# Europe in the Rhythm of The EU Jazz & Blues Festival Britain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France, Belgium, Portugal, Slovakia at Autumn – Winter Season 2026։ Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2026/10/15/europe-in-the-rhythm-of-the-eu-jazz-blues-festival-britain-germany-sweden-denmark-france-belgium-portugal-slovakia-at-autumn-winter-season-2026%d6%89-photos/
- Published: 2026-10-15T04:00:37+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**An expansive musical journey through Britain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France,
Belgium, Portugal and Slovakia, celebrating the artists, venues and cultural traditions
that give contemporary European jazz and blues its extraordinary vitality.**

Europe in autumn is a continent of changing light. The streets grow quieter beneath
golden trees, historic squares take on the colours of copper and amber, and the 
evenings invite audiences into intimate jazz clubs, independent music venues, concert
halls and theatres. Across this landscape, the blues speaks in the unmistakable 
language of lived experience, while jazz continues its restless journey between 
tradition, improvisation, experimentation and discovery.

![](https://i0.wp.com/jazzblues.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Jazz-Blues.jpg?resize
=640%2C427&ssl=1)

The 2026 Autumn–Winter Season of the EU Jazz & Blues Festival brings together an
impressive variety of musical personalities: British blues-rock performers, American
jazz innovators, European improvisers, Polish instrumental virtuosos, Belgian experimental
ensembles and artists whose music crosses cultural and geographical boundaries.

This is a programme in which the small club and the grand concert hall have equal
importance. A London blues club offers the electricity of amplified guitars and 
the immediacy of a live audience; a German jazz venue becomes a laboratory for spontaneous
musical conversation; a French festival welcomes Mediterranean and North African
traditions into the contemporary jazz landscape; and a Portuguese concert hall opens
its doors to a sound that unites ancient melodies with modern rhythms.

![Kris Barras: “I think I was always looking for more with guitar and I wanted something
that really taxed me” | MusicRadar](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/zYffxh2lpgRchpaPaoC_0J68Cgu5q-
VurYXsBUbQ8VAZmZlxQUioJRcFnz7CQrFF4acm5lC-hz_yw4QVv5Gz-Ir3jZ7au2yddrGRW0bYgbm-it2KlL3oiUvOMPuqf8-
ASDthv4TtJNRA7BN5zhclUoAT4lb8yNAD4mpsjcIcXDc?purpose=inline)

At the heart of this ambitious European undertaking is Olivia Peevas, director and
organiser of the 2026 Autumn–Winter Jazz–Blues Season of the EU Jazz & Blues Festival.
Her role represents the organisational vision behind a programme that brings together
different countries, artistic traditions, musical generations and audiences under
one cultural umbrella.

The following overview explores the artists, cities, venues and musical identities
represented in the programme. One editorial distinction is important: the information
supplied does not establish that every performance has already taken place. Where
dates and listings can be corroborated, these are identified accordingly; other 
entries are presented as programme features rather than as independently verified
concert reviews.

### Great Britain: the living heart of the blues

![Crow Black Chicken - Discover Northern Ireland](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/USQxWYaB-IrCDYgQ0qhbLTMiyhZr-TMP3kwtVkQnFMkofJP4myCojfpiI_RBUTJYIUB0JdfnKcfYaWfsMcEyUHltpEC88GXm-
lF95ue_jq05ZMc5O0OJh3zuyDgfjT6YsSv4mU6aEHohypANVt6MgCFhGnqqPLSGI8OLbNQIbaI?purpose
=inline)

Britain occupies a special place in the history of modern blues. From the small 
clubs of London to the industrial cities of the Midlands and the intimate pubs of
southern England, British musicians have continually reinterpreted American blues
traditions, giving them new force through rock, hard-edged guitar playing, expressive
vocals and the energy of live performance.

The British chapter of the EU Jazz & Blues Festival’s autumn–winter season is particularly
revealing because it brings together different scales of musical experience. The
historic London club, the regional concert hall, the pub and the waterfront music
venue all become places where the blues can speak in its many dialects.

### Crow Black Chicken — The 100 Club, London

![Crow Black Chicken Tickets - 100 Club, London - 13/10/2026 19:15](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/DdFhOn5NukBbyllhV5R_4fxZlwV1Q6Hya9zpgBmcTr-jOTpQMEKHpUP0DH1ioaIZBsLGT76omWuu2QoSwl75TQ5MTwBEfO9nw5PATldQcuDNsnFK8Mg6vRa_6T4PAYSpH07-
druFZ6nBdjEdg7kPrXX-tikMmFjNN0Mg2V7eXJk?purpose=inline)

London’s legendary 100 Club is one of those venues whose significance reaches far
beyond its physical dimensions. Situated on Oxford Street, it has long provided 
a meeting place for adventurous musicians and audiences who value music in its most
direct, unfiltered form.

The venue’s programme confirms Crow Black Chicken for 13 October 2026, with Bourbon
Street Rival and Katie and the Bad Sign also listed on the bill.

Crow Black Chicken, an Irish blues-rock trio associated with the musical traditions
of Ireland’s deep south, bring together the muscular vocabulary of electric blues,
the momentum of rock and the expressive possibilities of improvisation. Their appeal
lies in music that does not need elaborate decoration: a strong riff, a sharply 
articulated guitar phrase, a driving rhythm and a vocal delivery capable of carrying
both grit and feeling.

In a venue such as the 100 Club, every instrumental exchange becomes part of the
drama. Guitar lines can rise above the rhythmic foundation, fall into a quieter 
passage and then return with renewed intensity. The compact room encourages a close
relationship between musicians and audience, allowing small changes in dynamics 
to become as meaningful as the loudest moments.

![Smith/Kotzen and Kris Barras: An Amazing Evening - ROCKPOSER DOT COM!](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/TQEwfTVeBmS3-tSeFUIWEuCs3gIlVYr9tC9Ah4XlDdJ5Iq1M9VAt88ZOdY350s2SlNbrHxHFknJCw6rzTvfFWn5wRzDK3bKfZZb4w-
_FasRlSFYY8KyEgkuxIZ5Fq2IhFlPsFxliIR5V9CCK206aQVBF5H8bR3AByH1GPu6XXemHnXYOeh6q_TR0WibvHksK?
purpose=fullsize)

For the festival’s British programme, Crow Black Chicken represent the continuity
of blues-rock as a living performance tradition. This is music rooted in history
but sustained by the immediacy of the present.

### Kris Barras Band — London

Kris Barras occupies the powerful territory between blues, hard rock and contemporary
guitar-driven music. His musical identity combines the expressive bends and phrasing
of blues guitar with the weight, precision and dramatic scale of modern rock.

The London appearance listed through Be-There Events adds a contemporary blues-rock
dimension to the season. The precise venue and date were not established in the 
information available for this report, so this should be treated as a programme 
entry rather than a confirmed concert review.

Barras’s artistic language is built around contrast. A guitar passage may begin 
with a relatively spare melodic statement before expanding into a heavier riff or
an extended solo. The rhythm section gives these transitions their physical power,
while the vocal line provides the emotional centre.

The relationship between blues and rock is particularly important here. Blues offers
the music its expressive vocabulary: tension, release, repetition, melodic inflection
and the transformation of personal emotion into sound. Rock enlarges that vocabulary
through volume, amplification and a more expansive sense of musical architecture.

In the broader European season, Kris Barras Band stand for the continuing relevance
of the electric blues tradition to younger audiences and to listeners whose musical
tastes extend well beyond conventional genre boundaries.

