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Legendary producer Quincy Jones introduced
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, recalling having heard him
play as a child on the radio. "He was 8 years old then, now he's
31, my brother Trombone Shorty."
"You've got a night to remember," said Jones, a co-director of
Montreux in the 1990s. "These are some talented boys."
The New Orleans musician and singer, born Troy Andrews, opened
the night, making his third appearance, five years after his
last show in 2012.
Wearing black sunglasses, he bounded onto the stage and kneeled
to play trombone during the first number "Backatown".
He played tracks from his latest album "Parking Lot Symphony",
released in April, often doing both vocals and trombone, and
ending with a tribute to James Brown.
"It's the third time I've heard him. I'd like to see him in New
Orleans," said American Sharon Boggs, a resident of Switzerland
attending the 51st edition of one of Europe's most prestigious
festivals. "He should be the main act. Everybody else is here
for Usher."
Usher, joined by the legendary hip-hop group The Roots and its
lead singer Tarik Trotter, initially wore a black sequin jacket
before shedding layers. Backed by more than a dozen musicians
and singers he played tracks from his latest album Hard II Love
gand displayed his dance moves.
Highlights were his hits "Bad Girl" and "Let It Burn" - during
which he asked the crowd to light up their phones - followed by
"Yeah!".
The eight-time Grammy-winning singer, whose full name is Usher
Raymond, has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association
of America as one of the best-selling artists in American music
history, having sold over 75 million albums worldwide.
The crowd paid up to 295 Swiss francs for the four-hour event
but Trombone Shorty and Usher did not appear together.
Lauryn Hill of Fugees fame, Macy Gray, Ibrahim Maalouf, and
Erykah Badu and Solange, sister of Beyonce, are among other
artists booked at the festival that lasts through July 15.
A bronze statue of the late festival founder Claude Nobs was
unveiled on Sunday in a lakeside garden alongside those of
giants Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis and Ray Charles whom he
brought to the Montreux stage.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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