The unmissable Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival has kept jazz fans happy since 2006. Jean-René Palacio, who was the Artistic Director of the Société des Bains de Mer Group for 20 years, created this major international festival which is celebrating its 19th edition this year (in 2020 the festival was annulled because of the Covid-19 crisis). Taking place from 20 to 29 November 2025, the festival will be set in the Opéra Garnier Monte-Carlo.
“The Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival celebrates the roots of jazz and related music genres, all driven by the same spirit of freedom, improvisation, and openness,” says the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM).
Legendary Jazz Diva on the Côte d’Azur
A drummer rattles out a quick, syncopated rhythm as an upright bassist grooves along, layering a deep melody under the lively strums of an acoustic guitarist. A woman walks onstage and sits in front of a grand piano. Her sparkling gown and headband of shimmering pearls stand out against the trio of suits skillfully playing behind her.
It’s the summer of 1965 and Nina Simone is performing on the French Riviera. The diva calmly wipes the sweat from under her eyes before her fingers nimbly blaze along the keys, becoming a jaw-dropping blur of music and motion. She stops abruptly, hums into the microphone and signals for the sound person to turn up her volume. The night is warm, but her lyrics send chills through the audience:
“Southern trees. Barren strange fruit.
Blood on the leaves, and blood at the roots.
Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze.
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees…”
Europe becomes a Home for Jazz
Jazz originated in Black communities in New Orleans and Louisiana in the late 19th century. Born from blues, ragtime, African rhythm and European harmony, jazz’s complex chords and improvisational aspects make it tricky to define.
In the roaring twenties, Europe was a genuine home for jazz. In France, the network of “hot-clubs” was created in the 1930s. One of the very first periodicals specializing in the genre, Jazz Hot, was born in France in 1935, as was the world’s first jazz label, Swing, in 1936.
During the Second World War, jazz was banned by Nazi Germany. The Allies, on the other hand, used jazz to boost morale amongst soldiers with V-discs, which were special recordings by popular singers. Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Art Tatum were some of the jazz artists that recorded personalized V-disc concerts.
Famous Jazz conductor moves to Monaco in the 1950s
The history of jazz in Monaco really began in the 1950s when Aimé Barelli, the conductor, composer, singer and jazz trumpeter, moved to the Principality. Before an international audience, he played at the Cabaret of the Casino and the Sporting every night. Aimé Barelli performed with legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker and Django Reinhardt. Since the Aimé Barelli era in Monaco, the likes of Nina Simone and countless other jazz legends have graced the stages of the Principality.
Over the years, jazz instruments, rhythms and songs have evolved to create the diverse styles of today. Jazz is as popular in Monaco now as it ever has been. Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone and Lauryn Hill are some of the contemporary names who have played in Monaco.
Diana Ross walks onstage… twice!
One anecdote from the jazz history of Le Sporting is when Diana Ross made her stage entrance twice in one night! The first time she came out, she didn’t have the attention of the entire room because the dinner service hadn’t finished yet. To the amazement of the quickly-captivated audience, she turned around and made her entrance again. The Supremes singer performed at the Red Cross Gala in 2007 and was presented with the Legend Award at the World Music Awards in Monaco in 1996.
PROGRAM 2025
Every event during this year’s Jazz Festival will be preceded and followed by Before and After parties, at Café de la Rotonde, in the Monte-Carlo Casino. The parties are free and start at 7:30 p.m. and continue after each concert.
The festival will kick off on November 20 with a concert featuring young talent from the Rainier III Academy.
Gabi Hartmann is up next, on November 21, with a set blending jazz, pop, folk, world music and her velvety voice. That same evening, the renowned Ibrahim Maalouf will pay tribute to beloved Middle Eastern singer Oum Kalthoum, 50 years after her death. Tickets for this concert are €100.
A cornerstone of the jazz scene, Stanley Clarke, will be performing on November 22. The bass and double bass legend will open for Deluxe, a pop-funk phenomenon on the French scene. Tickets are €90.
On November 23, the Harlem Gospel Choir will perform a beautiful and spiritual concert of African-American gospel music. Tickets are €70.
“Jazz in Cinema” will take place on November 24, with French film critic and director Thierry Jousse giving a lecture. In partnership with the Monaco Audiovisual Institute, the event will highlight the links between jazz and cinema. Tickets are €12.
Jamaican pianist, Monty Alexander, will perform during an evening featuring island rhythms, on November 26. The legend of jazz and reggae, influenced by both North American styles and Caribbean rhythms, will be followed by the sensual and romantic salsa of Yuri Buenaventura. Tickets are €90.
Swiss singer, Léa Maria Fries, will open for Morcheeba, the cult British trip-hop band of the 1990s known for two memorable albums, Who Can You Trust? and Big Calm, on November 27. Tickets are €100.
On November 28, the public will hear R&B and soul singer Célia Kameni and the tireless Michel Jonasz. 78-year-old Jonasz will reinvent his old hits with Manu Katché on drums and Jean-Yves d’Angelo on keyboards. Tickets are €100.
Finally, the festival will close on November 29 with poetic quartet Les Égarés (Sissoko, Segal, Parisien, and Peirani), who were born out of a jam session combining jazz and traditional music. They will be followed by the extraordinary Asaf Avidan, whose voice lies somewhere between raw folk and visceral lyricism. Tickets are €100.
