"The Gould pine grove, a reference in living music" Francis Marmande (Le Monde)

The first «Jazz à Juan» festival, created as a tribute to a famous musician who loved Antibes, none other than Sidney Bechet, was the event that sparked off many other festivals which quickly spread across Europe. Claude Nobs, inventor of the great Montreux event, said himself: "If I hadn't passed through Antibes, Montreux wouldn't exist." The concept was revolutionary. For the first time, the general public could discover the main artists of the great saga which jazz had already become, with the heros on stage in person, and the most beautiful decor one could wish for under the hundered-year-old pine trees of pinède Gould facing the Mediterranean Sea. It was certainly a bit of a gamble, but one which more than lived up to its promises.

«Jazz à Juan» represents a wide diversity of styles and programmes but also musicans: newcomers who have become famous names, trend-setting iconoclasts, classical and modern, all members of the great jazz family... No other festival has done more for the recognition of improvised and culturally mixed music from all over the world: in Juan, Africa has warmed the hearts of the audience, the "Som do brasil" has danced with Cuban Latin-Americans and Tito Puente converted France to the magic of mambo, then John McLaughlin and Shakti opened the Passage to India... There is a succession of permanent happenings, featuring at every opportunity New Orleans, Gospel, Blues, Swing, Be-bop, Latin Jazz, Cool Jazz, Hard-Bop, Free Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Modern Jazz and Electro-Jazz, during landmark concerts which now contribute to European jazz history while also building the future, as illustrated by the recent performances by Roy Hargrove, Richard Bona, Thomas Dutronc, Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum. Since 1960, the jazz saga has flourished in Juan thanks to the immense diversity of the artists: newcomers or famous names, innovators or iconoclasts, classical or modern.