Bringing more than 550 artists from 18 countries to Melbourne for 10 days of concerts, club shows, free events and experimental performances across 30 venues, the Melbourne International Jazz Festival returns from 16 – 25 October 2026.
With more than 150 events, the 2026 Festival stretches from major concert halls to intimate clubs, rooftops and outdoor spaces, reflecting a program that embraces jazz in its many contemporary forms.
“This year’s Festival captures everything that makes jazz extraordinary: its boundless energy, its reverence for the past and its relentless drive towards what comes next,” says CEO & Festival Director Hadley Agrez.
“The 2026 program celebrates artists whose influence can be felt across generations alongside musicians exploding the artform, creating opportunities for unique collaborations, world premieres and once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences.”
“From NYC jazz to NOLA funk to South African hip hop and Memphis soul, this year’s Festival genuinely offers something for everyone. We believe it is one of the most ambitious and artistically exciting programs in the Festival’s history,” said Agrez.
One of the most anticipated events is the return of the Second Line Street Party, with GRAMMY Award-winning New Orleans institution Rebirth Brass Band making its long-awaited Australian debut. The band will lead a musical procession along the Yarra before continuing the celebrations at Fed Square with free performances alongside BIGYUKI and Allysha Joy.
The opening weekend also brings The Teskey Brothers to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to celebrate 10 years of Half Mile Harvest, performing the landmark album in full. They will be joined by funk pioneer Fred Wesley & The New JBs and ARIA Award winner Emily Wurramara.
Among the international highlights are Mercury Prize winner Benjamin Clementine, Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan, poet and musician aja monet, Japanese keyboardist BIGYUKI, and UK innovators Theon Cross and Summer Pearl.
Three-time GRAMMY Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater returns to Melbourne with pianist Helen Sung, while contemporary jazz supergroup Aziza, featuring Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland, reunites for a rare closing-night performance at Hamer Hall.
The program also marks the final Australian appearance of The Bad Plus, as the influential contemporary jazz ensemble brings its worldwide Farewell Tour to Melbourne Recital Centre.
Australian artists are equally prominent. Australian Art Orchestra, Ngaiire and Joelistics join Papuan-Australian composer Aaron Choulai for the new work Saltwater, Sugar, while Xani Kolac premieres KOŁACZ with Helen Svoboda, Justin Olsson and Estonian-Swedish artist Tuulikki Bartosik.
Other Australian highlights include Asteroid Ekosystem, featuring Alister Spence, Lloyd Swanton, Toby Hall and Ed Kuepper; Sachém’s new work Strangers Again; and performances from Sandy Evans, Andrea Keller, Kristin Berardi and Jenny Barnes. TL;DR, led by trumpeter and composer Peter Knight, will also present its new album Phosphenes.
A new late-night strand, Haus Party, takes over the Spiegel Haus with eight local and international acts, including Don Glori, Deep Mind, Stogie T, Finn Rees Orchestra, Erica Tucceri, Iwuda, Live Slug Reaction and Soliloquy, combining jazz with groove, hip hop and electronic music.
The Festival’s international focus extends to Japan, South Korea, South Africa and the United Kingdom, with collaborations involving Jazz at Lincoln Center, EFG London Jazz Festival and Jarasum Jazz Festival. The program includes 29 Australian premieres and 12 world premieres, alongside a substantial free program.
Beyond the stage, MIJF invites audiences and emerging artists deeper into the ideas, stories and creative practices behind the music through a program of talks, conversations and workshops.
Composer, performer and scholar George Lewis delivers a free keynote at Monash University, drawing on decades of investigation into improvisation, technology and the aesthetic challenges posed by machine learning.
South African hip hop pioneer Stogie T leads an hour-long workshop exploring the craft of MCing at Bunjil Place, from flow and lyricism to stage presence and connecting with an audience.
The Bad Plus reflect on 26 years of creativity in a career-spanning farewell conversation, with founding members Reid Anderson and Dave King joined by Ben Monder and Chris Speed to trace the band’s evolution and the closing of this chapter.
Dee Dee Bridgewater will also lead a masterclass, sharing lessons from her four-decade career, as part of MIJF’s partnership with the University of Melbourne.
The Melbourne International Jazz Festival runs from 16 – 25 October 2026. For more information and full program, visit: www.melbournejazz.com for details.
Images: Rebirth Brass Band (supplied) | Tigran Hamasyan – photo by Arnos Martirosyan | Dee Dee Bridgewater (supplied) | Soliloquy (supplied)