Programme 2026

Jan Přibil Ensemble

Pavel Zlámal Ensemble
Tadeáš Slovák Band

JAMU ansámbl – Motown & More

RoundAbout

Matúš Jakabčic Undectet

Rytmický ansámbl HAMU

Brazilian mandolinist Hamilton de Holanda is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Brazilian music. He has reinvented the mandolin, transforming this traditional Brazilian instrument into a modern musical voice. Together with his trio, he presents a unique musical project that sensitively connects jazz with the rich tradition of Brazilian musical styles.

For some listeners, jazz is introverted and chamber music, for which the listener would almost need to have studied musicology to appreciate it. However, many musicians manage to turn such notions upside down. Among them are the members of the Snarky Puppy “family”.

When Michael League founded the group Snarky Puppy at the University of North Texas in 2003, he did so paradoxically because he hadn’t been accepted into any of the official school ensembles at the time. He had no idea then that this originally student project would gradually transform into a five-time Grammy Award winner and one of the most influential instrumental bands of our time. From the beginning, the group avoided being pigeonholed. League himself describes their sound as a street mongrel, in which jazz sophistication naturally blends with the energy of funk, rock, and soul. However, the path to success was not immediate; the musicians spent the first decade endlessly traveling in beat-up vans and playing for a handful of people in remote clubs.

A crucial turning point came with the 2010 album Tell Your Friends, when the band fully developed its unique recording method. Instead of isolated studios, Snarky Puppy prefers recording directly in front of a live audience, who sit in the studio with headphones, creating the unrepeatable atmosphere of a “silent concert” that combines the precision of a recording studio with the energy of a live performance.

Today, Snarky Puppy is more of an extended family than a closed band. Approximately forty musicians have passed through the collective nicknamed “The Fam” over twenty years, rotating in the lineup much like a hockey team. The group also has strong ties to the Czech Republic. Michael League studied with Czech pianist Jiří Levíček, whom he still speaks of today as a great inspiration in bridging genres. A curiosity is that League dreamed of having specific vintage Slingerland drums for his Spanish studio, which after a long search throughout Europe, he discovered and purchased in a music store in Opava.

The latest chapter in the Snarky Puppy‘s story is the album Somni, released in November 2025. On this ambitious project, the band joined forces with the fifty-member Metropole Orkest. The compositions, inspired by League’s life in Spain, utilize up to four drummers simultaneously and create a soundscape capable of transporting listeners beyond reality. This will undoubtedly be the case at their concert as part of JazzFestBrno.

Cellist and vocalist Dorota Barová, a two-time nominee for the 2025 Anděl Awards, will appear in an exclusive lineup to present her most intimate album, accompanied by guest musicians you rarely see sharing the same stage.

The cornerstone of the concert program is Barová’s latest studio release, Píseň pro Mi (A Song for Mi). The album emerged as a deeply personal project in which she set to music the texts of her close friend, the late poet Michaela Vejnarová. The result is a fragile, almost dreamlike atmosphere that resists simple genre classification.

The album’s uniqueness is further confirmed by Barová’s two Anděl Award nominations—in the seemingly paradoxical yet fitting categories of Jazz and Folk. This genre fluidity is characteristic of her work: her music forms a bridge between tradition, improvisation, and pure songwriting. Having performed in several alternative rock bands, toured internationally with the distinctive cello duo Tara Fuki, worked with the leading Czech jazz ensemble Vertigo, and supported pop icon Aneta Langerová as part of her string section, Barová brings a wealth of experience that allows her to distill the deepest essence of her musical expression into her own project.

One of the evening’s greatest attractions is the lineup itself. Alongside the core trio—phenomenal guitarist Míra Chyška and versatile bassist Miloš Klápště—special guests will join the stage, making for a truly rare live collaboration. The sonic palette will be expanded by cellist Alžběta Vlčková and, notably, early music specialist Jan Krejča on theorbo. The inclusion of this baroque instrument, with its long neck and distinctive timbre, adds an unexpected richness of color to Barová’s music.

The Water Reservoirs at Žlutý kopec are renowned for their unique acoustics, demanding exceptional focus and sensitivity to space. For Dorota Barová, whose performance is built on vocal nuance and dynamic expression, this represents the ideal artistic challenge. The audience will not remain passive observers—they will become part of an immersive experience, with the music surrounding them from all sides.

Singer Dan Bárta and double bassist Robert Balzar rarely perform together in the stripped-down format of a duo, and their collaboration—set within an architectural gem listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site—promises a truly unique and unrepeatable event.

