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SUMMARY:Jazztopad Festival New York 2026
UID:https://instytutpolski.pl/newyork/2026/04/20/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026/
LOCATION:
DTSTAMP:20260617
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Warsaw:20260617
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Warsaw:20260621
DESCRIPTION:10th Edition | June 17–21, 2026 | Manhattan
Presented by the National Forum of Music in Wrocław in partnership with
the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Adam Mickiewicz Institute
“Illuminating intersections between jazz, contemporary classical,
electronic and other music without borders, Poland’s Jazztopad Festival
returns to New York for the seventh time with sets from genre-expanding
artists...” – Alan Scherstuhl, The New York Times
“...Jazztopad stands as an internationally renowned festival with a
clearly defined ethos, one that combines a strong respect for the
traditions and roots of the music with a progressive vision that provides a
platform for the contemporary and innovative.” – Ian Patterson,
AllAboutJazz.com
 “Jazztopad Festival meets the high standards set by its predecessors and
invites healthy debate on key issues in arts programming.” – Kevin Le
Gendre, Jazzwise
 “A model for what a jazz festival can be, Jazztopad is fertile soil for
commissioned works and adventure-minded programming.” – Joe Woodard,
Down Beat
“The Jazztopad Festival, a leading event of its kind in Poland…” –
Nate Chinen, The New York Times
Lineup includes:Tomasz Dąbrowski NYC Quartet feat. Marta Sanchez, Luke
Stewart and Kweku Sumbry (world premiere) SUTARInova with special guest
Shahzad Ismaily (premiere) DoYeon Kim with John Hébert, Satoshi Takeishi,
and special guest Matylda Gerber (World Premiere) house concert at Maqam
Studioclosing night at Close Up
Concerts to take place at Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center, David
Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Maqam Studio, and Close Up (Lower East
Side)
New York, NY — Poland's paradigm-shifting Jazztopad Festival returns to
New York City for its tenth edition, June 17–21, 2026, marking a
milestone for one of Europe's most forward-thinking jazz festivals and its
longest-running international satellite. From its founding home at the
National Forum of Music in Wrocław, Jazztopad has spent a decade building
a New York presence defined by adventurous programming, world premieres,
and an ethos of genuine cross-cultural exchange. The 2026 edition upholds
that standard with a five-day run spanning three Manhattan venues and for
the first time, the emergent downtown jazz club Close Up on the Lower East
Side, a breeding ground for New York’s young visionaries.
Presented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, this
year's edition is organized by NFM Director Olga Humeńczuk and Artistic
Director Piotr Turkiewicz, who has shaped each New York edition around the
idea that the best improvised music happens when artists from different
traditions meet without a predetermined common language — and find one
anyway.
The 2026 program brings together Polish and American musicians alongside an
internationally assembled ensemble for a world premiere commission, while
continuing the festival's tradition of intimate house concerts alongside
its higher-profile Lincoln Center engagements. The closing night at Close
Up, a Lower East Side venue that opened in 2024 and has quickly become a
gathering point for New York's emerging jazz community, signals a
deliberate expansion of the festival's footprint into the city's newer
performance ecosystem.
 A new transnational ensemble led by acclaimed Korean gayageum virtuoso
DoYeon Kim brings together an extraordinary grouping of improvisers for a
world premiere performance at the David Rubenstein Atrium. Kim — the
first gayageum player admitted to the master's programs at New England
Conservatory and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, a Korean Grammy nominee
(2018), Van Lier Fellow (2023), and Next Jazz Legacy awardee (2025) —
released her debut album Wellspring on the TAO Forms label in May 2026. Her
collaborators include Mark Dresser, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Anna Webber,
and Peter Evans. For this commission, she is joined by two deeply
responsive collaborators: bassist John Hébert, born in New Orleans and
based in New York since 1995, whose associations include long-term work
with pianist Andrew Hill and Fred Hersch, and whose distinctive voice has
been recognized in the DownBeat Critics Poll as Rising Star Acoustic
Bassist across multiple years; and Japanese-American drummer and
percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, a native of Mito, Japan who studied at
Berklee, lived four years in Colombia, and has been based in New York since
1991, performing across world music, jazz, contemporary classical, and
experimental electronic contexts with artists including Anthony Braxton,
Ray Barretto, Dhafer Youssef, and Lalo Schifrin. Polish saxophonist Matylda
Gerber joins as special guest, bringing a searching tone and instinct for
collective interplay to a set built on new compositions by Kim — pieces
designed to move fluidly between written material and open improvisation,
foregrounding each performer's voice while building toward a shared
listening.
