Karl Gert zur Heide’s lecture focuses on the origins of ragtime – supported by music samples.

Jazzfest Berlin

Jazzfest Berlin 2005

Kulturbrauerei, Soda Salon

Über die orientalischen Ursprünge des Ragtime

&Uuml;ber die orientalischen Urspr&uuml;nge des Ragtime

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Jazzfest Berlin is one of Europe's oldest and most renowned festivals of its kind. It aims to provide a platform for up-and-coming artists and to convey the continuing vitality of jazz as an art form.

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Jazzfest Berlin 2025

Today’s Events

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The complete programme of Jazzfest Berlin 2024 with all concerts, the weekly programme of the Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit, including a musical neighbourhood walk, and the detailed supporting programme for the Jazzfest Research Lab will be announced on 11 September.

Programme Release 2024

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Key Visual Jazzfest Berlin 2026

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The complete programme will be published in September.

Concerts, Community &amp; Outreach, Workshops, Jam-Sessions, Discourse

The 62nd edition of Jazzfest Berlin, which runs from 30 October to 2 November, will bring together more than 120 international musicians from over 20 countries in 25 acts at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and in its neighbouring venues A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.&nbsp;<h3>With</h3><a href="https://deutsche-jazzunion.de/albert-mangelsdorff-preis/#ueber_den_AMP">Albert-Mangelsdorff-Preis</a>: Award Ceremony <a href="https://amaliedahl.com/projects/">Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie EXTENDED</a> (German premiere) <a href="https://www.amirthakidambi.com/">Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones</a>&nbsp;New album (European premiere) <a href="https://davidmurrayquartet.lnk.to/BirdlySerenade">David Murray Quartet</a>&nbsp;“Birdly Serenade” (German premiere) <a href="https://funinthechurch.bandcamp.com/album/deranged-particles">Felix Henkelhausen</a>&nbsp;“Deranged Particles” <a href="https://fireorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/arrival">Fire! Orchestra</a>&nbsp;“Words” (World premiere) <a href="https://www.hildemusic.com/">hilde</a> <a href="https://jamesbrandonlewis.bandcamp.com/album/abstraction-is-deliverance">James Brandon Lewis Quartet</a> <a href="https://linaallemano.com/lina-allemano-four">Lina Allemano Four</a>&nbsp;“The Diptychs” (German premiere) <a href="http://mayarecordings.com/london_jazz_composers_orchestra">London Jazz Composers Orchestra</a> feat. <a href="https://marilyncrispell.com/" target="_blank">Marilyn Crispell</a> &amp; <a href="http://www.angelicasanchez.com/" target="_blank">Angelica Sanchez</a>&nbsp;“Double Trouble III” by&nbsp;Barry Guy (World premiere) <a href="https://www.makayamccraven.com/">Makaya McCraven</a> <a href="https://marcribot.bandcamp.com/album/map-of-a-blue-city">Marc Ribot</a>&nbsp;“Map of a Blue City” (German premiere) <a href="https://intaktrec.bandcamp.com/album/perpetual-void">Marta Sánchez Trio</a>&nbsp;“Perpetual Void” <a href="https://maryhalvorson.bandcamp.com/album/amaryllis">Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis Sextet</a> Melting Pot with&nbsp;<a href="https://sofiasalvo.com/">Sofia Salvo</a>&nbsp;and others Moabit Imaginarium&nbsp;(World premiere) <a href="https://www.muraillesmusic.com/en/artistes/mopcut-ft-moor-mother-mc-dalek-ryok/">MOPCUT</a> feat. <a href="https://deadverse.com/artists/dalek/">MC D&auml;lek</a>&nbsp;“Ryok” (German premiere)&nbsp; <a href="http://angelikaniescierintakt.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-dragons">Niescier / Reid / Salem</a>&nbsp;“Beyond Dragons” <a href="https://patthomaspiano.bandcamp.com/album/the-solar-model-of-ibn-al-shatir">Pat Thomas</a> Solo <a href="https://patriciabrennan.bandcamp.com/album/breaking-stretch">Patricia Brennan Septet</a>&nbsp;“Breaking Stretch” (German premiere) <a href="https://relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com/album/goodbye-ground">Sakina Abdou</a>&nbsp;“Goodbye Ground” (German premiere)&nbsp; <a href="https://mayarecordings.com/sanchez_guy_lopez">Sanchez / Guy / López</a> (German premiere)&nbsp; <a href="https://signeemmeluth.bandcamp.com/album/banshee">Signe Emmeluth</a>&nbsp;“BANSHEE” (German premiere)&nbsp; <a href="https://the-handover.com">The Handover</a> <a href="https://www.theyoungmothers.com/music">The Young Mothers</a>&nbsp;“Better If You Let It” <a href="https://timberne.bandcamp.com/album/yikes-too">Tim Berne’s CAPATOSTA</a> (European premiere)&nbsp; <a href="https://vijay-iyer.com/albums/">Vijay Iyer &amp; Wadada Leo Smith</a>&nbsp;“Defiant Life”In addition, starting from 27 October, Jazzfest Berlin will continue its Community and Outreach activities with musicians, artists and Berlin-Moabit locals aged between six and 80 years, among others at the Gropius Bau and with the following initiatives and partners:<a href="https://www.jazz-institut-berlin.de/">Jazz Institut Berlin</a> I <a href="https://mullewapp.berlin/">Mullewapp e. V. &amp; Miriam-Makeba-Grundschule</a> I <a href="https://moabiter-ratschlag.de/orte/otto-spielplatz/">OTTO-Spielplatz – Moabiter Ratschlag e. V.</a> I SOS-Kinderdorf Berlin: <a href="https://www.sos-kinderdorf.de/kinderdorf-berlin/angebote/familienzentren/familienzentrum-moabit">Familienzentrum/Mehrgenerationenhaus</a>, <a href="https://www.sos-kinderdorf.de/kinderdorf-berlin/angebote/angebote-rund-um-schule/uebersicht/offene-ganztagsbetreuung/hort">Hort der Theodor-Heuss-Gemeinschaftsschule</a> I <a href="https://www.theater-x.com/">Theater X</a> I <a href="https://www.zku-berlin.org/">ZK/U Berlin&nbsp;– Zentrum f&uuml;r Kunst und Urbanistik</a>&nbsp;and others&nbsp;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 long ARD Jazznacht. &nbsp;As of 12.8.2025, programme is subject to change