### The Blues Edition: Bob Bowles Trio — The Royal Oak, Swindon

The Royal Oak, at 24 Devizes Road in Swindon, represents another essential part 
of the blues ecosystem: the neighbourhood venue where musicians can maintain direct
contact with their audience.

The Bob Bowles Trio’s place in the programme offers a natural opportunity to celebrate
small-format blues performance. In a trio, there is little room for unnecessary 
ornamentation. Each player has to understand the rhythmic structure, respond to 
the others and contribute to the overall narrative.

The guitar can establish a riff, develop a melodic variation and leave space for
the bass and drums to answer. The rhythm section must provide both stability and
flexibility, keeping the music grounded while allowing the lead instrument to stretch
a phrase or build toward a climax.

The programme’s Tuesday Blues concept, described as live blues and rock ’n’ roll,
reflects the social character of British blues culture. This is music for listening,
dancing, conversation and shared enjoyment. Its authenticity does not depend on 
the grandeur of a stage; it emerges from the relationship between musicians and 
the people gathered around them.

### Leoni Jane Kennedy — with Walter Trout’s UK tour, KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

![PRS Guitars | Leoni Jane Kennedy](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/tdnDwDRBeOmlk4phkvxpQ_MefCce-
dC2gcCLKaHUWPN_9wfsl7KxofFsTR_GvQ66SJSnvuXS6OMAemtS4C5Of39zoGfcFWOu7seBWN9IO3CzJvu9NHoeW1jUSIX_vSowrwaVtSGNz5SOlNSGDn0LyD4d7v3YVnEC3AAmbVjQxqw?
purpose=inline)

Wolverhampton’s KK’s Steel Mill has the character of an industrial music venue: 
a setting well suited to blues-rock’s combination of physical power and emotional
intensity.

Leoni Jane Kennedy’s association with Walter Trout’s UK tour places her within a
tradition of blues performance in which the guitar is not merely a solo instrument
but a vehicle for storytelling. The blues-rock singer must negotiate several expressive
roles: rhythmic drive, melodic clarity, vocal urgency and the ability to sustain
an audience’s attention across contrasting musical moods.

The wider context is significant. Walter Trout’s own career represents a long history
of blues guitar shaped by experience, collaboration and the expressive possibilities
of the electric band. KK’s Steel Mill has promoted Trout’s 2026 appearances as performances
centred on raw blues-rock energy.

Kennedy’s appearance in this setting adds a further voice to a genre whose strength
has always depended on new performers taking inherited musical forms and making 
them personal.

A second listed appearance at Gloucester Guildhall extends this story into another
English city. Rather than treating the blues-rock concert as an isolated event, 
the festival can present it as part of a wider musical journey through Britain’s
regional venues.

### Pete Robson and Bene Bennett — Blues & Burgers, Bomba, Exeter

![Wolfram artists](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/R6_ulb8I_wyHF0CJNWk559KdY1h_lHJOYIfnMD3cLshBKV1lt6Dlio3BN9KSVoD-
Y3UUOOItej-WkUEGbi_cfH9ES6gHOJtSXGtodS6ER412KsConrvnBhihTHAKkFTfYPCelP5rYpWrGkhj6HzYsPoQx9HR-
NKODAKRT8r9WLs?purpose=inline)

At Bomba, 4 The Quay in Exeter, the programme offers an especially appealing combination
of live blues and an informal social setting.

The event listing confirms Blues & Burgers for 14 October 2026, featuring Pete Robson
and Bene Bennett. The organiser describes Robson as a solo blues musician whose 
sound centres on resonator slide guitar, a homemade stomp box and a deep, edgy voice.

The resonator guitar has a distinctive place in the history of American roots music.
Its metallic resonance allows a slide to glide across the strings with a vocal quality,
producing notes that seem to bend, cry and linger. Combined with foot percussion,
the instrument can create the impression of a much larger ensemble while retaining
the intimacy of a solo performance.

Robson’s approach, as described in the event material, connects traditional Delta
blues with contemporary songwriting. That relationship is important: the blues remains
alive not by repeating the past exactly, but by allowing its rhythmic and emotional
vocabulary to illuminate present-day experiences.

Bene Bennett’s participation adds another dimension to the evening, while the food-
and-music format underlines a fundamental truth about blues culture. Live music 
is also a social occasion, bringing people together around sound, hospitality and
a shared atmosphere.

The Bomba appearance is a particularly clear example of how a European festival 
season can embrace both prestigious concert stages and grassroots cultural spaces.

### Erin Harpe & Countryman Jim — Midweek Blues in Town, Ipswich

The Halberd Inn, at 15 Northgate Street in Ipswich, provides a fitting setting for
a performance rooted in acoustic blues and American roots music.

The listing confirms Erin Harpe and Countryman Jim for 14 October 2026, with the
event described as a return to the Midweek Blues in Town series at a new venue. 
Admission is listed as free.

![Cotton Club - Hamburg - Arrivalguides.com](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-
4/-vDnjucOBRJHjhslkVDaZ1il4oRvB9Hr1L4OqVRRgDosmFwdjSXu14MIdoKWWCHWVOyDoRLexG-NLfeO0NFBtZLYkmTzk4N1tQuqdAyK7TNLuR4_xHq9rf3rJ_qqnDXwZx-
c55ARldd_1-nykhH3XxlQp10MjdsUSeT_C-Nol40?purpose=inline)

Harpe is known for her fingerstyle guitar playing, expressive vocals and engagement
with traditional country blues. Her musical approach draws on the repertoire and
techniques associated with early blues performers, while bringing a contemporary
sense of personality to the material.

Fingerstyle playing allows a guitarist to maintain several musical layers simultaneously.
The thumb may establish a steady bass pattern while the fingers articulate chords,
syncopated accents and melodic responses. The result can be both rhythmically intricate
and wonderfully relaxed.

Countryman Jim’s partnership with Harpe offers the possibility of a close musical
conversation in which rhythm, voice and guitar become interconnected rather than
separate elements. In such a setting, the smallest change of tempo or the slightest
pause can alter the emotional direction of a song.

The Ipswich concert illustrates the importance of informal indoor performances within
the wider festival landscape. A pub may offer no monumental stage architecture, 
yet it can provide something equally valuable: the intimacy necessary for the audience
to hear the detail of the music.

### Leoni Jane Kennedy — Gloucester Guildhall

Gloucester Guildhall offers a different architectural and cultural context from 
Wolverhampton’s industrial music venue. Situated in the historic city centre, it
provides a civic setting for live performance and a meeting point between local 
audiences and touring musicians.

Kennedy’s listed blues-rock appearance gives the British programme continuity across
venues and regions. Her connection to the blues-rock tradition provides an opportunity
to explore how vocal interpretation, guitar-driven arrangements and dynamic contrasts
can create a concert narrative.

![Theaterstübchen | Stadt Kassel](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/fAekC889JFDnjXzV33kC_92yMY4o_YClCNPtahI_qSF6vkAIitAsrjNuon2Wuvxe2u2yPF4S3vufAVsBqEhHqzPSRtpOXGRtk6ulhTyEzs3CU8NwLWjZp3R3iT31Xy7aDOIXAY5DZtpF6wzqkc4-
ZyR6ErsXQ693G3m3mM5EOA4?purpose=inline)

The strongest blues-rock performances often move between contrasting emotional states:
a tightly controlled verse, a surging chorus, a moment of instrumental release and
a quieter passage in which the voice becomes more exposed. This balance of intensity
and vulnerability is central to the genre’s expressive power.