When the names Dan Bárta and Robert Balzar are mentioned, most fans immediately recall Bárta’s rock energy with Alice, his funk explorations with J.A.R., and the distinctive chamber pop of Illustratosphere, as well as his long-standing collaboration with the Robert Balzar Trio. The duo format with its leader, however, is something entirely different—it is music in its most exposed form, where there is no room for error and where every tone, breath, and movement of a finger on the double bass fingerboard carries absolute weight.

This formation appears on stage only rarely. While the full trio creates, as heard on albums such as Theyories and Jedním dechem, a tight and rhythmically rich sound, the duo setting transforms the music into an intimate conversation. It is a dialogue between one of Europe’s finest jazz double bassists and a vocalist whose voice can replace an entire orchestra. For JazzFestBrno audiences, this collaboration offers a rare opportunity to experience both artists in their purest form.

Although the exact setlist remains a mystery until the very last moment—as befits true jazz improvisers—the program will likely draw from their rich shared repertoire. Audiences can look forward to original interpretations of jazz standards, as well as pop and rock classics, alongside original compositions that have matured over the years.

The choice of venue is no coincidence. Villa Tugendhat, an icon of functionalist architecture, is renowned for its purity, spatial design, and refined materials. The music of the Bárta & Balzar duo can be described in much the same way—modern, structurally precise, yet deeply human and organic. The villa’s glass walls, seamlessly connecting interior and garden, will provide a setting for jazz improvisation that no conventional concert hall could offer.

Sachal Vasandani is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive jazz vocalists of his generation. In his hands, the jazz tradition comes alive in a fresh, soulful guise, appealing not only to devoted jazz listeners but also to fans of contemporary songwriting.

Vasandani possesses a rare gift: he can step in front of a roaring big band with unwavering swing confidence, only to strip everything down moments later and reveal the deepest emotions in a classic ballad. This vulnerability, combined with his ability to improvise fluidly across melodic lines and rhythmic structures, has made him a sought-after collaborator for some of the world’s leading artists. Over the course of his career, he has shared the stage with icons such as Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Charlap, and Milton Nascimento.

Vasandani arrives in Brno in peak creative form, supported by his latest album Best Life Now. To give his stories of modern love—with all their light and shadow—the right pulse, he invited drummer, visionary, and master of groove Nate Smith to produce the album. Smith, who performed at JazzFestBrno last year, helped shape a sound in which Vasandani’s captivating voice is surrounded by inventive beats and memorable melodies. It is jazz infused with soul and funk, yet firmly rooted in the depth of the genre.

Beyond his performing career, Vasandani is also recognized as one of today’s leading jazz educators and advocates of the genre. His workshops and masterclasses around the world are known for combining rigorous technical foundations with an open, creative spirit. This analytical approach to music is reflected in his own compositions and lyrics, making his performances both technically refined and deeply human.

At JazzFestBrno, technical precision will meet raw emotion. Sachal Vasandani proves that jazz improvisation can be a living, breathing language—one capable of telling stories of our everyday joys and struggles, just as it has in the work of the greatest vocalists in jazz history and today.

Although two prominent figures of the contemporary Czech jazz scene—vocalist Marta Kloučková and guitarist David Dorůžka—have repeatedly shared stages and recording studios, for instance within Kloučková’s established quintet, their current project marks a significant turning point.

Their joint album How Little We Dream is their debut in the intimate setting of a jazz duo. The choice of such a stripped-down format was no coincidence; it arose from both artists’ natural desire for maximum creative freedom and deep musical connection. For Marta Kloučková, performing as a duo with David Dorůžka represents an exceptionally free approach to singing, opening up space for vocal experimentation as well as expressive interpretations distinct from those she employs in larger ensembles. Unlike her original work with a band, here she can fully focus on interpreting songs and lyrics by other authors, ranging from simple, song-like forms to dramatically intense expressions. David Dorůžka, an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a refined sense for tone color, likewise regards the duo format as one of his favorite artistic disciplines, seeing it as the purest form of musical dialogue.

The repertoire for this album brings together compositions that cross genres and decades, spanning the entire last century of music. As a result, both the concert program and the album itself are remarkably diverse and bold. Audiences can expect a journey to interwar standards from the late 1920s, as well as visits to iconic songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Paul Simon. A surprising and refreshing moment comes with the inclusion of the contemporary pop hit Wildflower by Billie Eilish (2025), demonstrating that Kloučková & Dorůžka recognize no artificial boundaries in music. Alongside these names, their repertoire also features works by jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk and Wayne Shorter, as well as the psychedelic legacy of Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane.

