Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival

Founded in 2006 at the behest of well-known jazz fan Jean-René Palacio, the Festival brings together some of the biggest names in jazz at the Opéra Garnier.

A cultural highlight of the winter season

In keeping with the wishes of its founder, the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival is always held in November.  The choice is not  random one.  Jean-René Palacio wanted an event that would complement the artistic season at the Salle Garnier, which lacked a winter event in the Principality and a festival dedicated to jazz music.
The aim was to take up residence in a unusual setting, for a celebration of contemporary music like jazz or rock.

From the start, over a hundred of the top names in jazz performed at the Opéra Garnier, including Herbie Hancock, Gregory Porter, Chick Corea, Diana Krall, Sonny Rollins, and Mélody Gardot.

A springboard to success

The Festival puts lesser known artists in the spotlight, giving them the opportunity to introduce a wider audience to their talents.

Many of them have gone on to become major stars of the jazz scene, such as Avishai Cohen, Raoul Midon, Roy Hargrove, and Esperanza Spalding.
Not forgetting, of course, the trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, who made his breakthrough at the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival in 2012 and performed at the Bercy concert arena in Paris in 2016.

Open to other styles of music

To attract a wider audience, the organisers invite artists with little or no connection to jazz.  Their aim is to bring jazz to the masses. The Festival is open to every style of music, but never compromises its core identity.
In the past, the likes of David Hallyday, Christophe, and Quebecois singer Robert Charlesbois have all performed in the Principality during the Festival.

The line-up for 2023

For this 17th edition, the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival is aiming to be more eclectic than ever.
There are eleven dates on the calendar, with Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Steve Gadd, Jan Garbarek, Macy Gray, Jeanne Added, Alex Jaffray and “The Sound of Alex”, not to mention Pianoforte (Baptiste Trotignon, Bojan Z, Eric Legnini and Pierre de Bethmann), Kareen Giock Thuram, Thomas de Pourquery, Keziah Jones, Incognito, Léon Phal, and Dominique Fils-Aimé!

In addition to this glittering array of renowned artists, the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival will be holding a special jazz cinema screening of Clint Eastwood’s “Bird”, in partnership with the Audiovisual Institute of Monaco. And the next generation of musicians from the Rainier III Academy will also be taking part, performing a JAZZ & MODERN MUSIC concert.