The 63rd edition of Jazzfest Berlin runs from 29 October to 1 November 2026 at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and in its neighbouring venues A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The concert programme features 24 acts, including four world premieres, two European premieres and five German premieres. In total, over 130 artists from more than 25 countries, including international voices from the Berlin scene, are coming together to celebrate the global jazz community.
The focus on community is also reflected in the cross-generational programme. The award-winning short film DREAM BABY DREAM – shot as part of last year’s Jazzfest Community Week with 60 children, teenagers and adults – premiered in Washington D.C. in late April and is screening at numerous music and film festivals both in Germany and abroad as well as at the opening of Jazzfest Berlin 2026 at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
Once again, the line-up welcomes audiences to make new discoveries and features outstanding representatives from a variety of scenes, spanning a highly diverse cultural and musical landscape. At the same time, it celebrates two pioneering voices – Anthony Braxton and Alexander von Schlippenbach – who have shaped the global scene for decades including a regular presence at Jazzfest Berlin.
And so 50 years after his Jazzfest Berlin debut and seven years after his impressive Sonic Genome at Gropius Bau, Braxton is back at the festival: in addition to the opening concert at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with the Anthony Braxton Septet – formed especially for this occasion – he will also be leading a workshop over the course of several days for students at the Jazz Institut Berlin (JIB). Under the guidance of this style-defining composer and multi-instrumentalist, the students will come together to form the Creative Music Orchestra, and their concert in the Georg-Neumann-Saal at the JIB will be a highlight of this year’s Jazzfest Community Week.
Alexander von Schlippenbach, who founded the groundbreaking Globe Unity Orchestra in 1966 following a commission to compose for what was then called Berliner Jazztage, will bring the festival to a splendid close on Sunday at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with an anniversary concert 60 years later – in the old formation, but with a new line-up of musicians including George Lewis, Aki Takase and Evan Parker.
With
Alexander Hawkins Willow Music (European premiere)
Amir ElSaffar New Quartet
Anthony Braxton Septet (World premiere)
Camila Nebbia Large Ensemble: the darkness, overwhelming and imposing, compelled me to light my own fires (World premiere)
Ches Smith: Clone Row
Chicago Underground Duo: Hyperglyph
Christian Lillinger’s Open Form For Society II (World premiere)
Elin Forkelid Plays For Trane (German premiere)
EROSÃO PERCUSSION TRIO
ganavya
Globe Unity Orchestra: Apokalyptische Nabelschau
Graewe / Jones / Drake (German premiere)
Immanuel Wilkins Quartet
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (Exit) Knarr (German premiere)
Karoline Wallace: Eon (German premiere)
Laura Jurd: Rites & Revelations
Matthias Muche BONECRUSHER: Densities – 12 trombones and percussion
Melting Pot: Haroun Iqbal, Heidi Kvelvane, Mikolaj Nowicki, Raiga Hayashi
Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet
Sheen Trio: Transitory
The Tomeka Reid Quartet: dance! skip! hop!
Twin Talk: Delights (World premiere)
Wendy Eisenberg: Wendy Eisenberg (European premiere)
i Ya Voy !: Miraflores (German premiere)
Jazzfest Community Week
Building on the idea of jazz as a unifying force and a space for exchange, this year’s Jazzfest Community Week, running from 26 October to 1 November, will once again feature numerous free events in the neighbouring Moabit district: two Jazzfest ImproLabs for children, several lunch concerts and neighbourhood sessions, a Creative Music Workshop with Anthony Braxton and students from the Jazz Institut Berlin, and a closing community weekend. The opening of the Jazzfest Community Week will once again take place on 26 October at PAS Berlin (Petersburg Art Space).
Thanks to the cooperation with the ARD radio network and Deutschlandradio, this year it will once again be possible to experience the festival on air through a series of live concert recordings and the ARD Jazznacht.
The full programme for the Jazzfest Berlin 2026 will be published on 10 September, and advance ticket sales will begin on 17 September at 2.00 pm.
As of 2.7.2026, programme is subject to change
The Jazzfest Berlin is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Its media partners are ARTE, Dussmann, Monopol, Wall GmbH and the Yorck cinema group. The Jazzfest Berlin is a member of the Europe Jazz Network and the Keychange initiative.
The Jazzfest Community Week is funded by Berliner Sparkasse. Partners of the Jazzfest Community Week are Jazz Institut Berlin | Kallasch& | KUKUMU | Kulturfabrik Moabit | Mullewapp e. V. & Miriam-Makeba-Grundschule | Moabiter Ratschlag e. V.: OTTO-Spielplatz, Kulturmanege Moabit | PAS | SOS-Kinderdorf Berlin: Familienzentrum / Mehrgenerationenhaus | Theodor-Heuss-Gemeinschaftsschule and many more.
Focus Japan
The Jazzfest Berlin 2026, featuring a concert by the Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet, forms part of the Focus Japan programme: in its 75th anniversary year, the Berliner Festspiele, in partnership with the Japanese-German Centre Berlin, is placing a special focus on the performing and musical arts from Japan. With contributions to the programmes of the Performing Arts Season, the Musikfest Berlin, the Jazzfest Berlin and MaerzMusik, as well as a specially developed project in Berlin’s urban space, they are building on a long-standing relationship of exchange between the Berliner Festspiele and the artistic expressions of Japanese culture.