There is an Italian city that has made jazz an integral part of its cultural identity, almost a second native language. That city is Bergamo, and its jazz festival – now in its 47th edition -is the most eloquent proof of this.
From March 19 to 22, 2026, Bergamo will once again resonate with the myriad languages of jazz, confirming its position as a widespread festival, capable of encompassing theaters, museums, and city venues, bringing music into direct contact with audiences and urban spaces.
The history of the Bergamo jazz festival is long and divided into two major chapters: the first, from 1969 to the early 1980s, under the name Rassegna Internazionale del Jazz, organized by the Autonomous Tourist Board; The second, from 1991 onward, was organized under the aegis of the City of Bergamo and the Teatro Donizetti—now the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti—under the Bergamo Jazz Festival banner.
Those early years, between the late 1960s and 1970s, were fiery years. The festival took place in various venues, sometimes at the Palazzetto dello Sport, and brought to Bergamo names that would make history in world jazz. Enrico Rava played at the Palazzetto in 1977, while pianist Gaetano Liguori was greeted with ovations from the young audience in 1975.
The Art Ensemble of Chicago was a regular fixture, and the energy of music perceived as revolutionary, the voice of an entire civilization, could be felt in the streets of the Bergamo city.
After a hiatus, the festival revived in 1991 on a more solid foundation, with governance rooted in the local institutional fabric. Its natural international vocation has remained unchanged over time, while the festival has gradually strengthened its ties with the local area through a network of collaborations with cultural and business associations that has deepened over the years, with a particular focus on those serving as cultural reference points for young people.
In the jazz elite, alongside international festivals such as those in Paris, New York, Berlin, and Warsaw, the Bergamo Jazz Festival has earned a prominent position, with Jazz Magazine confirming its growing success.
A succession of great artistic directors
The festival’s recent history is marked by a succession of high-profile artistic directors. Paolo Fresu was succeeded by Enrico Rava, in a line of substantial continuity that from 2012 to 2015 featured musicians of international critical acclaim: piano masters such as Brad Mehldau, Jason Moran, and Craig Taborn, trumpet masters such as the young but already experienced Ambrose Akinmusire, and saxophone masters such as Tim Berne. Also featured were the revelations of the trio The Bad Plus, pianist and composer Myra Melford, and one of the most brilliant minds in Italian jazz, Stefano Battaglia.
From 2016, Dave Douglas led the event, before Joe Lovano took over.
Since 2017, Bergamo Jazz has been a member of I-Jazz, the national association that brings together the main Italian jazz festivals and is a point of reference for the MIC – Ministry of Culture – for policies supporting the Italian jazz world. This recognition demonstrates how this event has become a cornerstone of the country’s cultural ecosystem.
2026: Setting the Pace, on the Centennial of Miles and Trane
In 2026, the centennial of the births of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Bergamo Jazz dedicates its 47th edition, taking place from March 19th to 22nd, to these two central figures in the history of African-American music.
Setting The Pace is the title Joe Lovano chose for Bergamo Jazz 2026, symbolizing a collective tribute to those who have pioneered new paths in jazz. “As musicians, we are constantly engaged in study and development to find our voice. This journey is fueled by the sounds and spirit of the masters” (Musica Jazz), explains Lovano himself, who has led the festival for the third consecutive year.
Over 80 guest artists, with a significant representation of Italian musicians—including many young talents—and a consolidated presence of female jazz. A widespread festival, with new important venues, will bring jazz music into the fabric of the city.
The daily program
The festival opens Thursday, March 19th at the Teatro Sociale in Città Alta with two top-notch events: the new trio of pianist Franco D’Andrea—accompanied by Gabriele Evangelista on double bass and Roberto Gatto on drums—followed by Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana and her quartet.
Friday, March 20th kicks off with Dave Holland and Lionel Loueke, who will bring double bass and guitar together in a unique dialogue. Steve Coleman joins the Five Elements: twenty years since their last performance in Bergamo, he returns with his visionary funk, where intense improvisation intertwines with compositional structures of rare precision.
Saturday, March 21st is a night of contemporary jazz: artists on the bill include Bad Plus with Chris Potter and Craig Taborn, and Lakecia Benjamin, fresh from five Grammy nominations with her new album.
The final Sunday is reserved for the grand finale. At 5:00 PM, Simona Molinari presents “La Donna è Mobile,” a musical and theatrical journey that explores the female figure, inspired by Verdi’s iconic aria, with an all-female band: saxophonist Chiara Lucchini, pianist Sade Mangiaracina, bassist Elisabetta Pasquale, and drummer Francesca Remigi.
