell, when Bob Dylan plugged in at the Newport Folk Fest 60 years ago and got called a 'Judas.' As a certain Mr. Shakespeare coined it, 'Much ado about nothing.' Every great artist experiments musically, this should be considered the norm, not the deviation. Of course, the gifted Grammy-winning Morris, who released her debut album at 15, should be expected to change things up after 20 years. Just ask Miles, Prince, Joni, Bowie, Tom Waits, Rod Stewart, Taylor, Willie, the list goes on. Morris, now 35, is growing as an artist. And the boldness musically and lyrically of DREAMSICLE reflects an artist gaining confidence and finding new paths to sojourn as her voice grows stronger with age and experience. I spoke with Morris about the new album, touring and much more. Steve Baltin: You just played We Ho Pride. How'd that go? Maren Morris: Oh, it was so fun. It was my first Pride to perform at. So, the fact that it was the West Hollywood one felt really official, but it was so fun. It was such a beautiful night out and the energy in the crowd was so just optimistic and it just gave me a jolt like, 'Okay, we're going to be all right.' Baltin: I know Qveen Herby opened for you. I just had dinner with her and her husband last week, so they were telling me how much fun they had opening for you and how lovely it was. Morris: Oh my gosh, I've been such a fan of her. I was listening to her album so much during COVID and back in the Karmin days too, but like the Qveen Herby era has been…I met her that night for the first time and she was so sweet. And you can just tell she's a songwriter. I love picking people's brains that come up with turns of phrases like she does, but then also in a live way, just so fun to watch side stage before our show. Baltin: You say that about songwriters and in fact, we also just spoke to Julia Michaels in the last two weeks. Morris: Oh, you're naming all my favorite people. Yeah, she's such a gem of a human. And I'm so happy that we've been able to collaborate so much over the last couple years. She's just a real one. Baltin: We had the best conversation about the song, 'Go F**k Yourself,' and how much fun she had doing that. We were talking about how liberating that sentiment is. Are there songs on this record that had the same feeling for you? I love the honesty, for instance, of 'Bed No Breakfast.' Morris: Thanks. Yeah, there are a couple of moments like that on the album of not where I outright say like, 'Oh f**k yourself,' but definitely 'Too Good' is one of those that's very brash and then 'Lemonade,' like the intro of the album was also in that sort of acidic lane of like I've had enough. Yeah, a woman scorned who also writes songs is a thing to behold. A beautiful, scary thing to behold. Baltin: Every great artist has gone from genre to genre. It's the most natural thing in the world. So are there those artists that have really influenced you in the way that they have moved around musically? Morris: Yeah, I think all of my favorite records, artists, they're so different. Like if you listen to Sheryl Crow between Tuesday Night Music Club and The Globe Sessions there's a big musical shift, but you can still obviously tell the heartbeat is Sheryl's writing, her voice. Then Patty Griffin is another one that I have had a long-time obsession with. Flaming Red is one of my favorite albums, but it's also the most sonically ambitious album I've ever heard. And I guess it would be considered a rock album, but it's just Patty. So, it's very singer/songwriter-y and folky in moments, but then she's going balls to the wall on these drums to kick the album off. There are so many examples of people that genre blend, genre shift. I think that's the name of the game is not copying and pasting your work over and over and over again, just to make a buck. I think it's exciting when people do something that's out of leftfield. Baltin: I think as an artist that's the only way to also keep yourself happy and interested. Otherwise, you're going to lose your mind. Morris: I've always have been influenced by a lot of different kinds of music. And I think that comes out in my own work. But depending on who I'm writing with or collaborating with, who's producing, every day is different. So, sometimes for me, honing in on a lane has never been a thing. It's also not something I should have to do. I love that with this record DREAMSICLE I can weave between lanes pretty seamlessly and it feels still at the end of the day like a cohesive project because it's the same brain, the same voice, the same heart. Especially when I'm going to tour rehearsals next week was like, I really want to work up songs that I'm excited about, that I loved making in the studio that kept me going each day. Baltin: What are your favorite women scorned songs? Morris: The ones that like come to mind are definitely like, because I was just listening to it, 'You're So Vain,' Carly Simon. A recent one is Taylor Swift's 'The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,' that's a really good one. Then also not to circle back, but I just like love Julia Michaels EP so much. I think that she's so good at having a unique take each time, there is a scorn to be had. Even with 'Scissors,' the one that I'm on, I was like this is such a beautiful way of saying I don't care about you enough to mourn this relationship if you decide to end it. I'm good either way. She just has such a unique way of spinning something like that Baltin: Let's come onto the tour for one second. What are the songs that you're most excited to do live? What are the songs you are most excited to see how people responded to them? Morris: Weirdly, it's all the ballads. I think the one I'm really excited to work up with the band because it was such a spiritual experience writing it. And it's literally about losing religion. But the song 'Holy Smoke,' I'm really excited to work up with the band because there are so many layers musically that Jack Antonoff added. Lots of backing vocals that I layered, Laura Belts, my songwriter friend, layered and it just has this really communal sing-along element to it. So, I think in a live setting it's one of those songs that I love on the album; it's beautiful, we produced it beautifully. But you know when you're writing something that is going to slap live. Baltin: What were the songs that have surprised you most over the years, those ones in your catalog that have become live favorites? Morris: There's a song from my first record. It's called "Once." And it's just a really vocally strenuous song live, it just takes you to another dimension. I'm the one singing it and I feel like I accessed some different astral plane when I'm singing that song. It's just so guttural. But over the years, like the last eight, nine years it has been an audience favorite, even though it was never a single. It's a really heavy song. But live it is just this transcendent experience, and you never know that thing until you go and do it in the show. So, it's one of those songs I always have a tough time taking out of the set list because I just know it's going to bring the house down each time.