Adding to the sense of a truly special occasion, the concert will also feature the ceremonial launch of the album How Little We Dream.

Two things are absolutely essential when it comes to Tigran Hamasyan. He has managed to infuse jazz with a wholly distinctive musical language shaped by his Armenian roots—and he achieved this at a remarkably young age.

His journey to the piano began at the age of three, and by six he was already studying music systematically. Although he was initially drawn to the raw energy of metal guitar, he fully devoted himself to jazz at the age of nine. Alongside exploring complex harmonies and structures, he focused primarily on improvisation. As a teenager, he realized that his Armenian heritage was just as vital a source of inspiration as recordings by American jazz legends, and he began weaving traditional folk elements into his own compositions. He continued developing this artistic direction after moving to the United States.

Hamasyan’s early career is marked by a series of achievements that brought international attention to this exceptional artist from Gyumri, Armenia. At sixteen, he won both the Jazz à Juan Révélations competition in France and the Montreux Jazz Festival’s Critics’ Prize. At nineteen, he triumphed at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute Competition in Los Angeles. By that time, he had already released his debut album World Passion. Since then, he has recorded ten studio albums, most of which explore the intersection of jazz and Armenian folk music, occasionally venturing into progressive rock. After working with major labels such as Verve and ECM, he found a home at the innovative Nonesuch label. It was there that he released StandArt, an album in which he focused for the first time on interpreting American jazz standards by composers such as Jerome Kern and Charlie Parker. His subsequent album The Bird of a Thousand Voices marked a return to his roots, presented as a conceptual double album inspired by an Armenian folk tale.

On his latest release Manifeste, Hamasyan moves toward a denser sound at the crossroads of jazz and progressive rock, incorporating elements such as metal-influenced guitar. The ambitious project was developed over two years in studios around the world, resulting in a rich and complex production. Despite its sonic intensity, the album remains deeply rooted in his heritage, as evidenced by the use of traditional Armenian instruments and collaborations with the Yerevan State Chamber Choir. Conceived as an introspective exploration of identity, the record brings together multiple musical worlds into one vibrant and surprising whole. Experiencing this music live promises to be a truly remarkable event.

There are musicians who appeal mainly to fans of narrowly defined genres, with little reach beyond them. And then there are Punch Brothers and a small handful of others whose music leaves virtually everyone wide-eyed with admiration, regardless of their musical background.

The American band Punch Brothers, led by virtuoso mandolinist Chris Thile—who dazzled audiences at Besední dům with his solo recital in 2022—returns to the Czech Republic after several years for an exclusive two-night engagement in Brno. Widely regarded as one of the finest contemporary acoustic ensembles in the world, the group is celebrating its twentieth anniversary while also presenting a brand-new instrumental album.

Punch Brothers were formed in 2006 at the initiative of Chris Thile, who, following the success of his previous band Nickel Creek, sought a space for more ambitious genre-crossing experimentation. Since the beginning, the group has resisted simple classification as a bluegrass band. Although the instrumentation—mandolin, guitar (Chris Eldridge), banjo (Noam Pikelny), double bass (Paul Kowert), and fiddle (now played by Brittany Haas)—resembles a traditional bluegrass lineup, their musical language draws equally from classical composition, jazz improvisation, and indie-rock energy.

London’s The Times described Punch Brothers as “brilliant, daring, original and, above all, entertaining.” It is precisely this combination of technical mastery and audience appeal that has made the band a cult phenomenon around the globe. Their discography, including albums such as Antifogmatic (2010) and the Grammy-winning All Ashore (2018), traces the evolution of musicians capable of referencing Johann Sebastian Bach one moment and launching into a furious jam evocative of an acoustic version of Radiohead the next.

The upcoming concerts in Brno will also be special because Czech audiences will see the band’s new lineup for the first time. Longtime fiddler Gabe Witcher was replaced in 2023 by Brittany Haas, whose playing brings fresh energy and dynamics to the group. Together with her, Punch Brothers recorded their seventh studio album, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, for the prestigious Nonesuch Records label. The album marks an important milestone for the band—it is their first entirely instrumental release. It features eight new original compositions and three unique arrangements of traditional songs. Brno audiences will therefore have a rare opportunity to hear this new material among the very first in the world.