The Gloucester appearance should be understood as a separate programme listing; 
the precise date and performance details have not been independently established
here.

### Germany: the blues club and the art of improvisation

![Deutschlands größter Kinosaal ist in NRW: So sieht es dort aus](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/PuplzxTxokmXQ0L_BDfbW7tT2vqNOVQQtl_QUSxtTLbW-4WXT3-5fIAR-
SzVVbkJ3fUilTIbO_o4-kUzn3stiRth7matGXzTZdZj9j2OuJ99y3Ev3ULi_DtL81ZUXv3IHXhbhXO8kv2_YtZROF60lH6uOOD89lYuhynSDCfDxz0?
purpose=inline)

Germany contributes several different perspectives to the season, from Hamburg’s
club culture to Essen’s grand historic auditorium and Kassel’s intimate live-music
scene. It is a programme in which the blues’s directness meets jazz’s appetite for
formal invention.

### 8. In Case of Blues — Cotton Club, Hamburg

Hamburg has a rich musical identity shaped by its port, international connections
and lively network of concert venues. The Cotton Club, at Alter Steinweg 10, belongs
to a tradition of clubs in which jazz and blues are experienced at close range.

The name In Case of Blues evokes the essence of the genre: a musical language built
around recognisable forms but capable of endless expressive variation. The twelve-
bar blues, repeated harmonic patterns, call-and-response phrasing and characteristic
melodic inflections offer a framework within which performers can develop their 
own personalities.

In a live club, the audience can hear how a band negotiates those structures in 
real time. A repeated riff may acquire a new emphasis; a solo may grow from a restrained
phrase into a more expansive declaration; a drummer may alter the feel without disturbing
the underlying pulse.

Hamburg’s musical culture makes such performances particularly meaningful. The port
city’s history of movement and exchange provides an apt backdrop for music that 
has travelled across continents, transformed itself in new environments and remained
recognisable through every change.

### Krissy Matthews Band — ChaBah, Kandern

![Krissy Matthews Guitarmania 2026 – Kulturfabrik Kofmehl](https://images.openai.
com/static-rsc-4/mhC0tvPVkEggnDd5hYwNcvGGjpR3reI3mxRMUh3-9SPihmRElcVHEDCOlzsGxoDuryjIdilIst9T5f-
VQTzvaZhfqnLDs1iUzT3e7bdCNXolDptvHdlYFPWDfgcm4L7YR3o089OElbDG7OQn3qb9-lN3geRiK41pzjx-
hzKo45M?purpose=inline)

The Krissy Matthews Band brings a powerful British-Norwegian blues-rock identity
to the programme. At ChaBah in Kandern, near the southern German border region, 
the group’s music offers a meeting point between classic electric blues and the 
more expansive vocabulary of modern rock.

The programme identifies the album Rock and Roll Soldier as part of the band’s repertoire.
Matthews’s guitar-led style is associated with an energetic approach to the blues,
one that values strong melodic statements, expressive phrasing and the dramatic 
possibilities of amplification.

The guitar’s role in this tradition is both rhythmic and vocal. A sustained note
can carry the emotional weight of a lyric, while a sharply articulated phrase can
intensify the momentum of the ensemble. In a band setting, these gestures become
more powerful when supported by a rhythm section capable of shifting between a solid
groove and more open passages.

ChaBah’s pub setting brings this musical language into an intimate environment. 
Such venues allow audiences to experience the physical detail of the performance—
the attack of the strings, the interaction between instruments and the changes in
dynamics that can be less apparent in a larger auditorium.

The concert is therefore a reminder that the blues-rock tradition remains a central
part of contemporary European live music.

### Cécile McLorin Salvant — Oh Snap, Lichtburg Essen

![Cécile McLorin Salvant en concert à l'Espace Malraux | Le Petit faucheux](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/9ZCMT6P8chV5ToTuj06ECJOgsdBPFpHx5DpK7ulej5Zd_WXy_mUASuZftPIO96izEZ1w7V3kjKe6OrdG1G5Ze2e6jdQXFQ2Mqz5cDDSdvqzX0pOHsSiHxs8TKXSfuq_gXk4UkS7t1tYTsDvh9sLeQAFkWRKBRX7FptaQbZxkZHQ?
purpose=inline)

The appearance announced for Cécile McLorin Salvant at Lichtburg Essen offers a 
striking contrast to the intimate British blues venues.

Salvant is one of the most distinctive vocal artists in contemporary jazz. Her work
combines technical command with theatrical imagination, literary awareness and a
highly individual approach to phrasing. She is not simply a singer interpreting 
melodies; she is an artist who treats a song as a dramatic space in which language,
rhythm, gesture and emotion can interact.

The Oh Snap programme was advertised for 13 October 2026, with Glenn Zaleski on 
piano, Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Kyle Poole on drums.

Lichtburg is one of Essen’s best-known historic cinema and event venues. Its scale
and architectural character provide an interesting frame for Salvant’s art, which
often moves between the intimacy of a whispered phrase and the expansiveness of 
a fully projected vocal line.

Her musical vocabulary is unusually broad. Jazz tradition, theatrical song, historical
repertoire and contemporary composition can coexist in her performances without 
losing their individual identities. She can stretch a phrase against the pulse, 
reshape a familiar melodic contour or use silence to create a moment of dramatic
expectation.

An important scheduling update: subsequent information from concert organisers indicates
that the scheduled German Oh Snap performances, including Essen, were postponed 
to 2027. The originally advertised date should therefore not be presented as an 
unambiguously completed concert.

Even with that qualification, Salvant’s inclusion is artistically significant. She
represents a form of vocal jazz that is at once historically informed, intellectually
curious and emotionally immediate.

### Vincent Peirani & Émile Parisien — Living Being, Theaterstübchen, Kassel

![Abrazo – Crotchety Man](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/ArveH8to2UoNqQaXfNpqeiCL_sWIps6MJ258XwxdH28ccpUsfdS3V-
HtfmkL4t0Y9sarqPGFcWGttVYVc7UULn9yNdriHz5mn99NuQpvdpoR6VELMlEgweAo0A4eN4f5G5yfzg-
bImd_ebAgKDnoE4yRFE9mAOzoxOR-OQPfqAg?purpose=inline)

The musical partnership between accordionist Vincent Peirani and saxophonist Émile
Parisien embodies one of the most exciting qualities of contemporary French jazz:
the willingness to draw on diverse musical traditions without being confined by 
any one of them.

Their collaboration is marked by an unusual combination of timbres. Peirani’s accordion
can evoke the atmosphere of European folk music, chamber music or the theatricality
of the Parisian street, while Parisien’s saxophone brings a sharply defined melodic
voice capable of extraordinary flexibility.

When the two musicians interact, their instruments seem to engage in dialogue. A
phrase may begin with the accordion’s sustained harmonic colour and be answered 
by the saxophone’s agile, almost vocal line. Rhythmic patterns can shift unexpectedly,
opening space for improvisation before returning to a recognisable theme.

The Living Being project represents a broader artistic philosophy: contemporary 
jazz need not abandon tradition to be adventurous. Instead, it can use familiar 
musical materials as a starting point for new forms.

The Kassel listing places this project at Theaterstübchen, an intimate venue well
suited to the immediacy of improvisation. The precise date and full personnel for
this particular listing have not been independently verified. The collaboration 
is also featured at the Tourcoing Jazz Festival in France, where Vincent Peirani’s
quintet is listed for 14 October 2026.

