As one of Turkey’s longest-running jazz festivals, the Akbank Jazz Festival continues to bring the "Jazz State of the City" to Istanbul’s culture and arts agenda in its 36th year. 

With a wide-ranging program moving between the classical heritage of jazz to contemporary interpretations and extending from improvisation to electronic and genre-crossing sounds, the festival will once again bring together musicians from different geographies and generations, as well as special projects, on the same stage. 

Presented by Akbank Sanat, a long-standing supporter of the development of contemporary arts, and organized by BKM, the initial names of the festival include: Arturo Sandoval, Ben LaMar Gay Ensemble, Cochemea, Danae Palaka, Dhafer Youssef "SHIRAZ”, Emin Fındıkoğlu +12 Jakob Manz Young European Stars feat. Shuteen Erdenebaatar, Nils Kugelmann, Jakob Bänsch and Leo Asal, James Carter Piano Quartet: Coltrane: A Centennial Supreme, Joe Armon-Jones, Kassa Overall, Kinkajous (Live AV), L’Antidote, Momoko Gill, Nicole Zuraitis, Robinson Khoury MŸA "Transara”, Samora Pinderhughes Quintet ft. Elena Pinderhughes, Sarathy Korwar Drum Ensemble, Sasha Berliner, Savina Yannatou & Primavera en Salonico with Lamia Bedioui, Sibel Köse "From Vistula to Bosphorus: A Jazz Bridge”, VELVELE, Yasmine Hamdan and Yazmin Lacey. 

The 36th Akbank Jazz Festival will take over the city from September 26 - October 11, 2026. The program will continue to unfold with additional artists and events set to announced in the coming months.

Festival tickets are available on Biletix.