Join us for an examination of the Montreux Jazz Festival's place in history, where the sounds of jazz and the struggle for equality resonate together. Our podcast episode features an exploration of the festival's role as a heaven for African American artists during a time of intense social strife. Through interviews with historians Davide Rodogno and Mohamed Mahmoud Mohamedou, we will uncover how the festival became a stage for both artistic performance and social commentary, with concerts like Nina Simone's 1976 appearance serving as key examples. We invite you to engage with this narrative that captures the essence of a festival that's not just an event, but a milestone in cultural history.

With the voices of:

• Thierry Amsallem, President of Claude Nobs Foundation
• James Baldwin, Writer & Civil Right Activist
• Florian Carquillat, Artistic Coordinator Montreux Jazz Festival
• Mohamed Mahmoud Mohamedou, Historian, Geneva Graduate Institute
• Davide Rodogno, Historian, Geneva Graduate Institute

Produced by:

• Lucas Grobon
• Matthew Morvan
• Bastien Sauvet

within the frame of EPFL lecture “Montreux Jazz Memories : Patrimoine et Numérisation”:

Photograph Credits:

• Nina Simone at Montreux Jazz Festival 1976, Dany Gignoux, 1976 – Photograph from Gignoux D. from Photo123.Ch : photo123.ch/en/original-photog...

Credits for musical samples:

• I wish I knew how it would feel to be free, Nina Simone, 1976 – Extract of Nina Simone Concert from Montreux Jazz Festival 1976. Available: youtube.com/watch?v=vq3sdF0YXk...
• Brushes / Jazz Drum Beat 150 bpm, Drum Skin, 2022 – Song Extract from Drum Skin. Available: youtube.com/watch?v=3Q79a9PW c
• One for Bill, Darin Wilson, 2021 – Song Extract from Darin Wilson. Available: youtube.com/watch?v=tVgM8SmC8-...
• Stranger in the Village, James Baldwin, 1962 – Documentary from Pierre Koralnik. Available: notrehistoire.ch/entries/9a8VE...