{"id":20474,"date":"2026-04-20T19:11:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?p=20474"},"modified":"2026-04-20T21:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:20:45","slug":"jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazztopad Festival New York 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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10th Edition | June 17\u201321, 2026 | Manhattan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presented by the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIlluminating intersections between jazz, contemporary classical, electronic and other music without borders, Poland\u2019s Jazztopad Festival returns to New York for the seventh time with sets from genre-expanding artists…\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Alan Scherstuhl, The New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c…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.\u201d\u202f<\/em>\u2013 Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cJazztopad Festival meets the high standards set by its predecessors and invites healthy debate on key issues in arts programming.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cA model for what a jazz festival can be, Jazztopad is fertile soil for commissioned works and adventure-minded programming.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Joe Woodard, Down Beat<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Jazztopad Festival, a leading event of its kind in Poland\u2026\u201d <\/em>\u2013 Nate Chinen, The New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lineup includes:<\/strong>
Tomasz D\u0105browski NYC Quartet feat. Marta S\u00e1nchez, Luke Stewart and Kweku Sumbry (world premiere), SutariNova with special guest Shahzad Ismaily (premiere), DoYeon Kim with John H\u00e9bert, Satoshi Takeishi, and special guest Matylda Gerber (world premiere), house concert at Maqam Studio, closing night at Close Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerts to take place at Dizzy\u2019s at Jazz at Lincoln Center, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Maqam Studio, and Close Up (Lower East Side)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New York, NY<\/strong> \u2014 Poland’s paradigm-shifting Jazztopad Festival<\/strong> returns to New York City for its tenth edition<\/strong>, June 17\u201321, 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 Wroc\u0142aw<\/strong>, 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<\/strong> on the Lower East Side, a breeding ground for New York\u2019s young visionaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York<\/strong>, this year’s edition is organized by NFM Director Olga Hume\u0144czuk<\/strong> and Artistic Director Piotr Turkiewicz<\/strong>, 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 \u2014 and find one anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new transnational ensemble led by acclaimed Korean gayageum virtuoso DoYeon Kim<\/strong> brings together an extraordinary grouping of improvisers for a world premiere performance at the David Rubenstein Atrium. Kim \u2014 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) \u2014 released her debut album Wellspring<\/em> 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 H\u00e9bert<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>, 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<\/strong> joins as special guest, bringing a searching tone and instinct for collective interplay to a set built on new compositions by Kim \u2014 pieces designed to move fluidly between written material and open improvisation, foregrounding each performer’s voice while building toward a shared listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tenth edition of Jazztopad NYC closes at Close Up<\/strong>, 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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM<\/a><\/strong> and 9:00 PM<\/a><\/strong>
Dizzy\u2019s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center<\/a><\/strong>
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY
Tomasz D\u0105browski NYC Quartet feat. Marta S\u00e1nchez, Luke Stewart & Kweku Sumbry \u2013 World Premiere<\/strong>
Performance lineup:<\/strong>
Tomasz D\u0105browski \u2013 trumpet
Marta S\u00e1nchez \u2013 piano
Kweku Sumbry \u2013 drums
Luke Stewart \u2013 double bass<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 PM<\/strong>
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center<\/a><\/strong>
61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023
SutariNova with Special Guest Shahzad Ismaily \u2013 Premiere<\/strong>
Performance lineup:<\/strong>
SutariNova:
Basia Songin \u2013 vocal, electro-folk bass, Polish frame drum
Kasia Kapela \u2013 vocal, violin, Polish frame drum
Filip Zakrzewski \u2013 dub, FX, electronics
Shahzad Ismaily \u2013 double bass, guitar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Saturday, June 20 at 7:30 PM
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center<\/a><\/strong>
61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023
DoYeon Kim Quartet with Matylda Gerber, John H\u00e9bert & Satoshi Takeishi \u2013 World Premiere<\/strong>
Performance lineup:<\/strong>
DoYeon Kim \u2013 gayageum
Matylda Gerber \u2013 saxophone
John H\u00e9bert \u2013 double bass
Satoshi Takeishi \u2013 drums
Presented in partnership with the Japan Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 7:00 PM<\/strong>
Close Up<\/strong>
154 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Festival Closing Night \u2014 Lineup TBC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ARTISTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Polish-born trumpeter and composer Tomasz D\u0105browski<\/strong> 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\u2019s most versatile and curious players. Based in Scandinavia, D\u0105browski has built a distinguished international profile through performances, recordings, and collaborations with leading figures in contemporary jazz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2013winning composer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, as well as Vermillion Tree with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Andrew Drury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2018, D\u0105browski 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recognition of his artistic achievements, D\u0105browski received two Fryderyk Awards in 2025\u2014Poland\u2019s highest music honors\u2014for Musician of the Year and Album of the Year for Better, recorded with his ensemble Tomasz D\u0105browski & The Individual Beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through sustained international collaborations, participation in historically significant ensembles, and recognition through major national awards, Tomasz D\u0105browski has established a distinguished reputation as a contemporary jazz artist with international recognition.
