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Jessye Norman at a music workshop - Photo ©MJF

Montreux, Switzerland- The stars may have descended on Montreux mid-last week, but impossibly, I followed a rainbow’s arc down the highway from Lavaux on Sunday 4 July  to arrive, thoroughly soaked, and high on the energy that is the Montreux Jazz Festival.

The evening headliners at Stravinsky Hall included two genre bending musicians as yet unknown to me; the pianist Brad Mehldau and the contemporary opera singer, Jessye Norman.

I have to say, concert pianists are not my cup of tea and it was more out of academic interest than musical passion, that I stepped into the auditorium for the Brad Mehldau concert. He got right down to it after a brief introduction, launching without fanfare into a mellow piece. Mehldau’s physicality was immediately apparent, he seemed to be crafting notes in his own private piano workshop with his right hand frequently levitating above the keyboard,  a harbinger of good sounds to come.

As I listened I laughed imagining I was hearing an incredibly rich “Bittersweet Symphony.” In fact I learned, this is classic Mehldau. A recent concert play list included covers of The Verve, Stone Temple Pilots, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Neil Young, Brian Wilson and Nirvana.

She will blow your mind!

Montreux regular Quincy Jones introduced Jessye Norman, promising “she will blow your mind,” and he was right.

The concert opened with a sole Djembe beat, followed by Norman’s entry with an operatic soprano delivery of a black spiritual, and a clarinet solo.

Norman has an amazing range of voice, and uses it with folly – by her own admission. What starts as a rendition of “Fever,” morphs into a rousing “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” with a few bars of “Hit the Road Jack,” thrown in for good measure. Norman’s voice is accompanied by  a first class horn/wind section including trumpet, saxophone and clarinet.

For Norman’s second piece, the pianist launched into a classical piano solo, which became a bee-bop number, and then a bit of Duke Ellington swing – it’s as if Norman is saying “I can do the blues, but that’s not all!” She seems to be playing with her audience, and enjoying herself in the process. By the third song, Norman had brought the audience around to her worldview, and her address to the crowd seemed almost superfluous.

“We’re so happy to have you here with us, from the drums of Africa to the New World and the Spiritual, because the drums of Africa are the foundation for all modern music, be it be bop or hip hop,” she said.

Her play list for this show is an homage to musical giants including Ellington, Odetta, Simone, Horne, Fitzgerald and Monk. Music is a conscious walk through history for Norman; count yourself lucky if she invites you to join her for a stroll.

Going to Montreux? Read our survival guide and list of free events.

Read all of our Montreux Jazz Festival reviews.

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