Gnarls Barkley, Babyshambles, Alicia Keys, Paul Simon and Lenny Kravitz are all on the bill for this year's Montreaux Jazz Festival, which sounds good, if not that jazzy. The Swiss festival, which runs from 4-19 Jul, will also include a celebration of Quincy Jones' 75th birthday which will involve Herbie Hancock, Petula Clark, Al Jarreau and Patti Austin. More at http://www.montreuxjazz.com
Those who prefer their festival news to focus on sponsorship will be pleased to know that BT has signed a three year deal to be the event's main partner and official communications provider. BT's Global Services CEO Francois Barrault says this: "Music is a universal language understood by all so we are delighted to be able to support this event, which embodies all that is great about jazz and music in general. This partnership brings together BT as the leading enabler of global communications with one of the music worlds showcase festivals".