### Kinga Głyk — NICA Jazz Club, Hamburg

![File:Kinga Glyk - Leverkusener Jazztage 2017-6613.jpg - Wikimedia Commons](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/yj0e9EPFF215bTpceoHxO8E6xvU7SJA7Vmnm1z0AsDJqDc0AjQx7jE6Wt43gopAGx-
PsP8ehHxUmhe19N6SsxsHQxjb-uJzUWYx2_HZozMKz5m6KbjaSprjrqADvdXprusulj0EkzJ_rrcfHxF5WJlc0873kaY3NxqBA2YVOWP0?
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Polish bassist Kinga Głyk brings a striking combination of instrumental precision,
youthful energy and rhythmic imagination to the European jazz scene.

Her Hamburg appearance is confirmed by NICA Jazz Club for 13 October 2026, with 
a further performance listed on 14 October. The published ensemble includes Głyk
on bass, Paweł Tomaszewski and Michał Jakubczak on keyboards, Lucas Saint Cricq 
on saxophone and Nicola Viccaro on drums.

Głyk’s musical identity is closely associated with the relationship between jazz
improvisation and funk. Her bass is not merely a foundation beneath the other instruments;
it is an active melodic voice, capable of establishing a groove, creating rhythmic
tension and taking centre stage.

The bass line determines much of a band’s physical character. It connects harmony
to rhythm, provides direction to the drummer’s patterns and creates a framework 
within which keyboards and saxophone can explore. In Głyk’s hands, that framework
becomes a source of invention.

The NICA Jazz Club provides a suitable environment for this kind of performance.
In a small room, the audience can hear how a bass phrase interacts with the drums,
how the keyboard textures alter the harmony and how the saxophone’s melodic line
emerges from the groove.

Głyk’s presence also represents an important generational story. She began performing
with her family trio as a child and has since developed an international career,
demonstrating that virtuosity and accessibility can coexist. For the festival, her
appearance offers a compelling portrait of European jazz as a living, evolving musical
culture.

### Sweden and Denmark: contemporary jazz, collective energy and the human voice

![Shabaka live in London: jazz pioneer impresses in a beautiful new chapter](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/BfYC7JR7itNke_BhjnRPSzZ4UcqjyhvG6U3jKTdwykNAzBgS4r41BQhRiZQEuvGjQkD4QvXMDNgckKH5Qul-
PfRfdMRMCIBuwX0owqvNCN7gfrqlP7rMGhMx-jmo9Kvnlx6-SS0vqSvrn4tW3m-Dsl1NZQCAO6fCodfTiAZLBYw?
purpose=inline)

### Shabaka Hutchings — Nefertiti Jazz Club, Gothenburg, Sweden

The Swedish chapter introduces a different kind of musical experience: the contemplative,
exploratory sound world of Shabaka Hutchings.

A leading figure in the contemporary British jazz scene, Hutchings has become known
for his work with ensembles that connect jazz improvisation to African diasporic
traditions, spiritual music, rhythmic experimentation and collective expression.
His artistic development has also included a deliberate exploration of wind instruments
beyond the saxophone, especially the flute.

![Meditative Klanglandschaften: Shabaka & Hand to Earth im Pierre Boulez Saal](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/-rlMPv7eF88bUo-n6sThjns3ptDdOUyWzU9hgTDBFMQdqgK0LRaOxrDAXAbR5qaOcZ0b3IVoll6FhFH8hSgJMsdu1zzPR16tk2Dp2uXxnf0f1S4Cgbzm57G2ZCVtf1TTEXiY9Go3klysvaLhyWEDwZzLzgPLGTZv5O24L97dYgI?
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The Gothenburg programme describes a deeply spiritual and meditative performance
centred on flutes and sonic rituals. This emphasis suggests a listening experience
in which atmosphere and timbre are as important as conventional melody or harmonic
progression.

The flute offers a different expressive vocabulary from the saxophone. Its tone 
can be delicate and breath-like, yet it can also produce sharply articulated rhythmic
figures, unusual overtones and sounds that approach the character of the human voice.
In Hutchings’s hands, these possibilities become a means of investigating space,
repetition and concentration.

A meditative musical structure need not remain static. A repeated phrase may change
subtly with each return; a long note can acquire new meaning as the surrounding 
textures develop; silence can become a compositional element rather than an absence
of sound.

![Gretchen Parlato, The Cookers On JazzSet : NPR](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/_d0L-9JYNIq4YT6fPEzrFFo0fKcRm7BO0HnSN5KO6RyOW7nnc5FWxea7yxUm3100QkMU1fu6FsMCrfBdvm_euCWXfe6gg39DeKtsX3mo0stt6eit37lbKxmNAqgnbS_ZzME6lZAEgeHofJjP6NeTsFyYgo8b2EGk43ugcoOrFcY?
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Gothenburg’s Nefertiti Jazz Club provides an evocative setting for such a performance.
The club’s jazz identity places the audience close to the musicians, encouraging
attentive listening and allowing experimental sounds to unfold without the need 
for spectacle.

Hutchings’s inclusion in the season demonstrates the festival’s openness to contemporary
jazz in its most searching form. Alongside the blues-rock performances and groove-
driven instrumental music, his work reminds us that improvisation can also be a 
form of reflection—a way of exploring the relationship between breath, sound, consciousness
and collective experience.

### Flat Earth Society Big Band — Kulturhuset Najaden, Halmstad

![Flat Earth Society Orchestra | de Bijloke](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-
4/AjIssy07-Q_eV1gsEa_8RxrQmtCtFJo5BSc1m07pg1ADBpFxDF-Udf6UUm7SmtabL3hN5bHzII9pcPTFQRHW-
mth7lhzXsaXxYMROf792dYmT58qf3tH6WZFc8tfmInQjjQ7B9qLpTPcRcebL1TBkpWbdiBdeoZoEyUIBBbAVog?
purpose=inline)

The Belgian ensemble Flat Earth Society brings an entirely different kind of energy
to the programme. Its music draws on the power of a large jazz ensemble while resisting
the expectation that a big band must operate within a strictly conventional framework.

The 15-piece ensemble is associated with arrangements that combine brass-band traditions,
jazz orchestration, unusual instrumental combinations and a distinctly experimental
sensibility.

A big band is an extraordinary musical organism. Saxophones, trumpets and trombones
create layers of colour; the rhythm section provides propulsion; and the arrangements
coordinate individual voices into a larger structure. When a composer introduces
unexpected rhythmic turns, unusual harmonies or deliberately chaotic textures, that
organisation becomes even more fascinating.

The description of Flat Earth Society as both chaotic and brilliant captures an 
important aspect of its artistic identity. The apparent disorder is not simply noise.
It can be a carefully constructed contrast between tightly organised passages and
moments when individual musicians seem to pursue separate musical paths.

The resulting effect is theatrical, humorous, surprising and rhythmically alive.
Brass-band gestures may collide with sophisticated jazz harmonies, while a sudden
change of tempo or texture can transform the entire atmosphere of a piece.

At Kulturhuset Najaden in Halmstad, the ensemble’s large-scale sound provides a 
counterpoint to the more intimate performances elsewhere in the season. The concert
also reinforces the importance of Belgian jazz, whose experimental traditions have
produced artists willing to question the boundaries between composition, improvisation
and performance art.

Flat Earth Society’s presence is a celebration of collective musicianship: fifteen
musicians sharing one musical space, each contributing a distinctive voice to a 
larger and often unpredictable whole.

