The Leipziger Jazztage are turning 50. From 17 to 25 October 2026, the festival will celebrate its anniversary, accentuating its legacy as one of Germany’s most important platforms for contemporary jazz and improvised music. Marking this milestone, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier grants his official patronage to this year's festival edition. Founded in 1976 in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the festival found ways to flourish under difficult conditions in socialism, and has continued to thrive in the decades since reunification: featuring international artists, extraordinary projects and musical crossovers in Leipzig.

Every autumn, the Jazzclub Leipzig presents over 100 musicians across eight days or more. Ranging from big names and influential pioneers to innovative newcomers, the concerts take place at various venues across the city: at Oper Leipzig, Schauspiel Leipzig (Leipzig City Theatre), St. Thomas Church, Leipzig’s oldest surviving cinema UT Connewitz, independent venues, churches or so-called ‘lost places’. This year’s programme includes moments of reflection on the ritual nature of a festival anniversary. For instance, artists Conny Bauer and Alexander von Schlippenbach, who were part of the festival right from the very first editions, are still performing with brilliant bands and will return to the festival once again.

Highlights of the Anniversary Edition

To mark the official opening of the Leipziger Jazztage on 17 October at Oper Leipzig, Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra will bring 60 years of apocalyptic introspection to the stage for its own anniversary within the festival’s anniversary. Initially met with derision, the ensemble quickly attracted international attention and became a launch pad for some of its future star musicians. Today, it is widely regarded as one of the most significant free-jazz orchestras in European experimental music.

One of this year’s key acts is acclaimed American jazz pianist, composer and artist Jason Moran. On 21 October, he will perform his Duke Ellington solo programme at St. Thomas Church, where Johann Sebastian Bach served as Thomaskantor for 27 years. It is a pairing of spaces and musical legacies of sorts. The following night, on 22 October, jazz icon Norma Winstone and exceptional talent Kit Downes on the piano prove at Schauspiel Leipzig (Leipzig Theatre) how inspiring a 45-year age gap can sound: with curiosity, a willingness to be intimate and great musical openness, they create a moving dialogue between the generations. The Bill Frisell Trio will also perform that evening, opening a tour marking Frisell's 75th birthday. Conny Bauer, a trombone icon of the festival’s first generation, percussionist Hamid Drake and Kalle Kalima on the guitar come together for a summit of improvised music at Schaubühne Lindenfels on 20 October. On 18 October, ADHD from Iceland brings a mix of jazz, rock and rave-inspired sounds to the stage at UT Connewitz.

Other highlights include the funk and soul-inflected guitar duo Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold, who will open the festival at Oper Leipzig following the Globe Unity Orchestra; Sjaella x Fallwander, an all-female concert pairing Leipzig's own vocal ensemble Sjaella with electronic musician duo Fallwander; and Sun-Mi Hong, the Amsterdam-based South Korean drummer and 2025 Paul Acket Award winner, performing in trio with Brandon López and Mat Maneri. On 9 October, parallel to the Leipzig Festival of Lights to mark the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, a festival warm-up concert will be held at the Kulturnhalle. Under the motto “unknown to both of us”, six jazz musicians from two cities go on a first date between Leipzig and Paris.

As a special festival project, an audio walk “Jazz im Ohr” (Jazz in Your Ears) is also currently being developed in time for the anniversary edition. It will feature stops at various historic concert venues (e.g. the Kongresshalle) across the city. Original audio recordings from former participants will be included as well as archival material.

On 24 October at UT Connewitz, the festival also marks 30 years of the Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Award, another anniversary within the anniversary. The award is presented every year by the Marion Ermer Foundation in collaboration with the City of Leipzig as part of the Leipziger Jazztage. The evening brings together concerts by this year's winners with a reunion concert featuring past recipients of the award.

Presale and Ticket Sales Launch

Presale for the opening night with Alexander von Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra followed by Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold on 17 October, for Jason Moran on 21 October as well as for the double bill featuring Norma Winstone & Kit Downes and the Bill Frisell Trio at Schauspiel Leipzig on 22 October has started. Regular advance ticket sales for all other events will start on 3 September 2026. Tickets are available at all CTS booking offices and online.