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SutariNova<\/strong> is a new electronic and dub-inflected configuration of the acclaimed Polish vocal trio Sutari<\/strong>, whose name derives from the Lithuanian word for „in concordance” \u2014 a reference to the ancient polyphonic sutartin\u0117s<\/em> 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<\/strong>, is one of New York’s most essential multi-instrumentalists \u2014 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<\/em>, made with Aftab and Iyer, received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album. Ismaily’s instrument for the performance is to be confirmed \u2014 which, for an artist who commands bass, guitar, synthesizer, accordion, flute, and drum kit with equal fluency, leaves considerable range.


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DoYeon Kim<\/strong> (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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, pianist and composer Marta S\u00e1nchez<\/strong> 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\u2019s main project, her quintet, was created soon after she moved to New York, and since then has released four albums: \u201cPartenika\u201d (2015), \u201cDanza Imposible\u201d (2017), and \u201cEl Rayo de Luz\u201d (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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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John H\u00e9bert<\/strong> 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\u2019s 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, H\u00e9bert 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Japanese-born musician and improviser Satoshi Takeishi <\/strong>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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

improvisation, his evolving toolkit reflects a lifelong exploration of sound, pattern, and the expressive possibilities of rhythm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Matylda Gerber<\/strong> is a saxophonist and composer active in Poland\u2019s improvised music scene. She co-creates projects such as sneaky jesus, \u015alina, and the Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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ABOUT THE FESTIVAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2004 and held annually at the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw<\/strong>, Jazztopad has grown into one of Europe\u2019s leading festivals for improvised music<\/strong>. Since Artistic Director Piotr Turkiewicz<\/strong> took the reins in 2008, the festival has distinguished itself through long-term creative partnerships, high-profile commissions, and its embrace of the unknown\u2014favoring artistic process and experimentation over familiar formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jazztopad has organized satellite editions<\/strong> around the world\u2014from Tokyo and Seoul to Vancouver and Istanbul\u2014in partnership with such prestigious festivals as the Jarasum International Jazz Festival<\/strong>, Tokyo Jazz Festival<\/strong>, Akbank Jazz Festival<\/strong>, and Monterey Jazz Festival<\/strong>. In New York, the festival has become known for its mix of marquee premieres and underground energy, capturing the spirit of Poland\u2019s music scene while embedding itself in the cultural life of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sets Jazztopad apart is its commitment to commissioning original works<\/strong>, 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, Jo\u00eblle L\u00e9andre, Jason Moran, William Parker, Nicole Mitchell, and James Brandon Lewis<\/strong>. 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 Lutos\u0142awski Quartet<\/strong> and Wroc\u0142aw\u2019s full symphony orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkiewicz has also placed a special focus on bringing together musicians from disparate traditions<\/strong>\u2014uniting 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 Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Adam Mickiewicz Institute. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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10th Edition | June 17\u201321, 2026 | Manhattan Presented by the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York \u201cIlluminating intersections between jazz, contemporary classical, electronic and other music without borders, Poland\u2019s Jazztopad Festival returns to New York for the seventh time with sets from genre-expanding artists…\u201d \u2013 Alan Scherstuhl, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":20515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-music"],"yoast_head":"\nJazztopad 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Edition | June 17\u201321, 2026 | Manhattan\\nPresented by the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York\\n\u201cIlluminating intersections between jazz, contemporary classical, electronic and other music without borders, Poland\u2019s Jazztopad Festival returns to New York for the seventh time with sets from genre-expanding artists...\u201d \u2013 Alan Scherstuhl, The New York Times\\n\u201c...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.\u201d\u202f\u2013 Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com\\n \u201cJazztopad Festival meets the high standards set by its predecessors and invites healthy debate on key issues in arts programming.\u201d \u2013 Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise\\n \u201cA model for what a jazz festival can be, Jazztopad is fertile soil for commissioned works and adventure-minded programming.