by InTrieste
Interviews: Giorgio Rossi, Councillor for Culture and Tourism, City of Trieste; Gabriele Centis, Artistic Director, TriesteLovesJazz Festival
One of the city’s longest-running summer cultural events is celebrating a milestone this year. The International TriesteLovesJazz Festival, a fixture of Trieste’s cultural calendar since 2007, returns for its 20th edition with 24 events scheduled between July and September.
Organized by the City of Trieste as part of its annual Trieste Estate summer program and curated by Casa della Musica/Scuola di Musica 55, the festival has evolved into a prominent showcase for both established and emerging jazz artists from Italy and abroad.
The 2026 program was unveiled at the Museum of Oriental Art by Giorgio Rossi, Trieste’s councilor for culture and tourism, and artistic director Gabriele Centis. Also attending were representatives of the local Croatian community and several musicians participating in this year’s festival.
Over the past two decades, TriesteLovesJazz has hosted an array of internationally recognized performers, including drummers Al Foster, Lenny White and Omar Hakim; bassist Marc Johnson; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Bill Evans; guitarist Mike Stern; and pianist and vocalist Eliane Elias. The festival has also welcomed younger artists who later rose to prominence on the international jazz scene, among them Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato.
Since its inception, the festival has maintained free admission to all events, a policy that organizers say has helped cultivate a loyal audience while making jazz accessible to a broad public. Its programming has ranged from mainstream jazz to avant-garde and cross-genre projects, often combining international performers with musicians from Trieste and the wider region.
This year’s edition continues that approach. Concerts will take place in several of the city’s most recognizable outdoor venues, including Piazza Verdi and the gardens of the Sartorio and Winckelmann museums. The lineup features artists from across Europe and beyond, including guitarist Marc Ribot, known for his long collaboration with Tom Waits; the Swiss funk ensemble The Next Movement; Danish bassist Chris Minh Doky and The Nomads; and Hungarian saxophonist Tony Lakatos.
Among the festival’s signature events is the traditional dawn piano concert on Molo Audace, where audiences gather at sunrise along Trieste’s waterfront. New this year is a performance timed to coincide with a solar eclipse at the Bastione San Giusto, the historic fortification overlooking the city.
Trieste’s connection to jazz dates back decades. During the years following World War II, when Anglo-American forces administered the city, jazz music became a familiar presence in clubs, public spaces and social life. Organizers say that heritage continues to shape the festival’s identity, which blends international influences with the city’s Central European cultural traditions.
As the festival enters its third decade, it remains both a celebration of jazz and a reflection of Trieste’s longstanding role as a crossroads of cultures on the Adriatic.
