“3 Days of Jazz” Saalfelden Leogang 2027: Full Line-up Announced for 10th Anniversary

Following the first preview, which already announced the anniversary and the first names, including Henri Texier, Das Kapital, Helene Glüxam and the duo Ramification, the full programme has now been confirmed. It offers a preview of eleven concerts at five very different venues, focusing less on comfortable consensus and more on the appeal of distinctive artistic approaches.
 
A Tribute to Bud Powell at Kunsthaus Nexus
The festival opens on Thursday evening at Kunsthaus Nexus with a free screening of Haeyong Moon’s documentary film “BUD LIVES! – A Love Letter to Bud Powell”. The film pays tribute to the genius of bebop and explores the work of the legendary American pianist with great sensitivity, while also shedding light on the social and personal struggles that shaped his life and career. 
 
Friday Across Three Venues
The concert programme itself kicks off on Friday with a free concert at the anniversary edition’s new venue, Museum Schloss Ritzen. Here, Iranian guitarist Mahan Mirarab, who is based in Vienna, joins forces with Daniele Camarda and Golnar Shahyar in his project “Unspoken”, creating musical narratives around questions of identity and belonging.
Things take an unusual turn at the Saalfelden Parish Church with BITOI (“Bass Is The Original Instrument”). For this project, Swedish bassist Cassius Lambert has transcribed birdsong phonetically and transformed it into intricate vocal compositions together with singers Alexandra Shabo, Lydia Cronberg and Ella Cronberg. The result is a vocal project featuring just three voices and an electric bass. Lambert himself describes this approach as “miximalism” – a great deal of movement in sound achieved with remarkably few elements.
At Kunsthaus Nexus, the EKO trio takes over. Saxophonist Daniel Erdmann and guitarist Kalle Kalima bring young drummer Mia Ohlmeier on stage to explore the musical possibilities of their collaboration. The trio places its trust entirely in the openness of the moment and the willingness to be surprised. Langendorf United then brings the first evening of concerts to a close. The Swedish quintet, led by saxophonist Lina Langendorf, sees itself as a true collective, combining driving grooves, punchy horn arrangements and influences ranging from soul to African rhythms with a generous dose of curiosity and humour.
 
Saturday Between Asitz mountain and Museum Schloss Ritzen
Saturday begins with a free concert and a touch of self-irony high up on the mountain. At AsitzBräu, “Die begnadigten Pädagogen” celebrate 35 years of band history with original compositions, while also giving hard rock classics their own unmistakable reinterpretation.
A chamber music counterpoint follows in the afternoon, when Kalle Kalima performs in the courtyard of Museum Schloss Ritzen – also free of charge. Here, he demonstrates just how far an electric guitar can be pushed beyond conventional playing techniques. The Finnish guitarist works with effects and unusual preparations, bringing familiar sounds into dialogue with free improvisation and proving that musical experimentation is not a question of instrumentation.
 
An Extended Concert Evening at Nexus
Three very different artistic perspectives are on the programme at Kunsthaus Nexus on Saturday evening. Das Kapital, the German-Danish-French trio featuring Daniel Erdmann, Hasse Poulsen and Edward Perraud, will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2027. With “Europa, mon amour”, the trio turns its attention to a continent that currently offers plenty of material for musical commentary.
Next, violists Flora Geißelbrecht and Jelena Popržan come together. Their duo “Ramification” moves between composition and improvisation, classical music and folk traditions, seriousness and playfulness.
To conclude the evening, one of Europe’s great jazz bassists, Henri Texier, comes to Saalfelden Leogang. “Healing Songs” brings together earlier compositions that the French musician has rediscovered in the face of an increasingly confusing world. A beautiful reminder that music can also offer comfort.
 
Two Austrian Projects Bring the Festival to a Close
The festival concludes on Sunday at the Mining and Gothic Museum Leogang with two Austrian ensembles. Alongside the previously announced double bassist Helene Glüxam, who explores the dynamic interplay between deep frequencies and floating vocals in her solo project “Nachtvogel”, the collective of Avin Ahmadi, Lorenz Widauer and Albin Ormegard will bring the programme to a close.
With the rare instrumentation of oud, trumpet, guitar and vocals, the trio creates plenty of space for attentive listening in the present moment in its project “Until We Meet Again”. A quiet yet lasting finale to three days beyond the ordinary.