### Gretchen Parlato Quartet — Kulturhus Trommen, Hørsholm, Denmark

![dave kaufman Jazz Photos | Live Performance Gallery | All About Jazz](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/EuizrBhTaUoPhcWo3V7CAp1Ej2VTSmH2QfzR_NX-A336Ats5yFEBWszvBtIn3JSE2sH-
crQDR1lHHEyEzSMhSLJw4c1eonQIjAonGS_GVap6SZcyPFxl33onQLFUBr5Maq1SURNIzTtSYBfo43z1Kv_7T9cImj3eDmcZWdVLtMg?
purpose=inline)

Gretchen Parlato’s Danish appearance brings the programme into the subtle and deeply
personal world of contemporary vocal jazz.

A three-time Grammy nominee, Parlato is admired for an approach to singing that 
places extraordinary emphasis on phrasing, rhythmic placement and the expressive
use of space.

Rather than relying on vocal power alone, she creates meaning through nuance: a 
note held just beyond its expected duration, a phrase that falls gently behind the
beat, or a melodic line that seems to emerge naturally from the rhythm section.

Her programme at Kulturhus Trommen is confirmed for 14 October 2026, as part of 
the The Wise Ones tour supporting her album of the same name. The announced quartet
consists of Parlato on vocals, Alan Hampton on bass and guitar, Taylor Eigsti on
piano and keyboards, and Jonathan Barber on drums.

The new album brings together recent material and songs written across nearly two
decades, creating a musical reflection on time, change, memory and personal development.
The concert’s artistic interest lies partly in the way this material can be reshaped
through live interpretation.

Parlato’s rhythmically sophisticated style is particularly suited to a quartet. 
Hampton’s bass can establish a flexible foundation, Eigsti’s keyboards provide harmonic
colour and Barber’s drumming creates a responsive rhythmic environment. The singer
can then move freely within that structure, sometimes following the pulse closely
and sometimes placing her phrases in unexpected positions.

Kulturhus Trommen’s Salon Trommen format offers an especially intimate setting, 
with approximately 150 places and the stage lowered to bring the performers closer
to the audience.

That proximity matters. Parlato’s music often rewards careful attention rather than
passive listening. In a smaller room, the audience can appreciate the details of
her vocal inflections and the subtle interplay between the four musicians.

The Hørsholm performance exemplifies one of the season’s central artistic values:
jazz as a conversation between highly individual musicians, in which restraint can
be as powerful as virtuosity.

### France: Mediterranean traditions and the freedom of European jazz

![FESTIVAL. Jazz à Vienne: toutes les photos de la All night jazz](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/9Dny-w7xVzLuq1nOLQKM3Nw-BOLvCU8fMCA1aL1c-ZXHsCEHkJCheBQOJpEAFxG8N3dVeLAPwCW2PennTaRXlk5B4t7Ykd4wdVRut_4Pm6Xt43ehFSsJRH18eWjonxkHjMfgH2WIBIx95XkW0kUKMg5JZjCDgrNwKtm7Jp1hKWc?
purpose=inline)

France’s contribution to the season is particularly rich in musical contrasts. The
programme moves from the meditative resonance of the oud to the rhythmic invention
of a world-renowned jazz trio and the adventurous interplay of two leading French
improvisers.

### 16. Dhafer Youssef — Nancy Jazz Pulsations, Nancy

Tunisian oud virtuoso and vocalist Dhafer Youssef represents one of the most compelling
meeting points between North African musical heritage and contemporary jazz.

His instrument, the oud, is a short-necked, fretless lute with a warm, rounded tone.
It has a long history across the Middle East and North Africa, and its ability to
articulate subtle melodic ornamentation makes it especially suited to music shaped
by modal traditions.

![Théâtre antique - Dhafer Youssef, Natacha Atlas et Ibrahim Maalouf étaient en 
concert hier soir. La musique sans frontières](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/np9uNszBjc40yR2IGexCT8XdfBGnW-oAPP3eqKMzWqsHjnY4osmhuld5pxjtHyv7iKq6iiCMnJIlHosOCVrw7tkOV1Cu2JfZH5ZwRh_piAqty7E9RmPyu-
6NGyj786Mn_XHXxF-299dHYCRBO1HJrIBnyIajkw9HVP3JEFvFoTM?purpose=inline)

Youssef’s art extends beyond instrumental mastery. His voice can become a powerful,
almost otherworldly presence, moving between intimate melodic phrases and soaring
vocal lines. The combination of voice and oud allows him to create a sound that 
is at once deeply rooted in tradition and unmistakably contemporary.

His Nancy appearance is listed for 14 October 2026, at Nancy Jazz Pulsations, with
the Shiraz programme. The announced ensemble includes pianist Daniel García, trumpeter
Mario Rom, bassist Swaéli Mbappé, drummer Tao Ehrlich and guest guitarist Nguyên
Lê.

The Shiraz project explores the relationship between personal expression, spiritual
traditions and contemporary musical language. The oud’s ornamented melodic lines
can move through the harmonic landscape while piano, trumpet, bass, drums and guitar
create a more expansive ensemble sound.

![The Avishai Cohen Trio (ISR/AZ) im Porgy & Bess - Jazz & Music Club](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/go2_e0SbKZZTvjXnirgf--OBmLUaZpRUUmj5qe0ApsyGI6DwihCWMvJ-
Ns9qTox0yhRAlHC19F_biH_LnsnQaaq05nSekYm_wawAd5Z-rDkNAYzAbaaSOkrnqoxHnjGWAT_WJogzgJGYgDgWygJEYcfIS4bOkkYdAxaY7R-
9PCM?purpose=inline)

This is not simply a fusion of unrelated styles. The most compelling cross-cultural
music emerges when each tradition is allowed to retain its identity while entering
into meaningful dialogue with others. Youssef’s work seeks precisely this kind of
relationship.

Nancy Jazz Pulsations provides an appropriate festival context. Its programme has
long embraced jazz in conversation with wider musical cultures, and Youssef’s performance
brings a distinctive Mediterranean and North African perspective into that international
dialogue.

For the EU Jazz & Blues Festival, his appearance demonstrates that the blues and
jazz traditions are most vibrant when they remain open to new musical languages 
and histories.

### Avishai Cohen Trio — La Briqueterie, Schiltigheim, near Strasbourg

![Avishai Cohen New Trio - La Filature](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/ju--
ULUdwDpy66zO53-E7c_I6IeOOthKfGtfOD8ut3tn8C1MKcMhDsbal9jZla4OFK0qAX0_goPNFtvFYqz-
GN4t7WKVr-jLUwcn19aeqpSKLqhFrvG5lvYPTQWO-TGl_9OGlA_lV89nTgh1hzEo7OSNWK6nOCLzJJQGAnMSqaU?
purpose=inline)

Israeli double bassist and composer Avishai Cohen has developed an international
reputation for combining formidable rhythmic control with lyrical expression and
a strong personal compositional voice.

His trio appearance at La Briqueterie in Schiltigheim is confirmed for 14 October
2026 at 20:30. The published line-up consists of Cohen on double bass and vocals,
Itay Simhovich on piano and Eviatar Slivnik on drums.

The trio format is deceptively demanding. With no additional instruments to fill
the sound, each musician must contribute both independence and cohesion. The bass
provides the harmonic foundation and rhythmic direction, the piano develops melodic
and harmonic possibilities, and the drums create a flexible framework that can sustain
changes of tempo and intensity.

