The 42nd Jazz in August begins today, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, with a concert by the German pianist Joachim Kühn, extending until August 9 with a poster that also includes Canyon, Shardik and SML, among others.
© Lusa
31/07/2026
by
Lusa
The only concert of this edition to take place at the Grand Auditorium, and which opens Jazz in August, is “a solo piano of a historical figure of jazz innovation, Joachim Kühn, now 82 years old, yet always energetic and surprising in the style that identifies him”.
The festival’s artistic director, Rui Neves, quoted in the festival presentation statement, points out that “the interest in listening now to this musician in the fullness of his contribution to jazz comes from the rarity of his solo concerts by his own imposition”.
The Jazz poster in August, which at the 42nd edition reaffirms its identity of presenting the creative and original current of jazz, music that never ceases to evolve”, includes 14 concerts, which will be divided between the Grand Auditorium, Auditorium 2 and the Amphitheater Outdoor.
On Saturday the Portuguese work David Maranha, in an electric organ, and Rodrigo Amado, in a tenor saxophone, who edited together, in 2024, the album “Wrecks”, and the American quartet Canyon, which joins pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, cellist Lester St. Louis, bassist Joe Morris and drummer Jerome Deupree, one of the original elements of Morphine.
On Sunday, Jazz in August receives “a rare combination of voice and bass”, with Fred Moten, university professor, intellectual, writer, reading texts chosen, interventional, accompanied by Brandon Lopez, “one of the most relevant counter bassists today”.
On the same day, the American quartet Shardik, led by guitarist Matt Hollenberg, is also featured as violinist Sana Nagano, bassist Nick Jost and drummer Danny Sher.
On Monday, the LUME – Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble, created and led by Portuguese pianist Marco Barroso, joins jazz and classical music musicians.
For Tuesday is the concert of the French quartet Bonbon Flame, founded by cellist Valentin Ceccaldi and who also includes pianist Fulco Ottervanger, drummer Étienne Ziemniak and Portuguese guitarist Luís Lopes.
On Wednesday, the Pan-European Group The Sleep Of Reason Producers Monsters (TSORPM) is presented at Jazz in August, which, with Italian trumpeter Gabriele Mitelli, Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, British ‘turntablist’ Mariam Rezaei and Austrian drummer Lucas König, “gives course to free improvisation where electronic manipulation acquires preponderance”.
Canadian Anna Webber, “one of the most recognized saxophonists and composers of today”, acts on Thursday, with the quintet Shimmer Winde, which also includes Adam O’Farrill (thrompete), Mariel Roberts (violoncello), Elias Stemeseder, (synthetizer), and Lesley Mok (battery).
On August 7th, the latest project by American drummer and vibraphonist Ches Smith, Clone Row, is presented “a striking demonstration of her superb imagination as a composer, directed to this formation she shares with two guitars [touched by Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellmans], a bass and electronic [Nick Dunston]”.
The British pianist Pat Thomas, the presence of Jazz in August in recent years, performs at the festival on August 8th, the day that also rises the stage Dream Up, the new project of American drummer Tomas Fujiwara, focused “on the creative dynamics of percussion”, with Kaoru Watanabe in drums Taiko and Japanese flutes, Ches Smith in vibraphone, and Kweku Sumbry in percussion.
For the last day of the festival, August 9, the Chicago Underground Duo concerts are scheduled, which brings together trumpet player Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor, and the SML quintet (Small Medium Large), supergroup formed by Anna Butterss (electric bass), Jeremiah Chiu (synthesizing, sampling and percussion), Josh Johnson (saxophone and electronics), Booker Stardum (battery and percussion) and Gregory Uhlmann (electric guitar and effects).
Ticket prices for Jazz concerts in August vary from 12 to 23 euros. In addition to individual tickets, there are passes available. One of the passes, which costs 100 euros, includes the nine concerts that take place at the Amphitheatre in the Open Air, and the other, for the four concerts scheduled for Auditorium 2, costs 40 euros.