From New Orleans to New York: Perth International Jazz Festival Unveils Its 2026 Program

From New Orleans to New York: Perth International Jazz Festival Unveils Its 2026 Program

For 11 days this spring, Perth will move to a different rhythm.

From the second-line swagger of New Orleans to the restless edges of contemporary New York jazz; from Armenian folk traditions refracted through virtuosic piano to funk played at full voltage, the Perth International Jazz Festival (PIJF) returns from 22 October to 1 November with a program that stretches well beyond any neat definition of the genre.

Now in its 14th year, PIJF has assembled one of the most compelling international programs in its history, bringing Grammy winners, modern masters, cult favourites, emerging voices and a significant farewell to stages across Perth. And it saves something special for last.

On Sunday 1 November, jazz supergroup AZIZA takes over His Majesty’s Theatre: bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke and drummer Eric Harland, four musicians whose individual careers have helped shape contemporary jazz, together in one formidable quartet.

It is the kind of lineup usually encountered in New York, London or at Europe’s great jazz festivals. This November, it happens in Perth.

Earlier, three-time Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater brings more than four decades of fearless reinvention to the Astor Theatre, joined by acclaimed pianist Helen Sung. Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan arrives at the Octagon Theatre with Manifeste, his explosive collision of jazz, progressive rock, electronica and the folk music of his homeland.

For Festival Director Mace Francis, the program marks another step in PIJF’s evolution. “When we announced Dee Dee Bridgewater as our first headliner, we said she was the first of many,” Francis says.

“To finish the festival with Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland together as AZIZA is something extraordinary. These are four musicians who have spent their careers at the forefront of this music, and Perth audiences get to experience them together, on one stage, in one of our city’s great theatres.”

Switching pace, after more than 25 years of challenging expectations and reshaping the possibilities of the jazz ensemble, The Bad Plus brings its farewell tour to Perth. Reid Anderson, Dave King, Ben Monder and Chris Speed play two intimate performances at the Liberty Theatre, offering Western Australian audiences a final encounter with one of contemporary jazz’s most distinctive bands.

PIJF begins at the other end of the emotional register: loudly. Grammy-winning New Orleans institution Rebirth Brass Band opens the festival at Metro City, bringing the brass, funk and second-line energy that has powered the group from the streets of the French Quarter to stages around the world.
And on Saturday 31 October, the same room belongs to Nik West.

The virtuoso bassist and powerhouse vocalist makes her Perth debut after a career that has put her alongside Prince, Quincy Jones, Santana, John Mayer and Bootsy Collins. Part funk concert, part rock show and wholly her own, West’s arrival adds another colour to a festival increasingly uninterested in staying between the lines.

That spirit runs through the program.

The heritage-listed Liberty Theatre once again becomes PIJF’s inner-city home, hosting a contemporary series that moves from the cerebral to the cinematic and the electronic.

Grammy-winning pianist and composer Kris Davis appears with Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake; Japanese keyboard and synthesizer virtuoso BIGYUKI bends jazz into hip-hop and electronica; UK-based Australian pianist Belle Chen brings the immersive world of Ravel In The Forest; and Olivia Chindamo and Matthew Sheens explore the space between jazz, song and storytelling.

After the final notes, the theatre stays awake, with three late-night Club Sessions keeping musicians and audiences together well into the evening.

PIJF also turns its gaze north to Japan. Presented with The Japan Foundation as part of 50 years of Australia-Japan friendship, Japan Jazz Nights brings two distinct voices from Japan’s contemporary jazz scene together for a special double bill, featuring rising pianist Misaki Umei and dynamic supergroup Tenors in Chaos.

“This program is really about discovery,” Francis says.

“You can come for an artist whose records you’ve loved for 30 years and walk out talking about somebody you’d never heard of before. You can hear jazz in a grand theatre, a nightclub or a room you might never normally walk into.

“That, to me, is what a festival should do. It should make the city feel different for a while.”

PIJF enters 2026 with considerable momentum. Last year’s festival brought four Grammy winners to Western Australia, including Gregory Porter, and its continued growth was recognised with an APRA AMCOS Art Music Award.

Across 11 days, the 2026 festival moves between generations, countries and genres, from artists who helped write the language of modern jazz to those gleefully pulling it apart.

For one spring fortnight, Perth becomes part of that conversation.

View the full PIJF 2026 program: https://perthjazzfest.com/

Founded in 2012 by the late Associate Professor Graham Wood, the Perth International Jazz Festival brings leading artists from Australia and around the world to Western Australia, alongside emerging voices and exceptional local talent.

Through concerts, collaborations, free community programming and unexpected encounters with live music, PIJF celebrates jazz as a constantly evolving artform, connecting its rich history with the artists shaping what comes next.

Recent festival artists include Gregory Porter, Samara Joy, Bill Frisell, Hiromi, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Hot 8 Brass Band, Lisa Simone and esperanza spalding.

PIJF’s vision is to establish Perth as an essential destination on the international jazz calendar, while making extraordinary live music accessible to audiences across Western Australia.

 

Category: Aussie Tour News