
Montreux Festival on Tour, the first version of Switzerland’s 34-year-old Montreux Jazz Festival to tour the United States, opens on August 4 in Chicago. Al Jarreau , Roberta Flack, Joe Sample, David Sanborn and George Duke with his All Star Band will be among the artists on the bill.
In connection with the tour, a pay-per-view television program called “Montreux Sounds” is also planned.
Jarreau is the only singer in history to win best vocalist Grammys in three different categories (jazz, pop and R&B). Among Flack’s Grammys are Record of the Year and Song of the Year awards for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”
The tour’s presenting sponsor is Oldsmobile Aurora. Traveling with the tour will be the Aurora/Montreux Gallery, a collection of posters created for past Montreux Jazz festivals. Well-known artists like Keith Haring and Andy Warhol created some of the posters; artists who have participated in the festival, including Phil Collins, created others.