Leonard Cohen revisits Montreux after nearly 30 years
GENEVA (AFP) — Poet-songwriter Leonard Cohen will be the star turn Tuesday in a long-awaited gig at the Montreux Jazz Festival which features in his first major tour in 15 years.
Cohen will perform for the third time at the festival in the city set along the Lake Leman. He first performed at the festival in 1976 and then in 1985.
Some 2,800 people will be able to see the 74-year-old singer live.
Born in the tony English-speaking quarter of Montreal, Cohen published books of poetry before embarking on a singing career with his smash debut album "Songs of Leonard Cohen" in 1967.
Since then, he has inspired countless artists and more than 1,000 renditions of his work have been recorded by R.E.M., Elton John, Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, k.d. Lang, Tory Amos, Nina Simone and Peter Gabriel.
His music also has been used in dozens of movie soundtracks such as "Natural Born Killers" and "Shrek."
His most recent album 'Heather' was released in 2004.
Cohen quit the music scene in the early 1990s, living at a Buddhist monastery in California, where he was ordained a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and took the name Jikhan, meaning "silence."
But he was forced to return after he was cheated of his money by his former manager.
In June, he embarked on his first world tour in 15 years, starting in Toronto, where he began his recording career, before heading to Europe with shows in Nice and Lyon in France as well as Britain's Glastonbury Festival.
The Montreux music festival, which started on July 4 and which swings on until July 19, would also feature performances from acts as diverse as English indie rock bank Babyshambles to singer Paul Simon and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.
Despite its name, the festival include more than jazz acts.
Festival spokeswoman Pauline Lalondrelle said: "We decided to keep the word jazz in the name as jazz has influenced many types of music, it is the essence of the festival."
She added that for the organisers, the highlight of the festival would be a tribute to Quincy Jones on July 14.
"It is the biggest-ever event for the festival, it's very unusual for so many artistes to gather for one show," she said.
Almost 30 artistes, including Chaka Khan, Paolo Nutini and Patti Austin, will come together for the tribute.
