Programme 2026

David Binney – alto saxophone
Louis Cole – drums

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.

The story of Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez resembles a modern musical fairy tale in which uncompromising classical discipline collides with the untamed energy of Havana’s streets and a life-changing intervention from a legend.

Born into a musical family in Havana, Alfredo Rodriguez was given both an excellent foundation and a demanding musical education at prestigious Cuban conservatories. There, he spent years refining his technique through the works of Bach, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. It was precisely this strict European classical background, combined with the ever-present Afro-Cuban rhythms he absorbed outside the classroom walls, that shaped his utterly distinctive musical voice.

The turning point of his life came in 2006 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where the young pianist caught the attention of legendary producer Quincy Jones. Jones was so impressed by Rodriguez’s talent that he immediately decided to take him under his wing. For Rodriguez, this meant a dramatic life change: in 2009 he emigrated to the United States, leaving behind his family and entire background in Cuba. Under Jones’s guidance, he released his debut album Sounds of Space, which immediately established him on the global jazz scene.

Rodriguez quickly proved himself to be a visionary unwilling to be confined to the label of a “Latin jazz pianist.” His music blends traditional Cuban genres such as son and mambo with modern jazz, avant-garde influences, and classical music. His later albums, including the Grammy-nominated The Invasion Parade, only confirmed this artistic direction.

Today, Alfredo Rodriguez is an internationally sought-after concert artist renowned for his electrifying live performances, during which he can transform the piano into an entire rhythmic ensemble. He performs like a force of nature—his playing is percussive, explosive, and yet technically flawless.

The Polish jazz group Blu/Bry is a compelling example of the progressive spirit of today’s European jazz scene. This finely balanced instrumental quintet was one of the standout discoveries of the Central European Jazz Showcase held in Brno at 2025.

The young musicians began shaping their shared musical vision in 2019 and have officially performed under the name Blu/Bry since 2021. The band’s sound is characterized by openness and a collective approach in which individual virtuosity serves the whole. Their music remains rooted in modern European jazz while naturally weaving in elements of classical music, subtle folk inspirations, and delicate electronic textures. The result is music full of twists, layered motifs, and unexpected atmospheres, where compositions flow seamlessly from lyrical passages into dense grooves.

The uniqueness of the band is further underscored by the fact that its members gained experience at prestigious institutions such as Berklee College of Music in Boston, the Danish National Academy of Music, and the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. Their exceptional talent is reflected in the lightning-fast start of their career, marked by triumphs at major Polish and international competitions. Blu/Bry received Grand Prix awards at prestigious festivals including Jazz nad Odrą, Jazz Juniors, Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, and the aforementioned Central European Jazz Showcase in Brno. Their outstanding position on the scene was definitively confirmed by their victory in the prestigious Jazz Forum poll (Jazz Top 2024), where they were named “New Hope of the Year.”

The meeting of three distinctive personalities and multi-instrumentalists of the Czech music scene promises a concert experience that completely transcends conventional genre boundaries. All three artists move effortlessly across an exceptionally broad stylistic spectrum while also being inventive composers in their own right.

What unites them most profoundly is boundless playfulness, creative courage, and the joy of music coming into existence directly before the audience’s eyes and ears. On stage, they are not merely performers, but equal partners in a dialogue that connects centuries of musical history with wit and ease.

Audiences can look forward to a journey through time and musical styles. With complete naturalness, the music moves from the world of Baroque and the radiant clarity of Classicism into the passionate currents of jazz, eventually dissolving into liberating free improvisation. Each of the three protagonists brings a unique contribution to the ensemble. The legendary Jiří Stivín, master of flutes and saxophones, has for decades embodied absolute musical freedom and the ability to connect early music with modern jazz. Violinist Martin Zbrožek contributes not only virtuosity, but also a distinctive sense of dramaturgy, humor, and theatrical shorthand, while double bassist Jiří Slavík, a representative of the younger generation with international acclaim, provides a firm yet remarkably flexible rhythmic and harmonic foundation.

The entirely informal and joyful atmosphere radiating from the stage invites audiences into immediate connection with the performers. This trio’s concert is not a rigid academic affair, but a living organism in which the boundary between stage and audience gradually disappears. Listeners become witnesses to a unique musical alchemy where precise technique serves pure joy in playing and genuine human connection.

Alfredo Rodríguez

Alfredo Rodríguez – piano
Swaéli Mbappé – bass guitar
Michael Olivera – drums

Blu/Bry

Jan Kusz – tenor saxophone
Tomasz Kusz – trumpet
Jakub Letkiewicz – piano
Franciszek Wicke – bass
Stanisław Banyś – drums

Jiří Stivín-Jiří Slavík-Martin Zbrožek

Jiří Stivín – flutes
Jiří Slavík – piano, double bass
Martin Zbrožek – violin

A great deal can fit under the term nu jazz, and it is sometimes misused for musical projects that are not particularly inventive. The kind created by Alfa Mist, however, is the exact opposite. His music is the voice and pulse of these days, weeks, and months.