Cohen’s music is especially compelling because rhythm is not merely a means of keeping
time. It becomes part of the composition’s expressive identity. Repeated patterns
may suggest a dance, a processional movement or a more reflective atmosphere, while
asymmetrical accents can create tension and forward momentum.

The lyrical side of Cohen’s work is equally important. A strong melodic theme can
emerge from a complex rhythmic setting, offering the listener a clear emotional 
thread through the intricacies of the arrangement.

La Briqueterie, located in Schiltigheim on the outskirts of Strasbourg, offers an
appropriate environment for this combination of precision and emotional openness.
The venue’s cultural programme describes the trio as a meeting of groove, jazz tradition
and improvisational freedom.

The performance is a reminder that contemporary jazz can be intellectually sophisticated
without becoming emotionally remote. Its strongest moments arise when technical 
mastery becomes the means through which a melody communicates something immediate
and human.

### Vincent Peirani & Émile Parisien — Tourcoing Jazz

![05 / VINCENT PEIRANI - Living Being Quintet feat. EMILE PARISIEN (FR) / Sa.. 08.11.25/
Zehntscheuer RV 2 :: Jazztime Ravensburg](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/
CTa9suoZIYKevItXs7-KLCrxdtV0iwcyhElBZJDxAbxs_n1yjmCKti9SCZCFmPOJ_hFE2zrj5TY2qgS9HmTvRNmyxlzJkGtgnxHTm1otIylXGRnA4zLQtU74fWCsU3Y-
4xADDjwrczt1vVCHBgl6UZhn4w3povuNQgWOFVXyGZc?purpose=inline)

The Tourcoing Jazz Festival provides another French setting for the musical world
associated with Vincent Peirani and Émile Parisien.

The programme listings confirm Vincent Peirani’s quintet and an Émile Parisien-led
ensemble at Tourcoing on 14 October 2026, although the published entries distinguish
between the two performances rather than confirming that the original Kassel-style
pairing appears together as one identical quintet.

This distinction is important because both musicians pursue individual projects 
as well as collaborations. Their artistic connection is nevertheless a useful way
to understand the breadth of contemporary French jazz.

Peirani’s accordion expands the instrument’s conventional associations. Its sound
can suggest folk traditions, dance music, chamber textures or even orchestral colour,
depending on how it is voiced and arranged. Parisien’s saxophone, meanwhile, is 
known for its flexibility and improvisational intensity.

Their musical universe is characterised by movement between carefully shaped themes
and open-ended exploration. A melodic phrase may be presented clearly before the
musicians begin to alter its rhythm, contour or harmonic implications. The music
can then return to the original idea with a new emotional significance.

Tourcoing’s festival setting adds another layer to this story. Rather than placing
jazz in a single stylistic category, the festival brings together different generations,
approaches and ensemble formats, creating a setting in which audiences can discover
the variety of contemporary European improvisation.

For the EU Jazz & Blues Festival, this programme represents the creative freedom
that has become one of the defining characteristics of modern European jazz.

### Vladimir Kostadinović with Joe Locke, Tony Lakatos, Alex Sipiagin and Joshua Ginsburg

![Jazz fest day 8: Downtown alive with outdoor stages | WXXI News](https://images.
openai.com/static-rsc-4/7u8GmtO7NzeNc835aR6medj4-JRsqpZOdbXhrA1UsFNqYi8x_dFMvO30dXP9V47NIcHY_Iatjj9SuZPwk0AWOp1_mPd2SJm6WVLcU-
HtFMav-Zpq7D5NJYKHAsI7tQzdaavYna6_7bbD7uN53BfQnWvMCRTmwemH1ol8lGtTxdM?purpose=inline)

The ensemble associated with drummer and bandleader Vladimir Kostadinović brings
together musicians whose individual voices can create a particularly rich instrumental
dialogue.

Vibraphonist Joe Locke is known for melodic fluency and a strong sense of ensemble
interaction. Saxophonist Tony Lakatos brings a powerful tenor-saxophone voice rooted
in the modern jazz tradition, while trumpeter Alex Sipiagin contributes a precise,
harmonically sophisticated approach to improvisation. Bassist Joshua Ginsburg provides
the essential harmonic and rhythmic foundation.

Kostadinović’s role as drummer and leader is central to the ensemble’s identity.
The drummer must coordinate the band’s rhythmic movement while remaining responsive
to the changing direction of each solo. The cymbal pattern can create forward momentum,
the snare can introduce a sharp accent, and the bass drum can reinforce the harmonic
rhythm without overpowering the other instruments.

The combination of vibraphone, saxophone, trumpet, bass and drums allows for multiple
layers of musical conversation. The vibraphone’s ringing tone can soften the brass
and reed textures, while the horns can create tightly coordinated lines before separating
into contrasting improvisational voices.

![Bizon Blues Concert: Heikki Rasilo (FIN) + Harmless | Bruxelles | PassPass](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/nJBOTtoBNEq7-tmXombAWf-i4eEW2Zbn8ZjVFWfj0X9kGbSQXUyNwU_ezPfxRU6HFIJvkwPrE_4aVnzcO2cJL5fkpw9BmmiuWSTePReaG-
Aetohu_JoZC6kj6Y4yxCdwonrLNa1zc85CwLXMQworbZuhOD5XClTpK4DZAaUu0uU?purpose=inline)

A programme listing for Kostadinović featuring Joe Locke and other collaborators
confirms related performances during October 2026, including an appearance at Porgy&
Bess in Vienna. However, the exact French venue or festival engagement was not established
from the supplied details, and the personnel in the original listing differ slightly
from some published dates.

For the season overview, the ensemble is best presented as a celebration of international
musical cooperation: artists from different backgrounds brought together by a shared
commitment to improvisation, rhythmic sophistication and the collective possibilities
of jazz.

### Belgium: blues in the heart of Brussels

Union Avenue (USA) — Café Bizon, Brussels!!! Brussels is a natural meeting place
for the international blues community. As a European capital with a rich cultural
life, it welcomes musicians and audiences from many countries, creating an atmosphere
in which American roots music can find a home far from its original geographical
landscape.

Café Bizon, at Rue du Pont de la Carpe 7, is associated with the city’s informal
live-music culture. It offers the sort of environment where a blues performance 
can unfold without the distance between a large stage and a seated audience.

The programme features Union Avenue, a group identified as coming from the United
States. The precise date, full line-up and event-specific performance details were
not independently verified, so the entry should be treated as a programme feature
rather than a confirmed review.

The blues is especially well suited to a venue of this kind. Its familiar harmonic
forms make it accessible, but its expressive possibilities are almost unlimited.
A guitarist can develop a solo from a simple motif, a singer can alter the emotional
weight of a lyric through phrasing, and a rhythm section can transform the character
of a song by shifting the feel from a relaxed shuffle to a more forceful groove.

The social aspect is just as important. Blues clubs have historically served as 
meeting places where musicians share repertoire, exchange ideas and introduce audiences
to different interpretations of familiar songs.

Union Avenue’s appearance at Café Bizon thus fits the wider philosophy of the EU
Jazz & Blues Festival: the celebration of blues as both a musical tradition and 
a living community.

