Nina Simone and Etta James Montreux Jazz Festival live albums set for release on BMG

The long running Montreux Jazz Festival, which launched in 1967, has inked a special collaboration with BMG Records to release a series of live albums taken from festival performances over the past 55 years featuring previously unreleased and rare performances

The Montreux Years series commences on 28 May with the release of dates by two iconic jazz, soul and blues singers: Nina Simone The Montreux Years, and Etta James The Montreux Years, available as double LP sets and two CD editions, as well as download and streamed versions. both including previously unreleased and rare performances. The recordings come from Montreux founder Claude Nobb’s extensive archive of mobile multi-track audio recordings and audio-visual footage and the Nina Simone set will feature recordings from her festival sets in 1968, 1976, 1981, 1987 and 1990, the final date closing with her emotional encore of ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me. The double CD version will feature the full 1968 performance for the first time. The Etta James release includes shows from 1977,1978, 1989, 1990 and 1993 with the double CD version including her first Montreux appearance in 1975.

The recordings have been remastered at London’s Metropolis Studios by Tony Cousins and both sets come with specially commissioned liner notes and previously unseen photography. More titles from Montreux are due to be announced soon.

For more info visit www.montreuxjazzfestival.com