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The database comprises all artists and bands from Jazzfest Berlin since 1964.

Artists’ Archive from 1964

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Have a look at all Jazzfest Berlin posters since 1964.

Posters from 1964

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Programm 30.10.2025

Programme 30.10.

Programme Thursday, 30.10.2025

Thursday, 30.10.

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Programm 31.10.2025

Programme 31.10.

Programme Friday, 31.10.2025

Friday, 31.10.

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Programm 1.11.2025

Programme 1.11.

Programme Saturday, 1.11.2025

Saturday, 1.11.

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Programm 2.11.2025

Programme 2.11.

Programme Sunday, 2.11.2025

Sunday, 2.11.

Daily Programme

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As part of its community and outreach programme, Jazzfest Berlin collaborates with local partners and festival musicians. A film project, a community ensemble, children’s workshops, and a diverse programme for emerging artists and scholars invite audiences and neighbours to become part of the festival.&nbsp;

Jazzfest Community Week

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Advance sales are now live: tickets for ten selected concert highlights of the Musikfest Berlin, which in 2026 will also mark the 75th anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele, are now available. The programme includes Gy&ouml;rgy Ligeti’s grotesquely humorous anti-opera Le Grand Macabre and George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Musikfest Berlin

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How does the bourgeois longing for revolt take shape, when the faith in progress and reason is unsettled? Berlin-based artist and director Leila Hekmat explores this question in her newly commissioned performance Roses Rising – The Movement. Moving between concert and ballet, the piece transforms the space into a landscape hovering between bunker, rehearsal room and dreamscape and invites the audience to witness a dinner party unravel into a happening.

Leila Hekmat: Roses Rising – The Movement &nbsp;

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MaerzMusik invites you to concerts, performances, installations and discourse formats at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and several other venues in Berlin. The programme is published; advance ticket sales are on.

