MONTREUX, Switzerland – French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf gave back-to-back shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival on Monday night, performing on a floating stage built specially on Lake Geneva for a limited number of fans with a COVID 19-free certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Swiss Alps and sailboats as a stunning backdrop, he appeared for the fourth time at one of Europe\u2019s most prestigious summer music festivals, canceled last year due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 55th edition can welcome 1,500 people per night at four venues, about one-tenth its normal size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real joy to be here again, the first time was 15 years ago,\u201d Maalouf told the crowd. \u201cThe concept of jazz here is a lot like mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve come despite the circumstances. I found a year and half without playing live very, very frustrating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maalouf, accompanied by veteran Belgian guitarist Francois Delporte, played the melancholy \u201cBeirut\u201d, composed at age 12 while still living in Lebanon as it emerged from civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracks from his latest album \u201c40 Melodies\u201d, issued last November to mark his 40th birthday, included \u201cHappy Face\u201d, \u201cTrue Sorry\u201d and \u201cAll I Can\u2019t Say\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seating was limited to 500 people along the lake who paid 155 Swiss francs ($168.15) for an intimate concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maalouf alternated playing trumpet and a black grand piano on the stage, an engineering feat built 25 metres (yards) offshore and anchored at a depth of 12 metres, the first time in the history of Montreux, famed for the acoustics of its indoor concert halls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have a great view,\u201d he told the audience. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty bold to have built this stage in record time. Only the Swiss can do something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vincent Charpentier, who attended the first 90-minute show, told Reuters: \u201cThe decor was magic and the sound excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French video director and singer WoodKid and American jazz pianist Christian Sands were among weekend performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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