\u201d \u2013 Joe Woodard, Down Beat\\n\u201cThe Jazztopad Festival, a leading event of its kind in Poland\u2026\u201d \u2013 Nate Chinen, The New York Times\\nLineup includes:Tomasz D\u0105browski NYC Quartet feat. Marta S\u00e1nchez, Luke Stewart and Kweku Sumbry (world premiere), SutariNova with special guest Shahzad Ismaily (premiere), DoYeon Kim with John H\u00e9bert, Satoshi Takeishi, and special guest Matylda Gerber (world premiere), house concert at Maqam Studio, closing night at Close Up\\nConcerts to take place at Dizzy\u2019s at Jazz at Lincoln Center, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Maqam Studio, and Close Up (Lower East Side)\\nNew York, NY \u2014 Poland's paradigm-shifting Jazztopad Festival returns to New York City for its tenth edition, June 17\u201321, 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 Wroc\u0142aw, 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\u2019s young visionaries.\\nPresented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, this year's edition is organized by NFM Director Olga Hume\u0144czuk 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 \u2014 and find one anyway.\\nThe 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.\\n 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 \u2014 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) \u2014 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 H\u00e9bert, 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 \u2014 pieces designed to move fluidly between written material and open improvisation, foregrounding each performer's voice while building toward a shared listening.\\nThe 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 \u2014 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.\\nPROGRAM\\nWednesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PMDizzy\u2019s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center10 Columbus Circle, New York, NYTomasz D\u0105browski NYC Quartet feat. Marta S\u00e1nchez, Luke Stewart & Kweku Sumbry \u2013 World PremierePerformance lineup:Tomasz D\u0105browski \u2013 trumpetMarta S\u00e1nchez \u2013 pianoKweku Sumbry \u2013 drumsLuke Stewart \u2013 double bass\\nThursday, June 18 at 7:30 PMDavid Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023SutariNova with Special Guest Shahzad Ismaily \u2013 PremierePerformance lineup:SutariNova:Basia Songin \u2013 vocal, electro-folk bass, Polish frame drumKasia Kapela \u2013 vocal, violin, Polish frame drumFilip Zakrzewski \u2013 dub, FX, electronicsShahzad Ismaily \u2013 double bass, guitar\\nSaturday, June 20 at 7:30 PMDavid Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023DoYeon Kim Quartet with Matylda Gerber, John H\u00e9bert & Satoshi Takeishi \u2013 World PremierePerformance lineup:DoYeon Kim \u2013 gayageumMatylda Gerber \u2013 saxophoneJohn H\u00e9bert \u2013 double bassSatoshi Takeishi \u2013 drumsPresented in partnership with the Japan Foundation.\\nSunday, June 21, 2026 at 7:00 PMClose Up154 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002Festival Closing Night \u2014 Lineup TBC\\nARTISTS\\nPolish-born trumpeter and composer Tomasz D\u0105browski 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\u2019s most versatile and curious players. Based in Scandinavia, D\u0105browski has built a distinguished international profile through performances, recordings, and collaborations with leading figures in contemporary jazz.\\nIn 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\u2013winning composer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, as well as Vermillion Tree with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Andrew Drury.\\nSince 2018, D\u0105browski 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.\\nIn recognition of his artistic achievements, D\u0105browski received two Fryderyk Awards in 2025\u2014Poland\u2019s highest music honors\u2014for Musician of the Year and Album of the Year for Better, recorded with his ensemble Tomasz D\u0105browski & The Individual Beings.\\nThrough sustained international collaborations, participation in historically significant ensembles, and recognition through major national awards, Tomasz D\u0105browski has established a distinguished reputation as a contemporary jazz artist with international recognition.\\nSutariNova 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\\\" \u2014 a reference to the ancient polyphonic sutartin\u0117s 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 which, for an artist who commands bass, guitar, synthesizer, accordion, flute, and drum kit with equal fluency, leaves considerable range.\\nDoYeon 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\u2019s 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.\\nBorn and raised in Madrid, Spain, pianist and composer Marta S\u00e1nchez 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\u2019s main project, her quintet, was created soon after she moved to New York, and since then has released four albums: \u201cPartenika\u201d (2015), \u201cDanza Imposible\u201d (2017), and \u201cEl Rayo de Luz\u201d (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.\\nJohn H\u00e9bert 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\u2019s 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, H\u00e9bert 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.\\nJapanese-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\\nimprovisation, his evolving toolkit reflects a lifelong exploration of sound, pattern, and the expressive possibilities of rhythm.\\nMatylda Gerber is a saxophonist and composer active in Poland\u2019s improvised music scene. She co-creates projects such as sneaky jesus, \u015alina, and the Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra.\\nRecognized 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.\\nABOUT THE FESTIVAL\\nFounded in 2004 and held annually at the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw, Jazztopad has grown into one of Europe\u2019s 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\u2014favoring artistic process and experimentation over familiar formats.\\nJazztopad has organized satellite editions around the world\u2014from Tokyo and Seoul to Vancouver and Istanbul\u2014in 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\u2019s music scene while embedding itself in the cultural life of the city.