NOTES FROM THE ROAD by Alicia Keys

Jazzed up on Montreux (published October 3rd 2004)

The Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, ahh…what an experience!

Going to Switzerland was a nice change because the sun was there to welcome us. (For some reason, no matter what time of year it is, there are certain parts of Europe that always seem to be freezing cold.) The way the mountains and water met each other all along the street was so much like a painting - it was beautiful. The streets were electric with people excited about the festivities. And me, I was just hanging out of my window entranced, thinking about how many incredible people and artists had been here before me. As I gazed out onto the streets, I wondered how people must have looked and dressed and seemed to somebody like Miles Davis when he played here.

We were invited up to the house (or chateau, as it is know here) of Claude Nobs, who founded the festival in 1967. He lives in the mountains and, if the view was incredible from my hotel room down below, I can’t even begin to explain the view from up above.

The mountains were immense. The sun was so warm, and every single chair and hammock was turned to face the vast view, forcing you to reflect as you looked out onto the water and hills. Everywhere you turned looked like a painting, as if you were merely a vision by an artist from above. (Which we are, but you really felt it here!) It made me see how differently you can view life, depending on how you live it. Up there, I felt the beauty of the world and the way it can clear your mind. That’s only some of the point, the rest is what it left me feeling…I don’t know, let me try to explain.

Mr. Nobs has an unbelievable archive of all the people who have ever performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. It’s incredible! For every person that has ever graced the stage, from Miles Davis to Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles to Nina Simone (and that’s just to name a few), he has historic footage that you will never see anywhere else. He played us Aretha Franklin’s 1971 performance, and it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. She had to be about 23 years old. She was a baby, and singing and playing the piano with all her heart. You felt her spirit leap off the screen into your lap.

Spirit of ‘76
But for me, the most amazing performance was Nina Simone’s in 1976. She had just come back from Africa, and you could feel her anger and intense feelings about the way musicians, especially black musicians, were treated. She obviously felt ambivalence about the way people in general were treated during that time and all that was going on in America. You could tell she felt as if she didn’t really belong anywhere. But her playing…oh, my goodness, her playing! She played the piano as if her life depended on it. Her fluidity was incredible. Her expression was genuine and real and deep, and it was something that ripped through my whole core! I couldn’t catch my breath. All the times I wished I could have seen some of my favorite artists who are no longer here, to see the way they did it, what their approach was - that day, I was looking directly at it. I was mesmerized and inspired beyond belief.

It got me thinking about artists back then, how serious they were about their craft. How artists like Nina Simone, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes thought. They had things to say and opinions about what was going on around them, about things that others were afraid to discuss. They embraced the challenge and said what the people were thinking but never had the voice to express. They were the leaders of a generation that needed to be heard. They were unafraid and unfazed by fame or money, caring only for the message and standing their ground, creating their own freedom.
The quest within

Switzerland that day was like a revelation to me. It affected me in such a deep way. It made me want to be remembered for things like that. Important things. I am still finding my way like we all are, but want to search deeper and be remembered for being different, for being unafraid to be vocal and active. For being strong and standing for something that endures. I went back to my hotel and played my piano like I never had before!

In Montreux, I experienced a whole new world, a historic world I’ll never forget, and, in my own way, I can now say I’m now a part of. Of all the places I’ve been, it is one of the most beautiful. The painting that is Switzerland is glorious - what a world to discover.

Thx 2 youroldestfan!