The highlight of the evening—and of the entire edition—is the special concert conceived by Joe Lovano himself. Taking turns performing on the Donizetti stage will be trumpeter Avishai Cohen, a refined soloist akin to the poetics of Miles Davis; saxophonist George Garzone, one of the most profound experts on Coltrane; British flutist Shabaka Hutchings; and Danish guitarist Jakob Bro. Leo Genovese on piano, Drew Gress on double bass, and Joey Baron on drums, forming one of the finest rhythm sections imaginable today.
As per tradition, the festival doesn’t just take place in theaters. Scintille di Jazz is the program—almost a small festival within a larger festival—that Bergamo Jazz has dedicated for nine years, with artistic direction from Tino Tracanna, to emerging talent, with five concerts spread across various venues around the city. And there’s also room for cinema: the marriage between jazz and cinema is renewed with the passing of the baton between Bergamo Film Meeting and Bergamo Jazz on Sunday, March 15th, with violinist Virginia Sutera improvising on the images of a 1918 silent film.
A few months after his passing, Bergamo Jazz 2026 also remembers the painter and musician Gianni Bergamelli, a key figure in Bergamo’s jazz scene and often the author of the Festival posters, with an exhibition of recent works entitled Avanzi di Balera.
Forty-seven editions. Almost sixty years of history, counting from the first International Festival in 1969. Bergamo Jazz is more than just a festival: it’s the story of a city that has chosen jazz as its voice in the world, and that every March renews that pact with the freest music in existence. This year, on the centenary of Miles and Coltrane, that voice will resonate stronger than ever.
The Legend Dave Holland at Bergamo Jazz
“I’m trying to express something true every time I play. No more, no less” – Dave Holland
On Friday, March 20th, the English double bassist will perform at the Teatro Donizetti with Lionel Loueke as part of the Bergamo festival. We dedicate a detailed portrait to him, and subsequently to other performers.
It was a Tuesday night at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho, London, in 1968. Dave Holland—twenty-two years old, long hair, a double bass that almost towered over him—was taking the stage for the evening’s final set when a friend stopped him by the arm. It was Philly Joe Jones, legendary drummer and notorious prankster. “Miles wants you in his band,” he said softly. Holland laughed: “Stop joking.” But Jones was serious. By Friday, the boy from Wolverhampton was on a plane to New York.
From that moment on, the history of modern jazz and that of Dave Holland would become inseparable.
Dave Holland’s artistic trajectory is one of the most fascinating in contemporary jazz: a journey that begins in the smoky clubs of London, passes through Miles Davis’s electric revolution, and culminates in one of the most coherent, inventive, and influential careers of the last fifty years. Holland is today recognized as one of the great architects of modern double bass, capable of combining tradition, avant-garde, and a rare melodic sensibility.
Holland was born in Wolverhampton in 1946, and before he even reached adolescence, he found himself playing ukulele and then guitar, captivated by the skiffle music that was captivating British youth in the 1950s. His first bass instrument was even more rudimentary: an uncle built him the first “tea-chest bass” from the thin wooden crates in which tea was shipped.
Mostly self-taught, Holland picked up the ukulele at four, switched to guitar at ten, and electric bass at thirteen. He dropped out of school at fifteen to work as a professional musician. It wasn’t a dropout out of surrender, but out of burning passion. He had realized that his destiny was the stage.
The intellectual breakthrough came through a record. Inspired by Ray Brown’s win in the critics’ poll for best bassist, Holland bought every available record by the artist at his local store. Then he traded his electric bass for a double bass and began honing his technique by playing along with Brown’s recordings. Those models were soon joined by Charles Mingus and Leroy Vinnegar.
Miles Davis, Newport, 1969 photo: Andrew Sacks
Holland moved to London and studied with James E. Merritt, the principal bassist of the London Philharmonic, who recommended him to the graduate program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. At the Guildhall, he gained experience in a variety of styles, from orchestral music to New Orleans jazz to bebop.
Holland was just nineteen when he began appearing at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London’s Soho, accompanying touring jazz veterans like Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, and Joe Henderson. It was the most vibrant jazz scene in Europe, and he had become a living part of it, not just a spectator.
In 1966, he began playing with many of the musicians he would collaborate with over the next two decades—such as trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, saxophonist John Surman, and pianist John Taylor, all attuned to the jazz innovations of the time. The London scene was fertile, vibrant, and open to the world.