MaerzMusik

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Working in New York City between the Stonewall uprising of 1969 and the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Peter Hujar captured a pivotal cultural moment in piercing black-and-white photographs. In the exhibition Persistence of Vision, Hujar’s photographs are interspersed with contemporary works by New York City-based artist Liz Deschenes, opening up an intergenerational dialogue on photography.&nbsp;

Peter Hujar / Liz Deschenes: Persistence of Vision

More Berliner Festspiele

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Jazzfest Berlin 2024 took place from 31&nbsp;October to 3&nbsp;November. To mark its 60th&nbsp;anniversary, the festival reflected on its rich history and plotted ideas for the future.

Jazzfest Berlin 2024

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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 long ARD JazzNacht.&nbsp;

Jazzfest Berlin Live&nbsp;On&nbsp;Air

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Jazzfest Berlin 2025: Impressionen

Jazzfest Berlin 2025: Impressions

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Impressions

Jazzfest Berlin 2025

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Jazzfest Berlin 2024 is one of four festivals to be nominated for the German Jazz Prize in the Festival of the Year category.

Nominated for the German Jazz Prize 2025

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Upcoming Events

Key Visual Jazzfest Berlin 2025

Concerts, Community Week, Film Project, Workshops, Jam-Sessions, Discourse

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To mark its 60th anniversary, Jazzfest Berlin was celebrating the cultural diversity of the neighbouring district of Moabit in collaboration with 38&nbsp;official partners and initiatives and with over 350&nbsp;participants of all ages. In June&nbsp;2024, interviews were conducted with 20&nbsp;partners who presented their perspectives, wishes and ideas for the Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit. You can get an impression with this film.

Introducing: Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit

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In two seminars during the summer semester of 2024, students from the Berlin University of the Arts and the University of Hildesheim have explored the festival’s history from various perspectives. In this film, the participants give a first look at how they dealt with their research subject.

Introducing: Jazzfest Research Lab

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For the Jazzfest Research Lab, Dr. Kristin McGee spoke with Terri Lyne Carrington and Kris Davis about their perspectives on the jazz scene and how it developed, as well as the impetus for founding the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

Interview: Dr. Kristin McGee with Terri Lyne Carrington and Kris Davis

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At the centre of the large-scale Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit were the people of Moabit, their musical and cultural backgrounds, their stories, initiatives, origins and their personal wishes for the future. The film accompanies the protagonists during this extraordinary festival week and brings the cultural diversity of the district of Berlin-Moabit to life.

Exploring: Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit 2024

In the Media Library

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Jazzfest Berlin 2025 took place from 30&nbsp;October to 2&nbsp;November. In light of global crises and turbulent times, Jazzfest Berlin was welcoming 120&nbsp;international musicians from more than 20&nbsp;countries to Berlin, spanning an artistically diverse range, from free improvisation to hip-hop and noise, from lyrical and melancholic tones to distorted guitar sounds and stuttering beats, and from introverted solo sets to thundering large ensembles.

The video documentary about the large-scale jazz festival Community Lab Moabit accompanies some of the protagonists through the Moabit neighbourhood from 28&nbsp;October to 3&nbsp;November 2024 and makes the cultural diversity of the numerous projects and initiatives that have appeared as part of the project audible.

Exploring: Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit 2024

In light of global crises and turbulent times, this year’s Jazzfest Berlin is welcoming 120 international musicians from more than 20 countries to Berlin, spanning an artistically diverse range, from free improvisation to hip-hop and noise, from lyrical and melancholic tones to distorted guitar sounds and stuttering beats, and from introverted solo sets to thundering large ensembles. Across four days, 27 acts featuring exceptional artists who have shaped the style of jazz history will share the stage with up-and-coming voices to celebrate the international music community at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.&nbsp;Where will you run when the world’s on fire? Into dreams of blue corals (Patricia Brennan), to the Tannhauser Gate (Niescier/ Reid/ Salem) or into the deliverance of abstraction (James Brandon Lewis) – these are the sounds emanating from the counterworlds of the 62nd edition of Jazzfest Berlin.&nbsp;Acting as a bridge between different worlds, Jazzfest Berlin focuses on bringing together people from very different backgrounds and walks of life. In an age of declining social trust, the festival is more committed than ever to promoting a global understanding of solidarity, acceptance and diversity – values that have been enshrined in its mission since its founding in 1964.&nbsp;Now for the third year, the festival is continuing its participatory research and outreach activities in collaboration with a steadily growing community from the city’s civil society. Jazz musicians and artists meet Berliners of all ages to develop projects and ideas through dialogue, addressing pressing issues of our time – such as the shaping of a pluralistic society, origin and belonging.&nbsp;Join us in celebrating the 62nd edition of the festival!&nbsp;