### Portugal: Yemen Blues and the meeting of musical worlds

![Phalsbourg. Le souffle du Sahara au festival de théâtre](https://images.openai.
com/static-rsc-4/wKq9dVDyZKZZLhJUyfrIBWSE99DIgFiQ_VkbB5gqvKzBPN3YTH-wqUakOrbOw04iHW3Us9xrcPUfNuCHe86mxn6jrvct3LzLrtkLj5m68oma9vqccIOU_Y7jpu9bI6vRR-
NjnT1st3mIfDuBM9qL8o6qzE36c2vL8PIbDKpAj4g?purpose=inline)

### Yemen Blues — Only Love Remains, Casa da Música, Porto

Porto offers one of the most distinctive architectural and cultural settings in 
the season. Its historic streets, riverside neighbourhoods and contemporary artistic
institutions create a compelling contrast between tradition and modernity.

The city’s celebrated Casa da Música is particularly appropriate for an ensemble
such as Yemen Blues. Designed as a major contemporary concert venue, it provides
a space in which musical traditions from different parts of the world can be heard
in a setting devoted to artistic experimentation.

The event listing confirms Yemen Blues at Casa da Música on 13 October 2026 at 21:
00, in Sala 2, under the venue’s Estação Jazz programme. The official description
identifies the group as a project founded by singer and composer Ravid Kahalani,
bringing together Yemeni traditions with blues, jazz, funk and West African rhythms.

Yemen Blues occupies a particularly interesting position in contemporary world music.
The ensemble’s sound is rooted in a cultural heritage that includes distinctive 
melodic ornamentation, rhythmic patterns and vocal traditions, yet its arrangements
embrace the energy of funk, the flexibility of jazz and the expressive directness
of the blues.

Kahalani’s voice is central to the group’s identity. It can be percussive and rhythmically
forceful, or it can expand into a more sustained, ceremonial expression. The surrounding
instruments create an environment in which traditional melodic contours meet modern
rhythmic propulsion.

The resulting music is not a simple mixture of influences. It is a carefully developed
artistic language in which different traditions interact to create something new.
A rhythm may evoke a traditional dance while the bass and drums give it the physical
drive of funk. A vocal phrase may carry the shape of an older melodic tradition 
while the ensemble’s arrangement opens it toward contemporary jazz.

Casa da Música’s Sala 2 offers an intimate environment for this meeting of cultures.
The room allows the rhythmic energy to remain immediate while providing a setting
in which the details of the ensemble’s arrangements can be appreciated.

The title Only Love Remains, as supplied in the festival programme, offers a compelling
thematic frame for this appearance. The connection between music, memory and cultural
identity is particularly powerful in an ensemble that draws on traditions shaped
by migration and exchange.

Yemen Blues brings an important message to the EU Jazz & Blues Festival: musical
traditions do not have to remain separated by geography. They can meet, challenge
one another and develop new forms of expression while preserving the depth of their
individual histories.

### Slovakia: Katie Henry and the modern blues-rock voice

![Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Katie Henry on Friday](https://images.openai.com/
static-rsc-4/f2FKc7IayK_u8qZMi29Qx2pDdnz8Pi6P9lyRH1xSoXsc2CO2l44NWBE1QjghTNqMiG-
w68AWPVVDi-cBOnsCOpWWf6hk9iYFSdbyrsK49iONeLXm-f47Loq8B_mI3Q2SLIQelxTssXYmRjrc2eeUHKIa66zEVtDoeGJO0a48dp0?
purpose=inline)

Bratislava, with its historic old town, riverside setting and layered architectural
history, provides an appealing destination for a European blues programme. The listed
appearance by Katie Henry at the Museum of Trade brings a contemporary American 
blues-rock sensibility into the Slovak cultural landscape.

Henry’s musical identity is associated with the combination of guitar-driven blues,
rock energy and expressive songwriting. In this tradition, the guitar functions 
as both a rhythmic engine and an instrument of melodic storytelling, while the voice
gives the music its human centre.

Blues-rock often depends on contrasts between tight ensemble playing and more open
instrumental passages. A compact rhythmic figure can establish a groove, a vocal
line can carry the central narrative, and a guitar solo can expand the emotional
range of the song. The strongest performances maintain this balance without losing
the underlying simplicity that makes the music accessible.

The Museum of Trade is an unusual and potentially evocative setting for a live concert.
Its historical associations create a connection between the material culture of 
the past and the living musical traditions of the present. In a city shaped by different
cultural influences, such a venue can provide a distinctive context for an international
artist.

The precise date, event-specific line-up and photographic documentation for Henry’s
Bratislava appearance were not independently established from the available information.
It is therefore best described as a programme entry rather than a confirmed account
of a completed performance.

Nevertheless, her inclusion adds an important contemporary dimension to the season.
The blues is not a closed historical form; it continues to evolve through performers
who reinterpret its language for new audiences.

## Olivia Peevas and the vision behind the European season

A festival of this geographical reach is more than a sequence of individual concerts.
It is a cultural undertaking that depends on a clear artistic vision, careful coordination
and an understanding of the relationships between music, place and audience.

Olivia Peevas, director and organiser of the 2026 Autumn–Winter Jazz–Blues Season
of the EU Jazz & Blues Festival, stands at the centre of that vision. The season’s
programme brings together artists whose musical languages differ considerably. Some
work within the familiar structures of electric blues and rock; others explore the
subtle rhythmic possibilities of modern jazz. There are vocalists whose performances
are shaped by literary imagination, instrumentalists whose work challenges conventional
boundaries, and ensembles that draw on cultural traditions from several continents.

![](https://i0.wp.com/jazzblues.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Olivia-Peevas-JazzBlues.
EU_-e1793819746792.jpg?resize=640%2C429&ssl=1)

Bringing these artistic worlds together creates a demanding organisational challenge.
Each venue has its own character, each audience its own expectations, and each performer
a distinct artistic identity. The task is not simply to assemble names on a calendar
but to create a coherent cultural experience from a diverse collection of performances.

Olivia Peevas’s role as director and organiser provides the festival with a unifying
framework. The season can be understood as an invitation to travel through Europe’s
musical landscape, discovering not only individual performers but also the cultural
environments in which their music comes alive.

The range of venues is central to this vision. London’s 100 Club offers a connection
to the history of independent music and blues-rock. Hamburg’s NICA Jazz Club creates
space for the detail and immediacy of contemporary instrumental jazz. Kulturhus 
Trommen in Denmark brings audiences close to a celebrated jazz vocalist. Casa da
Música in Porto provides a contemporary architectural setting for the meeting of
different musical traditions. French festival stages offer opportunities to encounter
the work of internationally recognised improvisers and artists whose music crosses
cultural boundaries.

This diversity suggests a particularly valuable principle: a European festival should
not impose a single musical identity on its audiences. It should create opportunities
for discovery.

One listener may arrive for the raw energy of a blues-rock band and encounter a 
new appreciation for jazz improvisation. Another may come to hear a celebrated vocalist
and discover the rhythmic inventiveness of an instrumental trio. A third may be 
drawn to a performance rooted in North African musical traditions and leave with
a broader understanding of the connections between jazz, blues and world music.

In that sense, the festival’s cultural contribution extends beyond the stage. It
encourages curiosity, widens musical horizons and creates opportunities for audiences
to experience unfamiliar forms of artistic expression.

Peevas’s work can be celebrated in this context as an effort to connect artists,
venues, cities and listeners through a shared programme. Her directorship gives 
the season an identifiable organisational centre, while the musicians themselves
provide its artistic diversity and vitality.

It is equally important to recognise the collaborative nature of such an undertaking.
A successful concert season depends on the work of performers, venue teams, technical
staff, promoters, local partners and the audiences who make live music possible.
The organiser’s role is to bring these elements into a meaningful relationship.