\\nWhat 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, Jo\u00eblle L\u00e9andre, 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 Lutos\u0142awski Quartet and Wroc\u0142aw\u2019s full symphony orchestra.\\nTurkiewicz has also placed a special focus on bringing together musicians from disparate traditions\u2014uniting 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 Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Adam Mickiewicz Institute.\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg\",\"width\":1625,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jazztopad Festival New York 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/\",\"name\":\"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\",\"description\":\"Instytuty Polskie\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1\",\"name\":\"stypulkowskaa\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stypulkowskaa\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/author\/stypulkowskaa-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jazztopad Festival New York 2026 - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/","og_locale":"pl_PL","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jazztopad Festival New York 2026 - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","og_description":"10th Edition | June 17\u201321, 2026 | Manhattan Presented by the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York \u201cIlluminating intersections between jazz, contemporary classical, electronic and other music without borders, Poland\u2019s Jazztopad Festival returns to New York for the seventh time with sets from genre-expanding artists…\u201d \u2013 Alan Scherstuhl, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/","og_site_name":"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","article_published_time":"2026-04-20T17:11:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-20T19:20:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1625,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"stypulkowskaa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Napisane przez":"stypulkowskaa","Szacowany czas czytania":"17 minut"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"event","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/","name":"Jazztopad Festival New York 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":["https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek-300x199.jpg","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek-1024x681.jpg","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg"],"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-20T17:11:07+02:00","dateModified":"2026-04-20T19:20:45+02:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"pl-PL","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/"]}],"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","startDate":"2025-06-13","endDate":"2025-06-18","eventStatus":"EventScheduled","eventAttendanceMode":"OfflineEventAttendanceMode","location":{"@type":"place","name":"","address":"","geo":{"@type":"GeoCoordinates","latitude":"","longitude":""}},"description":"10th Edition | June 17\u201321, 2026 | Manhattan\nPresented by the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York\n\u201cIlluminating intersections between jazz, contemporary classical, electronic and other music without borders, Poland\u2019s Jazztopad Festival returns to New York for the seventh time with sets from genre-expanding artists...\u201d \u2013 Alan Scherstuhl, The New York Times\n\u201c...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.\u201d\u202f\u2013 Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com\n \u201cJazztopad Festival meets the high standards set by its predecessors and invites healthy debate on key issues in arts programming.\u201d \u2013 Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise\n \u201cA model for what a jazz festival can be, Jazztopad is fertile soil for commissioned works and adventure-minded programming.\u201d \u2013 Joe Woodard, Down Beat\n\u201cThe Jazztopad Festival, a leading event of its kind in Poland\u2026\u201d \u2013 Nate Chinen, The New York Times\nLineup includes:Tomasz D\u0105browski NYC Quartet feat. Marta S\u00e1nchez, Luke Stewart and Kweku Sumbry (world premiere), SutariNova with special guest Shahzad Ismaily (premiere), DoYeon Kim with John H\u00e9bert, Satoshi Takeishi, and special guest Matylda Gerber (world premiere), house concert at Maqam Studio, closing night at Close Up\nConcerts to take place at Dizzy\u2019s at Jazz at Lincoln Center, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Maqam Studio, and Close Up (Lower East Side)\nNew York, NY \u2014 Poland's paradigm-shifting Jazztopad Festival returns to New York City for its tenth edition, June 17\u201321, 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 Wroc\u0142aw, 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\u2019s young visionaries.\nPresented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, this year's edition is organized by NFM Director Olga Hume\u0144czuk 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 \u2014 and find one anyway.\nThe 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.\n 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 \u2014 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) \u2014 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 H\u00e9bert, 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 \u2014 pieces designed to move fluidly between written material and open improvisation, foregrounding each performer's voice while building toward a shared listening.\nThe 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 \u2014 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.