David Sanborn Headed To Montreux

05/10/1999 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(5/10/99, 1 p.m. PDT) - Saxophonist David Sanborn is among the artists expected to perform at this summer's Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The festival, which will take place July 2-17, is one of the world's most historic and prestigious jazz festivals and attracts artists from all over the music world.

According to the festival's website, www.montreuxjazz.com, Sanborn will perform July 14 on a bill that also includes the Pat Metheny Trio and Herbie Hancock.

Sanborn says that when he performs a show, he doesn't care whether he's the opening act or the headliner. As he explains, pleasing an audience is a challenge, no matter when you play. "If you go on second, then you've got to keep their interest," he says. "Maybe they're bored and they expect too much when you come on, like, 'I've already heard an hour of music. Tell me something...' You can't really second-guess how an audience is going to react. You know once you get out there, but it's hard to know in advance."

Other artists scheduled to play the Montreux Jazz Festival include Bryan Ferry, Rickie Lee Jones, the Jeff Healey Band, Marianne Faithfull, Des'Ree, Van Morrison, R.E.M., B.B. King, Jonny Lang, Blondie, Elvis Costello, and others.

The festival also features the Montreux Café, which presents free concerts, jam sessions, DJs, and big-screen showings of events taken from the festival's archives. There are three musical cruises: the Salsa Boat, Samba Boat, and Gospel Boat, as well as numerous free workshops and acoustic concerts. The festival will also present its first jazz piano competition, featuring George Duke presiding over the jury. Another first-time event is the Montreux Jazz Panoramic Express, a musical train trip that travels from Montreux's lakeside to the mountain resort of Gstaad.

For more information and the complete line-up, visit the festival website at www.montreuxjazz.com.

Features on Des'Ree, R.E.M., B.B. King, Jonny Lang, and Elvis Costello are available on LAUNCH.com. Look for a Blondie feature soon.

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