Perth International Jazz Festival unveils 2026 program
The Perth International Jazz Festival (PIJF) has officially announced its full program for 2026, transforming the city’s soundscape with a star-studded lineup of iconic international jazz performers.
For its 14th year, PIJF has assembled an international program that brings together Grammy winners, jazz icons, and emerging voices across a range of venues from Thursday, October 22, to Sunday, November 1.
US jazz supergroup AZIZA has just been announced as the festival’s closing act, performing at His Majesty’s Theatre on Sunday, November 1. Featuring bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke, and drummer Eric Harland, this quartet unites four musicians whose careers have helped shape contemporary jazz.
Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band will open the festival at Metro City on Thursday, October 22, while virtuoso bassist and vocalist Nik West makes her Perth debut at the same venue on Saturday, October 31. Known for her electric-bass and funk-rock sound, West adds a high-energy live performance to the program.
They join the bill alongside three-time Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater, who brings more than four decades of fearless reinvention to Astor Theatre on Tuesday, October 27, joined by acclaimed pianist Helen Sung.
Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan is set to be another highlight, arriving at the Octagon Theatre with Manifeste, his explosive collision of jazz, progressive rock, electronica and the folk music of his homeland.
PIJF welcomes another standout venue in 2026, the heritage-listed Liberty Theatre—Perth’s first art-house cinema—which has recently been transformed into an eclectic performance space. The venue will host The Bad Plus, who bring their farewell tour to Perth for two intimate performances after more than 25 years of reshaping the possibilities of the jazz ensemble.
The Liberty Theatre will also feature Grammy-winning pianist and composer Kris Davis with Robert Hurst and Jonathan Blake; Japanese keyboard and synthesiser virtuoso BIGYUKI; UK-based Australian pianist Belle Chen; and Olivia Chindamo with Matthew Sheens, who explore the space between jazz, song and storytelling.
In addition, this year, PIJF celebrates 50 years of Australia-Japan fellowship through Japan Jazz Nights, presented with The Japan Foundation. This special double bill features rising pianist Misaki Umei and the dynamic supergroup Tenors in Chaos, bringing two distinct voices from Japan’s contemporary jazz scene to Perth.
To warm up for the 2026 festival, this year’s program also includes five free performances at Subiaco Night Markets, bringing a rotating lineup of Perth’s finest jazz musicians—with everything from timeless swing to the irresistible rhythms of Brazilian bossa nova—to Market Square Park on Saturday nights from September 26 to November 7.
“This program is really about discovery,” said Festival Director Mace Francis. “You can come for an artist whose records you’ve loved for 30 years and walk out talking about somebody you’d never heard of before. You can hear jazz in a grand theatre, a nightclub, or a room you might never normally walk into. That, to me, is what a festival should do. It should make the city feel different for a while.”
The Perth International Jazz Festival runs from Thursday, October 22, to Sunday, November 1, 2026. For the full program and ticket information, visit perthjazzfest.com
