The Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival line-up for 2011 looks very strong, with great acts on each night including John Mclaughlin and Avishai Cohen. It's taking place in the Salle Garnier of the Opera de Monte Carlo, and it's surely the best Jazz you can find in the South of France until next summer's festivals start once again in Nice and Juan.

The festival opens with a fine guitar feast: gipsy-jazz star Biréli Lagrène will be there giving us that old Django feeling. He'll be joined by John McLaughlin, who was such a success at Nice Jazz Festival in July. Other guitarists in this "guitar summit" are Mike Stern, Sylvain Luc, Philip Catherine, bassist Richard Bona, stellar drummers Steve Gadd and André Ceccarelli, and Joey DeFrancesco, one of the greatest living jazz keyboard players.

Next up is drummer and composer Aldo Romano, playing with Henri Texier, a friend of 30 years on bass, and the star Italian trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, and saxophonist Géraldine Laurent.

Michel Portal is a fine clarinetist, who joined a kind of protest movement against the elite jazz circles of the early sixties by playing on the Free Jazz album (1965). He's played with Ornette Coleman, and has always been right in the forefront of new styles and approaches to jazz. Even now after 55 years, he has once again surprised his fans with his latest album, "Baïlador" (2010), as unclassifiable as his previous offerings, extremely sophisticated and truly inspired.

The final night sees Tigran Hamasyan (pictured in lead image), this time playing with his Trio. Tigran was one of the stars of the Jazz a Domergue shows in Cannes in August, and his Armenian roots and superb keyboard skills won't let us down as he runs through his new work, 'Red Hail', along with band Aratta Rebirth, who blend musical styles.

And so to the biggest name of the festival, Israeli jazz bassist Avishai Cohen. If you saw him in Nice last July, you don't need me to convince you he's a fine performer. The music is subtly layered and blends lovely piano playing with energetic bass and intense singing. It's like nothing else on the music scene, and it's simply wonderful to witness.

The 6th Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival takes place at the Salle Garnier, Opera de Monte Carlo, from Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th November 2011. Tickets may be reserved by calling +377 98 06 36 36 or by emailing the SBM ticket office.

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