The most compelling measure of a festival’s ambition is not simply the number of
concerts it presents, but the quality of the encounters it makes possible. By placing
established artists alongside performers representing different musical traditions,
the EU Jazz & Blues Festival has the opportunity to create a season that is adventurous,
accessible and genuinely international.

![](https://i0.wp.com/jazzblues.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cropped-Europe-Jazz-
Blues-Festivals-e1722000968346-1024x362.jpg?resize=640%2C226&ssl=1)

For Olivia Peevas, the 2026 Autumn–Winter Season can therefore be presented as an
expression of cultural commitment: a celebration of music as a common language that
travels across borders while remaining deeply connected to the places in which it
is performed.

Editorial note: This profile is based on the director and organiser role supplied
for this article. A verified biography, personal career history, awards or detailed
statements from Peevas were not available in the material consulted, so no such 
biographical claims have been added.

## A photographic guide to the season

The following links provide useful starting points for illustrating the article 
with concert imagery. Some are official venue or artist pages, while others are 
general live-performance references. They should not be captioned as photographs
of a particular festival appearance unless the image source confirms the event, 
date and venue.

![CROW BLACK CHICKEN - November UK Tour 2021 Poster :: Behance](https://images.openai.
com/static-rsc-4/IjZtLhIqBbFIkus7tU6mgFfA8j_7KrsU_mFhrbG1i7oS8gYNrEJtEhu7s21V8DxxGQMzEdVeihHW1Ov2R9kSNH70R8-
Eg_FUvnUeAjlywEQ4UJjaSrJgIQrNdSxn94Iq554oYTRTJcWpVEv7XX_IbpfDRkpLrWAZQ8k2fT4bgf8?
purpose=inline)

#### Crow Black Chicken — London

Event poster and listing for the 100 Club appearance.

![A La Sala 2024 Tour - Khruangbin Live at The Eastern — Concert Hopper](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/p4wXwQ5Fvn1vbYwRYkgNUZOj9y4ogiEOPgukyD7SW4k_VvdNcm2TdNczOiuye0MwIcrd5qiAGnmIVM5_4DJ75SISNzGmLjASE0CPaFk8M2zXB2JIfVraDwXV9DluzW0396TAgVxUqxj1THzCShHLZX8Ls8b7C7aRmwkKNHTYmtk?
purpose=inline)

#### Shabaka Hutchings — flute and contemporary jazz

Live photography and performance review from the Barbican.

![FES LIVE EN — flatearthsocietyorchestra.com](https://images.openai.com/static-
rsc-4/Qqbd55PRrQNr-15yfYK0qDYkON69KFuAAiyTV8yThdmH9hEE9Uzg8Gu_FNhl8yfLLCS2Hjy3kreH_2dZUspsOD9ZSwtDqtrIDBEJMPjAKfKvRX7zaSPpbFTsTZfFC9YYewY4ZgLY9tYf2cqZ6fZL3dICWnSRZ1PGT1MN30p1Nww?
purpose=inline)

#### Flat Earth Society — Belgian experimental big band

Official ensemble performance gallery.

![Arts and Culture Showcase](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/hDsL4bFH_He2RlCFNwHZxsPTqSh5bjzREjQyHNXtjMLstgg2CJH14dqjGVSg7kavHjUcaPbGZ7ee7QxxHv3Pt707fIIMipruz_mZ1cGE0eyep-
SaLOIwQspDZLevPTdMT5mtpcdM6uua1CsbkSAzqatr-tCHdw9lcbppJ-cS3gs?purpose=inline)

#### Yemen Blues — world music, jazz and blues

A live-performance image reference for the Porto feature.

![File:Kinga Glyk - Leverkusener Jazztage 2017-6576.jpg - Wikimedia Commons](https://
images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/rs2vbW-g0Ys51vfLQihruqU79zz1mWE6-D5ld_Ek4mGYuo_fLU4VLbFCNJl9zPVdu9SraNE3z-
EQrNg2Ih4rlicnatkNnw1t8JLm5nOg_D6ZDZgGF67XexbLFNcljEiZXjZJ9PKMfg8SDUDLOwWsrof-Iash8pKuD5wPNfDpiLQ?
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#### Kinga Głyk — Hamburg

Artist and tour information, including the NICA Jazz Club dates.

#### ⌊GRETCHEN PARLATO "Holiday Songbook"｜LIVE REPORTS｜BLUE NOTE TOKYO⌉⌊GRETCHEN PARLATO "Holiday Songbook"｜LIVE REPORTS｜BLUE NOTE TOKYO⌉Gretchen Parlato — Denmark

Official venue information for The Wise Ones tour.

For publication on JazzBlues.EU, the strongest final image selection would prioritise
photographs taken at the actual performances, especially wide stage images, close-
ups of instrumentalists and photographs showing the relationship between performers
and audiences. Official press photographs and venue galleries should be checked 
for usage permissions and proper photographer credits.

### Conclusion: a continent united by musical discovery

From the underground energy of London’s blues clubs to the sophisticated improvisations
of French jazz, from Gothenburg’s meditative flute music to the rhythmic intensity
of a Polish bass virtuoso, the 2026 Autumn–Winter Season of the EU Jazz & Blues 
Festival presents a broad portrait of contemporary musical life.

The programme’s strength lies in its diversity. It recognises that jazz and blues
are not static categories, but evolving traditions that absorb new influences while
retaining their distinctive expressive power.

The blues continues to communicate through the directness of the human voice, the
resonance of a guitar and the irresistible pull of a groove. Jazz continues to expand
through improvisation, rhythmic invention, unusual instrumental combinations and
the willingness of musicians to listen to one another in the moment. Across both
traditions, the live concert remains an experience that cannot be entirely reproduced
elsewhere: each performance creates its own atmosphere, its own tensions and its
own moments of unexpected beauty.

The cities and venues of the season contribute to this experience. Each has a different
architectural identity, audience culture and musical history. Yet the same fundamental
exchange takes place in every room: artists offer their music, listeners respond,
and a temporary community forms around the performance.

That is the larger significance of the work associated with Olivia Peevas and the
festival’s autumn–winter programme. By bringing together a wide range of musicians
and musical cultures, the season creates an opportunity to encounter Europe not 
merely as a collection of geographical destinations, but as a living network of 
artistic exchange.

The festival’s most valuable legacy will be the discoveries it encourages: the new
artist an audience member finds, the unfamiliar rhythm that stays in the memory,
the unexpected connection between two musical traditions, or the intimate performance
that changes the way someone listens.

Europe has many languages, but music offers a remarkable way to hear them together.
In the blues’s expressive honesty and jazz’s spirit of freedom, the EU Jazz & Blues
Festival finds a common ground on which musicians and audiences can meet across 
borders.

**By Lauren Wulff, Akrile Betrricean, Donaled Shotelend, Stiven Berger**

![The Checkout: Watch Vincent Peirani and Emile Parisien's Adventurous Take on The
Tango | WBGO Jazz](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/-tmEX84W5Jlon7xvF9iU1dwuxbmlrrCWHQ8XBV54spsy4Nu9gJFMtFUy0BilhSdSStONglzOh0kGiMPItTHkHF-
fJ1F-LDaOVYCLGfiqKlrJpv1aygJq5UwKzq14Im3Q3xbr-vu7AJZyEc9TaHzGvjhekEbX7Yk-x5WUNhdqPQ0?
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### _Related_