In December 1971, American musician Frank Zappa held a concert at a casino in Montreux, a small, serene town on the shores of Lake Geneva, against the stunning backdrop of the Swiss Alps. During the performance, a member of the audience fired a flare gun towards the ceiling, causing a serious fire that completely destroyed the casino. English rock band Deep Purple, who were scheduled to perform at the venue, were inspired by the incident to write into one of their biggest hits: Smoke on the Water. While the saga no doubt introduced the existence of the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, which would also take place on the lakeshore, to a new community, its reputation is due mainly to someone who helped put out the fire and who founded it, Claude Nobs.
A Montreux native, Nobs originally trained as a cook before getting a job at the Tourism Office of Montreux. During a trip