The tenth edition of Jazztopad NYC closes at Close Up, the artist-driven
jazz club at 154 Orchard Street in the Lower East Side that opened in 2024
and has rapidly emerged as a focal point for New York's new generation of
jazz performers and listeners. Founded with an explicit commitment to
showcasing both the musician and the listener, Close Up represents a
natural extension of Jazztopad's own values — intimate, community-rooted,
aesthetically open. The partnership marks the festival's first appearance
at the venue, extending its downtown presence and connecting its
Polish-American programming mission with a room built around the same ethos
of risk and discovery. Lineup to be announced.
PROGRAM
Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PMDizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln
Center10 Columbus Circle, New York, NYTomasz Dąbrowski NYC Quartet feat.
Marta Sánchez, Luke Stewart & Kweku Sumbry – World
PremierePerformance lineup:Tomasz Dąbrowski – trumpetMarta Sánchez –
pianoKweku Sumbry – drumsLuke Stewart – double bass
Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 PMDavid Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center61 W
62nd St, New York, NY 10023SutariNova with Special Guest Shahzad Ismaily
– PremierePerformance lineup:SutariNova:Basia Songin – vocal,
electro-folk bass, Polish frame drumKasia Kapela – vocal, violin, Polish
frame drumFilip Zakrzewski – dub, FX, electronicsShahzad Ismaily –
double bass, guitar
Friday, June 19 at 6:00 PMMaqam Studio New York, NYHouse Concert with
Festival ArtistsA Jazztopad tradition: an intimate house concert setting
offering festival artists and audiences an informal point of encounter
outside the main-stage framework.
Saturday, June 20 at 7:30 PMDavid Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center61 W
62nd St, New York, NY 10023DoYeon Kim, John Hébert, Satoshi Takeishi;
Special guest: Matylda Gerber – World PremierePerformance lineup:DoYeon
Kim – gayageumMatylda Gerber – saxophoneJohn Hébert – double
bassSatoshi Takeishi – drums
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 7:30 PMClose Up154 Orchard Street, New York, NY
10002Tomasz Dąbrowski with Henry Fraser, Jon Starks, Elias Stemeseder
& Special Guest Performance lineup:Tomasz Dąbrowski – trumpetHenry
Fraser – bassJon Starks – drums/electronicsElias Stemeseder –
piano/synthand Special Guest
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 9:00 PMClose Up154 Orchard Street, New York, NY
10002Tomasz Dąbrowski with Henry Fraser, Jon Starks, Elias Stemeseder
&Special GuestsPerformance lineup:Tomasz Dąbrowski – trumpetHenry
Fraser – bassJon Starks – drums/electronicsElias Stemeseder –
piano/synthand Special Guests
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 10:30 PMClose Up154 Orchard Street, New York, NY
10002Yvonne Rogers & Solomon Gottfried with Special Guests Performance
lineup:Yvonne Rogers – pianoSolomon Gottfried – bassand Special Guests
ARTISTS
Polish-born trumpeter and composer Tomasz Dąbrowski is an internationally
recognized jazz artist active throughout Europe and the United States. His
work has been noted by DownBeat Magazine, which praised him as one of
Europe’s most versatile and curious players. Based in Scandinavia,
Dąbrowski has built a distinguished international profile through
performances, recordings, and collaborations with leading figures in
contemporary jazz.
In the United States, he has performed in New York with saxophonist Tim
Berne, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, and drummer Kate Gentile. His recording
credits include Steps with Pulitzer Prize–winning composer and drummer
Tyshawn Sorey, as well as Vermillion Tree with pianist Kris Davis and
drummer Andrew Drury.