Forbes
23-07-2025
- Forbes
A Belle Époque Feast In The Swiss Mountains: Dining At Hotel Victoria Glion
Hotel Victoria, Switzerland Hotel Victoria Perched like a jewel on the shoulder of the mountain, above the shimmering curve of Lake Geneva, the Hotel Victoria Glion rises from the mists of time–a living reverie of Belle Époque grandeur. As our funicular gently scaled the slopes from Montreux, each click of the track seemed to lift us from the modern world and deposit us into an artist's dream of 19th-century Switzerland. High on the mountain above Montreux– close to Rochers-de-Naye–Hotel Victoria has a sense of history combined with a warm family welcome and a one-of-a-kind setting. The village of Glion greeted us with hushed charm, its cobbled stillness hinting at stories whispered between pines and alpine flowers. At the heart of it all stands the Hotel Victoria, more reminiscent of a theatre set than a hotel, with its rose-pink façade and golden yellow accents recalling something plucked from Wes Anderson movie The Grand Budapest Hotel . Upon arrival the hotel you half expect Ralph Fiennes–in character as concierge Monsier Gustave–to answer the door. Indeed, Anderson drew inspiration from Grand Swiss Belle Epoque hotels for his fictional hotel. Hotel Victoria, Glion, Switzerland. Photograph © Sky Sharrock © Sky Sharrock We were welcomed by the hotel's young director Antoine Mittermair who, at the young age of 27, took over the running of the hotel from his father, tasked with carrying its legacy and the spirit of the hotel into the future. Stepping into the lobby was like going back in time to 19th Century Belle Epoque Switzerland, the era of the Grand Hotels: oil paintings softened by age, porcelain vases poised with dignity, and carved furniture that seemed to hum with memory. Art at Hotel Victoria Glion © Sky Sharrock © Sky Sharrock We were guided to the terrace where we sat in antique wicker chairs on the emerald green grass, savouring the fresh mountain air. Before us, Lake Geneva stretched like liquid silver, the town of Montreux below humming faintly with the sounds of the Jazz Festival. A Negroni, perfectly bittered and bright and an Aperol Spritz, kissed by the sun were our opening notes. Hotel Victoria Glion terrace © Sky Sharrock © Sky Sharrock Lunch unfolded as a love letter to Swiss-French cuisine, lovingly created by the chef's steady hand. A chilled and minted Pea Velouté, as light as a breeze, tasted of meadows and first blooms–so delicious and fresh that we asked for the recipe, which was later printed out for us and presented in a beautiful card. No attention to detail was spared. A delicate and refreshing starter of Ceviche de sériole aux pickles was beautifully presented and quickly digested, before the pièce de résistance -Dover sole à la meunière–a symphony of butter and lemon, plated with such care it felt like a travesty to eat it. The Chef–Mr. Gilles Vincent–emerged onto the terrace to greet the guests. Pea Veloute soup at Hotel Victoria Glion © Sky Sharrock © Sky Sharrock Each bite was a delight, each moment on that terrace a postcard to remember, for the delectable food, service and picturesque view. The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon–or any meal time–on a level with the clouds in the Swiss mountains, in a parallel universe where time stands still and you can take time to savour every mouthful of lovingly prepared food. We felt like we had stepped back in time to a Golden era of fine dining and Belle Epoque design. Classic Swiss dishes on the Hotel Victoria's menu include Sliced veal Zurich style and Châteaubriand with darphin potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Hotel Victoria is one of three Belle Epoque hotels located in Montreux, where the legacy of the artistic movement endures in the region's landscape and architecture. La Belle Époque–translating as "Beautiful Era" in French–refers to a period in French and European history stretching from the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 to the start of World War one in 1914. Hotel Victoria was born in the late 19th century when the Belle Epoque hotel business was flourishing on the Swiss Riviera, as the result of a new architectural movement which influenced architectural trends and, accompanied by technical innovations such as running water and electricity, enabled the construction of grand hotels with bathrooms and lifts–radical and luxurious innovations at the time. Hotel Victoria Glion Terrace © Sky Sharrock © Sky Sharrock Chef Gilles Vincent is a culinary artist, taking care to skilfully combines local produce with seasonal treasures to create classic gourmet masterpieces that are easy on the eye and agreeable to the palette. At Hotel Victoria Glion the classic menu is accompanied by a well-stocked wine cellar, with the staff on hand to suggest perfect pairings of food and wine. There is a sense of nostalgia in this historic family-run hotel, not only in well preserved Belle Epoque design with hints of Art Nouveau, but also in the Chandeliers, silverware and perfectly starched table linen that all add the perfect finishing touches to this hidden gem of a restaurant set amidst a century-old park with a flower garden. Hotel Victoria Cave a Vin Hotel Victoria Hotel Victoria Glion is not merely a hotel–it is an ode. To time, to beauty, to the slow and careful art of living well. To dine there is to slip, if only for an afternoon, into a gentler age.
