Playing jazz high in the mountains is a pleasure close to epicurean austerity, famous French Armenian jazz musician André Manoukian said in an interview with Liberation.

“We spent our school years in Lyon, and went to the mountains in Chamonix during all our holidays. I climbed Mont Blanc with my father. And here I understand how strongly Mother loved us, since she accompanied us, being afraid of height. These expeditions were a suffering for her.  And every time we set out for an expedition, she asked whether the route was “Manoukianative” or not. “Manoukianative” route was the one which didn’t take your breath away too much.

When you play jazz in front of an audience, you have an “inner rhythm.”The same is in the mountains.  Playing in the mountains is a dream. The sound is wonderful there. I have been experimenting this for six years. 400-500 people attended the first concert on the bank of Blanc Lake in Chamonix. They climbed for three hours. A Nepal flute player and his tabla accompanier were on the bank. It was a magic! No producer in the world would have created a thing like that!”