Stéphane Grappelli, already 80 years old at the time, was the first European jazz musician to create a sensation in the US in the 1950s. Even today, nobody plays the violin like this old gentleman did. A close friend of Django Reinhardt’s, he enjoyed his performances with the glee of a newbie. He appeared at the festival with Marc Fosset (bass) und Jack Sewing (guitar).

Jazz critic Joachim E. Berendt saw Toots Thielemans as the first musician to integrate the harmonica into jazz and blues. Thielemans had played with stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, and Billy Joel. In Basel, Michel Herr on the piano, Bruno Castellucci on the drums and Michel Hatzigeorgiou on the bass all joined Toots on his harmonica.