Since 2018, Dąbrowski has been a member of the historic Globe Unity
Orchestra, founded by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, an ensemble
widely recognized as one of the foundational groups of European free jazz.
He has also performed with the internationally touring Fire! Orchestra and
collaborated with prominent American saxophonists David Murray and Joe
Lovano, including a performance at the Jazz Autumn Festival in 2025.
In recognition of his artistic achievements, Dąbrowski received two
Fryderyk Awards in 2025—Poland’s highest music honors—for Musician of
the Year and Album of the Year for Better, recorded with his ensemble
Tomasz Dąbrowski & The Individual Beings.
Through sustained international collaborations, participation in
historically significant ensembles, and recognition through major national
awards, Tomasz Dąbrowski has established a distinguished reputation as a
contemporary jazz artist with international recognition.
SutariNova is a new electronic and dub-inflected configuration of the
acclaimed Polish vocal trio Sutari, whose name derives from the Lithuanian
word for "in concordance" — a reference to the ancient polyphonic
sutartinės tradition at the core of their practice. Founding members Basia
Songin and Kasia Kapela have long woven Polish and Lithuanian folk material
through dense vocal harmony and traditional instruments; here, joined by
producer Filip Zakrzewski, they push that vocabulary into electronic and
dub-inflected territory. Their special guest, Shahzad Ismaily, is one of
New York's most essential multi-instrumentalists — a musician of
Pakistani descent who has performed on nearly 400 records and collaborated
with artists ranging from Marc Ribot and Lou Reed to Arooj Aftab and Vijay
Iyer. His 2023 album Love in Exile, made with Aftab and Iyer, received a
Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album. Ismaily's instrument for
the performance is to be confirmed — which, for an artist who commands
bass, guitar, synthesizer, accordion, flute, and drum kit with equal
fluency, leaves considerable range.
DoYeon Kim (b. 1991, Seoul) is an internationally acclaimed artist known
for introducing the gayageum, an ancient Korean zither, into contemporary
music. She channels history, literature, and the evolving human spirit into
a musical language entirely her own, expressed through original
compositions, powerful solo performances, and collaborations worldwide. The
first gayageum player admitted to the master’s programs at New England
Conservatory and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Kim has been nominated
for a Korean Grammy Award (2018), received the Van Lier Fellowship (2023),
and was a Next Jazz Legacy awardee (2025). In May 2026, she released her
debut album, Wellspring the TAO Forms label. She has served on the
faculties of NEC and The New School and leads projects ranging from solo
concerts to intercontinental collaborations and ensembles including ACC X
Music Festival and the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra. Her collaborators include
Mark Dresser, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Anna Webber, and Peter Evans.
Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, pianist and composer Marta Sánchez is
actively working in the contemporary creative music scene in New York City
and around the globe. Charting a significant path through her innovative
and original music, she has reached an international audience, gaining
significant global recognition. Marta’s main project, her quintet, was
created soon after she moved to New York, and since then has released four
albums: “Partenika” (2015), “Danza Imposible” (2017), and “El
Rayo de Luz” (2019) with the Spanish label Fresh Sound and SAAM (Spanish
American Art Museum) with Whirlwind Recordings. She has toured the United
States, Europe, South America, and Central America, performing as a leader
or as a sideman at prestigious venues and prominent festivals such as North
Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, Eurojazz in Mexico City, Eurojazz in
Athens, Jazz Festival Vitoria Gasteiz, Winter Jazz Festival in New York,
and Madrid among many others. In the United States she has performed at
some of the most prestigious clubs including the Blue Note, Birdland,
Roulette, Jazz Gallery, 55 Bar, The Cell Theater, Cornelia Street Cafe, or
Blue Whale.