It was in this context that the encounter that would launch Holland across the Atlantic occurred. I was just getting on stage for the final set when Philly Joe grabbed my arm and said, “Miles has a message for you: he wants you to join his band.”
Jack DeJohnette – Dave Holland – Miles Davis – Wayne Shorter – Chick Corea
Holland accepted and flew to the United States: a leap into the unknown, but also the beginning of a new artistic life. With Davis, he participated in key sessions of the electric period, coming into contact with a rapidly evolving musical language. It was an experience that profoundly affected him, pushing him toward a conception of the double bass as a creative engine, not just a rhythmic one.
Miles Davis was about to abandon purely acoustic music for more electric instrumentation in 1968, incorporating rock and funk influences. He asked Holland to fill in on bass in his band at a time when generations of musicians and fans were intensely following the trumpeter’s every move.
Joining Davis was like boarding a rocket ship. Holland contributed to albums that paved the way for the future—Filles De Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew—performing at jazz clubs and rock festivals, helping lay the groundwork for the rise of jazz fusion.
Holland’s first year with Davis saw him play primarily acoustic bass, before switching to electric bass in 1970, often using wah-wah and other electronic effects, in keeping with the “electric” direction Davis had imposed on the group. Holland was also part of the regular group, unlike other musicians who appeared only in the studio.
The so-called “lost quintet”—Davis, Shorter, Corea, Holland, and DeJohnette—worked throughout 1969 without ever recording in the studio with that lineup. A huge regret for jazz history, and a treasure trove of live recordings that would emerge decades later.
Jazz drummer Bobby Battle (January 8, 1944 – December 6, 2019) performing with Sam Rivers and Dave Holland at Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon, 1979. Photo by Lee Santa courtesy
After leaving Davis’s group in 1970, Holland never stopped. He formed the group Circle with Chick Corea, Barry Altschul, and Anthony Braxton and began a long-lasting association with the ECM label. In 1972, Conference of the Birds was recorded, featuring Sam Rivers, Altschul, and Braxton: Holland’s first album as a leader.
Anthony Braxton and Dave Holland
Among his most important mentors was saxophonist Sam Rivers, who instilled in him a principle that would become a mantra: “Don’t leave anything out—play all of it.” Holland often cites him as a spiritual and musical guide, an invitation to explore the full spectrum of jazz, from blues to free improvisation.
Conference of the Birds immediately became a landmark. The title composition, inspired by the birdsong at dawn outside Holland’s London home window, is a piece of delicate beauty that has become a standard. Few debut albums in the history of jazz have achieved such immediate authority.
In the 1980s, Holland worked extensively with Sam Rivers and organized his own band: a quintet featuring Kenny Wheeler, Julian Priester on trombone, Steve Coleman on alto saxophone, and Steve Ellington on drums. From then on, small groups led by Holland would continue to tour the world and record for decades.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Holland worked as an educator, directing the summer jazz workshop at the Banff School in Alberta, Canada, from 1983 to 1990. From 1987 to 1990, he was a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Holland is well known for his interest in young musicians, who frequently appear in his ensembles. One of the most famous is saxophonist Chris Potter, who worked with Holland for over a decade. One thing Potter says he learned from Holland is determination: “I don’t think he ever expected or anticipated that level of success—he was just doing his thing and he was determined to do it, whether there were five people in the audience or five thousand.”
Holland is a bassist/composer who, over a career spanning more than fifty years, has never stopped evolving, reinventing his concept and approach with each new project, while honing his instantly recognizable voice.
In 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts named him a Jazz Master—the country’s highest honor for jazz musicians. When he heard the news of the award, Holland said he was deeply moved, because hearing the community honor him in this way meant a lot, and he understood that his journey had led to this wonderful experience.
Holland is now a guiding light for generations of bass players and improvisers. His career demonstrates how jazz can be both rooted and constantly evolving. His music never seeks effect, but depth: a rare balance between rigor and freedom, between form and spirit.
His presence at contemporary festivals and projects—such as his participation in international events alongside artists such as Anouar Brahem and Django Bates—confirms his centrality. Dave Holland embodies a fundamental truth of jazz: that greatness comes not from complacency, but from deep listening. Every note he plays seems to say something necessary—never ornamental, never superfluous. Seventy-nine years old, still touring, still in the studio, still capable of surprising.
From that stage at Ronnie Scott’s where Philly Joe Jones stopped him by the arm, Dave Holland has traveled an unimaginable distance. Yet the secret of his music has remained the same: listening, responding honestly, and playing as if the future of jazz depended on every single note.