Full programme: https://www.jazzclub-leipzig.de/en/kategorie-jazztage/jazztage-programm/ 
Tickets: https://www.jazzclub-leipzig.de/en/leipziger-jazztage/tickets/

Leipzig and All That Jazz: Past, Present and Future

The festival started off at a small movie theatre and Moritzbastei student club before moving to the much bigger Kongresshalle with 1,600 seats at Zoo Leipzig in 1978. On the one hand, new cultural policy initiatives in the GDR, some of which were later reversed, helped to facilitate the festival’s launch. From the outset, the Leipziger Jazztage were driven by an external focus and the interaction between local and international musicians. Over the years, international top musicians from West Germany, the USA and Japan came to perform in Leipzig. A close connection to Polish jazz was established, too. On the other hand, the organisers faced repeated hostility from the Stasi Secret Police, who believed that jazz reflected a “decadent lifestyle” and was incompatible with the ideological goals of socialism. The Peaceful Revolution of 1989 and the subsequent German reunification in 1990 marked a turning point. In 1991, the festival moved to Oper Leipzig.

Looking to the future, the 50th anniversary edition of the Leipziger Jazztage coincides with the city's newly proposed plans to transform the historic Gottschedstraße 16 into a 'House of Festivals', which is slated to become the permanent, year-round venue for the Jazzclub Leipzig, pending final city council approval. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027. In addition to the Jazzclub Leipzig, the ‘House of Festivals’ will be home to the Leipzig DOK Film Festival, LeipJazzig e. V., euro-scene Leipzig, Leipzig’s Schumann Association and a literature festival, as well as key players from the independent arts scene and the creative industries.

Jutta Hipp: From Leipzig to New York City

When jazz came to Europe from America in the 1920s through concert tours of stars like Sam Wooding or Josephine Baker, Leipzig, a city of music, books and trade fairs, was one of the hot spots of this new kind of music, together with Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. For context on Leipzig’s jazz history, the 2025 German documentary “Being Hipp – First Lady of European Jazz” by Leipzig-based director Anna Schmidt tells the dramatic life story of the pioneering jazz pianist Jutta Hipp (1925–2003) from Leipzig, who rose from Nazi-era Germany to international success in New York City. The documentary premiered at the Leipziger Jazztage 2025. It can be streamed online via the German public-service broadcaster ARD’s media centre (German version, co-production with MDR and BR for ARTE, 52 minutes): https://www.ard.de/ardkultur/musik/jazz/being-hipp-first-lady-of-european-jazz,being-hipp-first-lady-of-european-jazz-100.html

Watch an English trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqxrl6axYcw

At a Glance

50th Leipziger Jazztage
17 to 25 October 2026, at venues across Leipzig including Oper Leipzig, Schauspiel Leipzig, St. Thomas Church, Schaubühne Lindenfels and UT Connewitz.

Presale for the opening night, Jason Moran and the Winstone/Downes/Frisell double bill already underway. General advance sales for all other events begin 3 September 2026, via CTS booking offices and online. Full programme and tickets: www.leipziger-jazztage.de

Selected concert highlights

• Warm-Up
  9 October, Kulturnhalle, “unknown to both of us”, a first date between Leipzig and Paris with six musicians from both cities
• Opening Night
  17 October, Oper Leipzig. Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity Orchestra, followed by Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold
• ADHD
  18 October, UT Connewitz
• Conny Bauer, Hamid Drake & Kalle Kalima / Brandon López, Mat Maneri & Sun-Mi Hong
  20 October, Schaubühne Lindenfels
• Jason Moran: Duke Ellington Solo Programme
  21 October, St. Thomas Church
• Norma Winstone & Kit Downes / Bill Frisell Trio
  22 October, Schauspiel Leipzig
• 30 Years of the Leipzig Jazz Young Talent Award
  24 October, UT Connewitz. Awards ceremony and concerts by this year's winners as well as past award recipients.

Further information: www.leipzig.travel/en