20.08.2026 – 23.08.2026
Once again, the Jazz Festival invites you on a musical journey brimming with sonic diversity and contrasts, and sharpens its profile in those areas where jazz extends beyond the concert hall: into public spaces, into forms of social interaction, and into the performative grey areas between sound, image and movement. With two major special projects, this year’s 46th edition of the festival places particular emphasis on formats that not only affirm encounters but actually bring them about. With ‘WAS___’, MMM (Maja Osojnik, Mathia*s Lenz and Matija Schellander) present the launch of a ten-year journey through space and sound at the Kunsthalle Saalfelden. Quite different in nature, yet conceived in an equally collaborative spirit, is the anniversary project by Shake Stew. When the band played the opening concert of the Saalfelden Jazz Festival in 2016, an extraordinary success story began, and today the septet ranks among the defining ensembles of the European jazz scene. To mark their tenth anniversary, Lukas Kranzelbinder is now returning with a major project developed especially for Saalfelden. Under the title “The Big Shake – A Saalfelden Homecoming”, Bürgermusik Saalfelden and Eisenbahner Stadtkapelle are blending their soundscapes with the music of Shake Stew.
Alpine Resonances and Urban Tracks
The popular “We Hike Jazz” walks once again combine the experience of nature with a concert format. Whilst Lukas Kranzelbinder leads the first walk as a secret festival opener, saxophonist Anna Tsombanis will lead the second walk on Saturday. Both walks are already fully booked. Two alpine concerts complement the programme outside the traditional venues, extending the jazz experience into the alpine landscape: the Klakradl ensemble and the Tini Trampler & Playbackdolls Quartet blend jazz, Viennese folk songs, pop and performance with an exuberant zest for music. The concert at the historic hermitage above Lichtenberg Castle also promises to be a special highlight, with saxophonist Chris Speed and trumpeter Cuong Vu offering a contemplative alternative to the musical hustle and bustle in the valley.
In the city centre, the freely accessible City Tracks invite visitors to make spontaneous musical discoveries, whilst the Short Cuts offer compact concert experiences with stylistic openness. In the two projects Christoph Cech & oenm and Stefanovich / Dell / Lillinger / Westergaard, improvised music meets contemporary music, whilst ensembles such as the Lava Quartet and DaughterDaughter round off the musical programme.
A special premiere is set to take place on the Main Stage when US alto saxophonist Darius Jones and Japanese guitarist Otomo Yoshihide bring their musical worlds together. Backed by bassist Nick Dunston and drummers Gerald Cleaver and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki, this star-studded quintet moves between experimental soundscapes and energetic jazz. Jones, who sees his music as a “confrontation against apathy and ego”, and Yoshihide, who creates surprising and experimental sounds, will create moments in this premiere in which – very much in the spirit of Sun Ra – “only the impossible happens”.
Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2026
20.08.2026 – 23.08.2026
various locations, Saalfelden
www.jazzsaalfelden.com
