Jazz em Agosto – 42nd Edition 
31 Jul – 09 Aug

A 42nd edition that reaffirms its identity of presenting the current creative and original state of jazz, a music that never ceases to evolve. 
 
As in 2025, fourteen concerts are programmed: one in the Grand Auditorium, nine in the Open-Air Amphitheatre, and four in Auditorium 2. 
 
The characteristics of the performance spaces determine the nature of the concerts: those in Auditorium 2 are the most experimental; those in the Open-Air Amphitheatre are aimed at a broader audience; while the single concert in the Grand Auditorium–the opening one–is a solo piano performance by a historic figure of innovation in jazz, Joachim Kühn, now 82 years old, yet still energetic and surprising in the style that defines him. The interest in hearing this musician now, at the height of his contribution to jazz, stems from the rarity of his solo concerts, by his own choice. 
 
On the first weekend, several aesthetic directions are presented: in the afternoon, a Portuguese duo from Lisbon – David Maranha on electric organ and Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone–offering a continuous, captivating discourse in its spiritual dimension. In the evening, from New York, an outstanding collaborative quartet named Canyon, featuring pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, cellist Lester St. Louis, double bassist Joe Morris, and drummer Jerome Deupree, one of the original members of the renowned 1990s rock band Morphine; their music is a painstaking construction based on empathy, creative and original. 
 
On Sunday, again in the afternoon, a rare combination of voice and double bass: Fred Moten, a university professor, intellectual, and writer, reads selected, interventionist texts, accompanied by Brandon Lopez, one of the most relevant double bassists of today. In the evening, another New York quartet – Shardik – in a completely opposite vein, part of the family gathered by saxophonist John Zorn under his Tzadik label; Shardik embraces the same kind of insolence that Zorn has accustomed us to, with a strong activist component, addressing both a metal rock audience and fans of John Zorn, exploring spectacular effects within their fragmented musical discourse. 
 
On the weekdays, from Monday to Friday, the festival’s aesthetic diversity continues with the large ensemble Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble (LUME), a leading figure in Portuguese jazz, directed by pianist and composer Marco Barroso, who will present new repertoire, certainly within the celebratory parameters for which they are known. On Tuesday, they are followed by a French quartet, Bonbon Flamme, which includes Portuguese guitarist Luís Lopes, sowing an apparently chaotic yet controlled interplay. On Wednesday, the pan-European group The Sleep Of Reason Produces Monsters (TSORPM), with Italian trumpeter Gabriele Mitelli, Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, British turntablist Mariam Rezaei, and Austrian drummer Lucas König, pursues free improvisation in which electronic manipulation takes on a prominent role. On Thursday, one of the most recognised saxophonists and composers of today, the Canadian Anna Webber, based in New York, presents her project Shimmer Wince in quintet form, with Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Mariel Roberts on cello, Elias Stemeseder on synthesiser, and Lesley Mok on drums–ideal collaborators in one of the most original projects in contemporary jazz within its broader tradition. On Friday, the most recent project by American drummer and vibraphonist Ches Smith–Clone Row–featuring two acclaimed guitarists, Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellman, along with double bassist Nick Dunston, once again presents a repertoire of original, conceptual compositions in a muscular aesthetic line, rich with compelling pieces. 
 
On the second and final weekend, Jazz em Agosto presents four concerts. On Saturday afternoon, English pianist Pat Thomas performs a sensory solo born from his unique exploration of the instrument. In the evening, the new project by American drummer Tomas Fujiwara–Dream Up–focuses on the creative dynamics of percussion, with Kaoru Watanabe on taiko drums and Japanese flutes, Ches Smith on vibraphone, and Kweku Sumbry on percussion, offering a vibrant and global percussive panorama. 
 
On the final day of the festival, a duo and a quintet take the stage, originating from two global epicentres of jazz: Chicago and Los Angeles. In the afternoon, the Chicago Underground Duo, featuring trumpeter Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor, expands with electronics and multimedia into a contagious and highly original discourse. In the evening, closing Jazz em Agosto 2026, a breakthrough group from Los Angeles within the electro-jazz constellation – SML, led by Australian electric bassist Anna Butterss, based in Los Angeles–whose name stands for Small-Medium-Large, decisively and clearly establishes a major new step in one of the aesthetic directions of jazz initiated and invented over 50 years ago by Miles Davis.