London-based producer, pianist, and composer Alfa Mist is one of the most distinctive figures on the contemporary British nu-jazz scene, and his work perfectly embodies the way modern urban culture can connect with a deep musicianship tradition. His musical beginnings were shaped by hip hop, dark melancholic beats, and a fascination with sampling. It was his desire to understand in detail the complex harmonic structures of the pieces he was cutting up and sampling for his early tracks that eventually led him to the piano. From an original producer, he became a visionary composer-performer who found absolute creative freedom in jazz.

Although his compositions still ride on uncompromising hip-hop grooves, the main driving force and emotional core of Alfa Mist’s music is pure jazz improvisation. His breakthrough recordings, such as his debut Antiphon (2017) and the critically acclaimed Variables (2023), are built on rich, often almost cinematic and melancholic harmonic progressions. His playing on piano and Fender Rhodes electric piano clearly reveals echoes of modal jazz and the influence of legends such as Miles Davis from his electric period or McCoy Tyner. Alfa Mist does not build his compositions as fixed hip-hop loops, but as living organisms. He surrounds himself with outstanding instrumentalists from the London scene, giving them enormous space for expression on stage. With him, the real music is born from immediate dialogue between musicians, from spontaneity and genuine interaction, much as it was in jazz almost a hundred years ago.

For the JazzFestBrno festival audience, Alfa Mist’s concert represents an ideal bridge between the tradition and the future of the genre. Lovers of classic modern jazz will appreciate the exceptional instrumental maturity, sophisticated work with tension and release, and the authentic character of a club jam session. Younger audiences, meanwhile, will be swept up by the hypnotic rhythmic foundation and contemporary urban aesthetic. Alfa Mist comes to Brno to prove that jazz is not a preserved genre for nostalgics, but a wild, constantly evolving language of today’s world.

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.

When Julian Lage picks up a guitar, complex jazz structures are transformed into natural elegance, infectious lightness, and the immediate joy of playing. He is a figure who today helps define the sound of the modern guitar, connecting pure musicianship across genres and generations.

The story of the California native began like something from a textbook on child prodigies. At the age of eight, he was the subject of the documentary Jules at Eight; at nine, he jammed on stage with Carlos Santana; at twelve, he performed at the Grammy Awards; and at fifteen, he became a bandmate of the legendary vibraphonist Gary Burton. Yet Lage never became trapped in the category of a child prodigy. Over the past three decades, he has grown into one of the most versatile and respected instrumentalists in the world.

His own highly acclaimed recordings, regularly nominated for Grammy Awards — including his very first, Sounding Point from 2009 — alternate with guest appearances on dozens of albums by icons such as Charles Lloyd and avant-garde visionary John Zorn. With complete naturalness, he crosses the boundaries of modern jazz: in a duo with Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers, he explored the acoustic roots of bluegrass and American folk music; elsewhere, he immerses himself in the world of song alongside his wife, Margaret Glaspy. And this summer, none other than Bob Dylan, the king of all singer-songwriters, invited him into his touring band. Lage’s signature voice is instantly recognizable in every setting — he does not compete in speed or put technical wizardry on display, but captivates with a warm sound, flawless phrasing, and the gift of telling a complete story in every bar.

His freshest material can be heard on the album Scenes from Above, released by the renowned Blue Note label and serving as a testament to his creative partnership with celebrated producer Joe Henry. Unlike the richly arranged previous project Speak to Me, Lage here deliberately stepped back from the position of a directive bandleader. The compositions were born out of intense twenty-minute improvisations with a clear intention: to create ideal starting points for a unique quartet of old friends who, surprisingly, had never recorded together in the studio before.

Alongside Lage, the album brings together the dependable double bassist Jorge Roeder, dynamic drummer Kenny Wollesen, and renowned keyboard wizard John Medeski, known not only from the trio Medeski Martin & Wood, but also from his solo performances, two of which honoured Villa Tugendhat as part of last year’s JazzFestBrno. The nine compositions absorb echoes of early calypso, Peruvian melodies, blues, and the compositional methods of Béla Bartók. Lage also skilfully avoids the clichés of a typical soul-jazz organ combo — reaching, for example, for the acoustic guitar and allowing Medeski’s richly textured organ sound to breathe freely. The pieces rarely exceed the four-minute mark and rely on absolute equality, empathy, and intimate studio restraint, creating a space where one can play quietly and still be heard perfectly. It is in this aforementioned lineup that the Julian Lage Quartet will also perform in Brno.

Julian Lage – guitar
John Medeski – piano and keyboards
Jorge Roeder – bass
Kenny Wollesen – drums