Over 11 days this spring, Perth International Jazz Festival returns for its 14th year.
Venues across Perth will welcome performances ranging from contemporary New York jazz and vibrant New Orleans styles to Armenian folk traditions from Thursday, October 22, to Sunday, November 1.
The compelling program is headlined by jazz supergroup AZIZA, closing out the festival at His Majesty’s Theatre on Sunday, November 1. The four musicians forming the lineup – Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland – have shaped contemporary jazz throughout their individual careers and unite for an impressive quartet right here in Perth.
Three-time Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater will be joined by acclaimed pianist Helen Sung at the Astor Theatre to bring over four decades of innovation to Perth audiences, while Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan will head to the Octagon Theatre, where the folk music of his homeland, Armenia, will collide with jazz, electronica and progressive rock.
The program signals another step in Perth International Jazz Festival’s evolution, with impressive and acclaimed international talents continuing to be drawn to Perth.
“To finish the festival with Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke and Eric Harland together as AZIZA is something extraordinary. These are four musicians who have spent their careers at the forefront of this music, and Perth audiences get to experience them together, on one stage, in one of our city’s great theatres,” said Festival Director Mace Francis.
Further highlights include The Bad Plus‘ farewell tour making a stop at the Liberty Theatre, offering Perth the chance to say goodbye to one of contemporary jazz’s most distinctive acts after 25 years, and the Grammy-winning New Orleans institution Rebirth Brass Band opening the festival and Metro City.
On Saturday, October 31, virtuoso bassist and powerhouse vocalist Nik West debuts in Perth, adding a stop at the festival to a storied career including performances alongside Prince, Quincy Jones, Santana, John Mayer and Bootsy Collins.
This year’s program is centred at the heritage-listed Liberty Theatre, where after each performance, the theatre stays awake with three late-night Club Sessions pushing celebrations into the evening. 2026 will also offer Japan Jazz Nights as a nod to 50 years of Australia-Japan friendship. Presented by The Japan Foundation, a double bill of Japanese contemporary jazz will feature pianist Misaki Umei and supergroup Tenors in Chaos.
Across 11 days, the festival moves between generations, countries and genres, allowing Perth audiences to explore something new.
“This program is really about discovery,” Francis says. “You can come for an artist whose records you’ve loved for 30 years and walk out talking about somebody you’ve never heard of before. You can hear jazz in a grand theatre, a nightclub or a room you might never normally walk into.”
Perth International Jazz Festival runs from Thursday, October 22, to Sunday, November 1. Explore the full program at perthjazzfest.com
