Founded by Claude Nobs in 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has become an unmissable event for music fans in Switzerland and around the world.  Musical greats such as Miles Davis, Ray Charles, David Bowie and Prince have graced its stages with their talent.  Santana, Paul Simon, Deep Purple, Sting and Seal have all performed on the two stages where thousands of music fans can enjoy all styles of music over a sixteen-day period. Claude Nobs and his team’s ambitious programming choices have enhanced the Montreux Jazz Festival’s reputation. Their love for music offers musicians an ideal platform and an intimate setting to perform in during the course of the festival.

This year, for the first time, Leica was the official photography partner of Montreux Jazz Festival. Leica photographer Michael Agel followed many of the artists and musicians with the Leica M Monochrom and Leica S2. Michael’s pictures capture the magic of the performers on stage and demonstrate the incredible atmosphere that all fans of the Montreux Jazz Festival love. His images showcase why hundreds of thousands have been coming to Montreux for forty-six years.

Enjoy the music in pictures.

-Leica Internet Team

To view all of the photos from the event, visit our Facebook album and to view more of Michael Agel’s work, visit his website.