\nPROGRAM\nWednesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PMDizzy\u2019s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center10 Columbus Circle, New York, NYTomasz D\u0105browski NYC Quartet feat. Marta S\u00e1nchez, Luke Stewart & Kweku Sumbry \u2013 World PremierePerformance lineup:Tomasz D\u0105browski \u2013 trumpetMarta S\u00e1nchez \u2013 pianoKweku Sumbry \u2013 drumsLuke Stewart \u2013 double bass\nThursday, June 18 at 7:30 PMDavid Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023SutariNova with Special Guest Shahzad Ismaily \u2013 PremierePerformance lineup:SutariNova:Basia Songin \u2013 vocal, electro-folk bass, Polish frame drumKasia Kapela \u2013 vocal, violin, Polish frame drumFilip Zakrzewski \u2013 dub, FX, electronicsShahzad Ismaily \u2013 double bass, guitar\nSaturday, June 20 at 7:30 PMDavid Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023DoYeon Kim Quartet with Matylda Gerber, John H\u00e9bert & Satoshi Takeishi \u2013 World PremierePerformance lineup:DoYeon Kim \u2013 gayageumMatylda Gerber \u2013 saxophoneJohn H\u00e9bert \u2013 double bassSatoshi Takeishi \u2013 drumsPresented in partnership with the Japan Foundation.\nSunday, June 21, 2026 at 7:00 PMClose Up154 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002Festival Closing Night \u2014 Lineup TBC\nARTISTS\nPolish-born trumpeter and composer Tomasz D\u0105browski 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\u2019s most versatile and curious players. Based in Scandinavia, D\u0105browski has built a distinguished international profile through performances, recordings, and collaborations with leading figures in contemporary jazz.\nIn 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\u2013winning composer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, as well as Vermillion Tree with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Andrew Drury.\nSince 2018, D\u0105browski 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.\nIn recognition of his artistic achievements, D\u0105browski received two Fryderyk Awards in 2025\u2014Poland\u2019s highest music honors\u2014for Musician of the Year and Album of the Year for Better, recorded with his ensemble Tomasz D\u0105browski & The Individual Beings.\nThrough sustained international collaborations, participation in historically significant ensembles, and recognition through major national awards, Tomasz D\u0105browski has established a distinguished reputation as a contemporary jazz artist with international recognition.\nSutariNova 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\" \u2014 a reference to the ancient polyphonic sutartin\u0117s 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 which, for an artist who commands bass, guitar, synthesizer, accordion, flute, and drum kit with equal fluency, leaves considerable range.\nDoYeon 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\u2019s 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.\nBorn and raised in Madrid, Spain, pianist and composer Marta S\u00e1nchez 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\u2019s main project, her quintet, was created soon after she moved to New York, and since then has released four albums: \u201cPartenika\u201d (2015), \u201cDanza Imposible\u201d (2017), and \u201cEl Rayo de Luz\u201d (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.\nJohn H\u00e9bert 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\u2019s 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, H\u00e9bert 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.\nJapanese-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\nimprovisation, his evolving toolkit reflects a lifelong exploration of sound, pattern, and the expressive possibilities of rhythm.\nMatylda Gerber is a saxophonist and composer active in Poland\u2019s improvised music scene. She co-creates projects such as sneaky jesus, \u015alina, and the Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra.\nRecognized 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.\nABOUT THE FESTIVAL\nFounded in 2004 and held annually at the National Forum of Music in Wroc\u0142aw, Jazztopad has grown into one of Europe\u2019s 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\u2014favoring artistic process and experimentation over familiar formats.\nJazztopad has organized satellite editions around the world\u2014from Tokyo and Seoul to Vancouver and Istanbul\u2014in 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\u2019s music scene while embedding itself in the cultural life of the city.\nWhat 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, Jo\u00eblle L\u00e9andre, 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 Lutos\u0142awski Quartet and Wroc\u0142aw\u2019s full symphony orchestra.\nTurkiewicz has also placed a special focus on bringing together musicians from disparate traditions\u2014uniting 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 Wroc\u0142aw in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Adam Mickiewicz Institute."},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pl-PL","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/10_Jazztopad_NY_kafelek.jpg","width":1625,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/04\/20\/jazztopad-festival-new-york-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jazztopad Festival New York 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/","name":"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","description":"Instytuty Polskie","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"pl-PL"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1","name":"stypulkowskaa","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pl-PL","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stypulkowskaa"},"url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/author\/stypulkowskaa-2\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20474"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20527,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20474\/revisions\/20527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}