John Hébert has solidified his position as one of the most inventive and
respected bassists in the contemporary jazz landscape. From his leader
dates to his sideman gigs, he has proven an indispensable figure in the
modern landscape of creative music. Hailing originally from New Orleans,
Louisiana, Hebert established himself in New York City in the mid-1990s. He
gained widespread recognition for his collaboration with the legendary
pianist Andrew Hill, serving in Hill's final groups and recording Time
Lines (Blue Note Records). His versatility is reflected in his long list of
high-profile associations across the spectrum of creative music including a
long stint in Fred Hersch’s acclaimed trio, Paul Bley, Tim Berne, Lee
Konitz, David Liebman, Paul Motian, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler, Mary
Halvorson, Kris Davis, and Ingrid Laubrock. As a leader and composer,
Hébert has released multiple critically acclaimed albums including
Byzantine Monkey (Firehouse 12), Spiritual Lover (Clean Feed, 2010),
Rambling Confessions (Sunnyside) and Sounds of Love (Sunnyside Records), a
reimagining and tribute to the music of Charles Mingus with Tim Berne,
Taylor Ho Bynum, and Ches Smith. His contributions have earned him multiple
showings as "Rising Star Acoustic Bassist" in the annual DownBeat
International Critics Poll.
Japanese-born musician and improviser Satoshi Takeishi explores connection
beyond genre, integrating contrasting elements in pursuit of musical
essence. Working with drum set, hybrid percussion, and electronics, he
draws from over 40 years of global performance and recording experience
across jazz, contemporary classical, experimental, and world music. Rather
than specializing in a single style, he continually integrates his broad
musical experiences, allowing intuition, texture, and rhythmic form to
guide his artistic choices. After studying at Berklee College of Music,
Takeishi lived in Colombia and Miami before settling in New York City,
where he has been based since 1991. In NYC, he remains deeply engaged in
new projects by composers and performers across genres, as well as in his
own solo work. From fully notated compositions to open
improvisation, his evolving toolkit reflects a lifelong exploration of
sound, pattern, and the expressive possibilities of rhythm.
Matylda Gerber is a saxophonist and composer active in Poland’s
improvised music scene. She co-creates projects such as sneaky jesus,
Ślina, and the Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra.
Recognized as a rising star of Polish jazz, she has been named one of the
eight most promising artists on the European jazz scene by leading music
magazines. Alongside her artistic work, she also conducts research focused
on the role of intuition.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Founded in 2004 and held annually at the National Forum of Music in
Wrocław, Jazztopad has grown into one of Europe’s leading festivals for
improvised music. Since Artistic Director Piotr Turkiewicz took the reins
in 2008, the festival has distinguished itself through long-term creative
partnerships, high-profile commissions, and its embrace of the
unknown—favoring artistic process and experimentation over familiar
formats.
Jazztopad has organized satellite editions around the world—from Tokyo
and Seoul to Vancouver and Istanbul—in partnership with such prestigious
festivals as the Jarasum International Jazz Festival, Tokyo Jazz Festival,
Akbank Jazz Festival, and Monterey Jazz Festival. In New York, the festival
has become known for its mix of marquee premieres and underground energy,
capturing the spirit of Poland’s music scene while embedding itself in
the cultural life of the city.
What sets Jazztopad apart is its commitment to commissioning original
works, with over 50 pieces premiered since 2008. These include orchestral
works, string quartet commissions, and solo chamber projects by such
luminaries as Wayne Shorter, Wadada Leo Smith, Charles Lloyd, Craig Taborn,
Joëlle Léandre, Jason Moran, William Parker, Nicole Mitchell, and James
Brandon Lewis. These pieces often explore new compositional terrain, with a
particular interest in placing improvising soloists into dynamic
relationships with classically trained ensembles, including the in-house
Lutosławski Quartet and Wrocław’s full symphony orchestra.
Turkiewicz has also placed a special focus on bringing together musicians
from disparate traditions—uniting improvisers, contemporary classical
composers, folk musicians, and artists working in electronic and
experimental formats. The result is a curatorial vision that thrives on
dialogue, surprise, and transformation.The American edition of the
Jazztopad Festival is organized by the National Forum of Music in Wrocław
in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Adam
Mickiewicz Institute. 
Jazztopad Festival is organized by the National Forum of Music (NFM) in
Wrocław , Poland, in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New
York and Adam Mickiewicz Institute under the artistic direction of Piotr
Turkiewicz and NFM Director Olga Humeńczuk. Since its first New York
edition, Jazztopad NYC has presented commissioned world premieres,
cross-cultural collaborations, and some of the most adventurous improvised
music programming available in the city. 
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