Montreux was an American fusion band, specializing in the blend of jazz and bluegrass, with jam elements. The band was active from approximately 1982 until 1990, and recorded on Windham Hill Records. The name of the band came from the jazz festival in Switzerland of the same name, at which an early version of the band was formed under a different name. Band members The group consisted of four core members: Darol Anger - Violins Barbara Higbie - pianos, synthesizers and voice Mike Marshall - mandolins and guitars Michael Manring - Fretless bass, synthesizers and voice Additional members included: Todd Philips - Bass Andy Narell - steel drums Tom Miller - percussion Will Kennedy - percussion Philips, in particular, was a prominent member of the band early on, stemming from his connection with Anger and Marshall when they played together in the David Grisman Quintet. History The group's roots are in Paris, where Darol Anger met Barbara Higbie in the late 1970s. They performed together and began writing music. They released their first album, Tideline, in 1982. Anger met violinist David Balakrishnan through David Grisman, and with Mike Marshall they formed the band Saheeb in 1980. Around the same time, Anger met Will Ackerman, who was impressed by Anger's fiddling on the album Fiddlistics and asked him to record for Windham Hill. Anger brought in long-time colleagues Mike Marshall and Todd Philips to join him and Higbie (they were later joined by Andy Narell). Balakrishnan left the band to study composition and Anger took on the violin roles full-time. In 1984, Anger, Phillips, Marshall Higbie and Narell performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and their recording during the festival marked the second album for the band. In 1985, Anger and Marshall embarked on a separate project, focusing on their bluegrass roots. The result was Chiaroscuro, named for their love of the Italian culture. In addition to Higbie, Narell and Philips, Marshall and Anger brought in Michael Manring, a leading session recorder with Windham Hill, to record with them. The chemistry worked well between the group, and Manring joined the band full-time (Phillips left to pursue solo projects). After extensive touring, the four core musicians wrote and recorded another album in 1987, Sign Language. Windham Hill recognized the group as the All Star band of the record label. Montreux's style became distinctive and unique, and by this time they adopted their