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With the world in turmoil, the legendary guitarist Marc Ribot asks on his new album, “Map of a Blue City”: Where will you run when the world’s on fire? And as if responding musically, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Vijay Iyer pay tribute to rebellion on their album “Defiant Life”, its songs a meditative balm for a world full of suffering and despair.&nbsp;

Where Will You Run When the World’s on Fire?

Trailer Jazzfest Berlin 2025, Design: 3pc, Music: MOPCUT – SISMICA

Jazzfest Berlin 2025: Trailer

Trailer Jazzfest Berlin 2025, Design: 3pc

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60 Years of Jazzfest Berlin

120 pages, German and EnglishIn celebrating 60 years of Jazzfest Berlin, the anniversary magazine takes a multilayered look at the festival’s history – without claiming to be exhaustive. At its heart are the research findings of the academics and students of the Jazzfest Research Lab, who have examined the festival archive. In addition, contemporary witnesses have offered anecdotes and highlighted unique aspects from throughout the festival’s history. Pictures by photographer <a href="${link:{uuid:{3e822ced-6847-4366-b3ac-96a89750bf5b},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/W/anno-wilms}}}">Anno Wilms</a>&nbsp;provide insights into Jazzfest Berlin between 1967 and 1993. Musician and artist <a href="${link:{uuid:{b930d216-7d6f-49c5-bc00-68e2a2c1248c},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/L/damon-locks}}}">Damon Locks</a> has designed the magazine cover for the festival anniversary.<a href="https://berlinerfestspiele.1kcloud.com/ep16718c33ae391a/" target="_blank" title="Full screen view in new window">Full screen view in new window</a><a href="${link:{uuid:{b3bc1a61-02c8-42d3-9c4f-901e93608f15},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/EN/Jazzfest-Berlin/2024/jfb24_anniversary-magazine-bilingual.pdf}}}">Download magazine&nbsp;(9.8 MB)</a>

Anniversary Magazine 2024

Presenting both style-defining icons of jazz and young positions from a wide variety of styles, Jazzfest Berlin presents a festival programme full of creative border-crossings and collective visions.

About Jazzfest Berlin

Founded in 1964 in West Berlin as one of the first jazz festivals in Europe, Jazzfest Berlin is turning 60. Good reason to examine this legendary festival’s rich history in the international Jazzfest Research Lab and to map out paths towards a promising future in the Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit.&nbsp;“In having teamed up with various new partners for the Labs, we aim to gain and share new insights into modern, trend-setting festival production. Both anniversary specials challenge everything we take for granted, helping us to leave our comfort zones and providing inspiration for Jazzfest Berlin 2024’s diverse concert programme.”— Nadin Deventer, Artistic Director Jazzfest Berlin

60 Years of Jazzfest Berlin: Still Digging

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Apparitions x Jazzfest ImproCamp for kids

For the first time in its long history, 60&nbsp;children took centre stage in two projects at the 60th&nbsp;Jazzfest Berlin in 2023. The ImproCamp was newly launched, inviting 30&nbsp;children via various social organisations and giving them a holistic, transdisciplinary approach to the art of improvisation.

Documentary: Children’s Projects of the 2023 Jazzfest Berlin

More about Jazzfest Berlin

Jazzfest Berlin is one of Europe’s oldest and most renowned festivals of its kind. It aspires to provide a platform for upcoming artists and to convey the enduring vitality of jazz as an art form.