30th anniversary of the Festival: the whole « Swiss Riviera », from Villeneuve to Vevey, lives a 16 non stop day-and-night « Jazz-Blues-Samba-Rock”  experience. The program, especially concocted for this extraordinary anniversary-edition, is filled with living legends: Deep Purple is back to Montreux 25 years after having written their greatest success to date « Smoke on the Water » a few days after the Casino caught fire while Frank Zappa was giving one of his best gigs. The musicians are the same except for guitarist Steve Morse who replaces Richie Blackmore. In the same music style : ZZ Top and Santana. July 5, Stephan Eicher invites over one hundred musicians and dancers he met on his recent trips around the world, Phil Collins presents his Big Band Project specifically created for the occasion and played some Genesis songs. Quincy Jones conducts the WDR Big Band, and Montreux can finaly listen for the very first (and long awaited) time the mythical Brazilian singer Maria Bethânia and her sublime voice, violent and poetic at the same time. Other big names include the guitar trio Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, Simply Red, Little Richard, Elvis Costello, Zucchero, Bo Diddley and his numerous strange shape guitars, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Otis Rush, Al Jarreau, Isaac Hayes, George Benson, Touré Kunda, Lenny White, the Woodstock man Richie Havens,  McCoy Tyner featuring Michael Brecker (sax),  Horace Silver, the divine Cassandra Wilson who captivates the audience. .… and Charles Aznavour the son of Armenian immigrants, struggled against all the odds to launch his singing career in France. Aznavour had neither stunning film star looks nor a remarkable voice, but he had two things in his favour : a powerful on-stage charisma and incredible willpower ! This evening he pays a homage to Charles Trenet !