Bratislava Jazz Days 2026: Caravan Palace, Mohini Dey and Ibrahim Maalouf at Incheba

The Bratislava Jazz Days (Jazzáky) will take place from 23 to 25 October 2026 at the Incheba Expo Arena in Bratislava. It is the 51st edition of the festival. GoOut ↗

The organizers presented the full programme in a press release on 25 September. Hudba.zoznam.sk ↗ Friday, 23 October, belongs to the French band Caravan Palace. On Saturday, 24 October, the headliner is the Indian bass guitarist Mohini Dey, and on Sunday, 25 October, the French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf will perform. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

Friday evening will be opened by Headmovers, a neo-soul project that won last year's Young Talents Stage. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗ The American Charlie Hunter Trio will also perform. Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars, on which he simultaneously carries the bass line, chords and melody. Among others, he has worked with Norah Jones and played on D'Angelo's album Voodoo. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

Friday's headliner is Caravan Palace. The Paris-based band, which draws on the "Roaring Twenties", will arrive with a spectacular show modelled on the great American revues of that era. On stage it will expand to an eight-piece ensemble, its usual lineup joined by two singers and dancers. The concert programme spans two decades of their work and will also include previously unreleased material. The organizers cite more than two billion views on YouTube. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗ The band released its debut album in October 2008, the single Lone Digger came out in 2015, and the fifth studio album Gangbusters Melody Club in March 2024. Wikipedia ↗

On Saturday, Eugen Vizváry Group will perform, the original project of the Slovak pianist and composer Eugen Vizváry. He will be joined by drummer Martin Valihora, singer Anita Soul, bass guitarist Áron Hodek and the Finnish guitarist Johannes Granroth. The band will play new original compositions as well as selected pieces from all four of Vizváry's albums in a new sonic guise. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗ The Cuban cellist and singer Ana Carla Maza will come with her project ALAMAR, in which she combines son, samba, bossa nova, Cuban chanson and modern jazz. According to the festival, The Times called her a "rising star" and the BBC an "artist with endless musical energy". Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

Mohini Dey first appeared in Bratislava in May at a sold-out Spring Jazzáky concert. Now she is returning to the main autumn festival with an international band that includes drummer Marco Cirigliano, saxophonist Jonathan Mones and keyboardist Kwinton Gray. Dey has collaborated with musicians such as Steve Vai, Zakir Hussain and Quincy Jones, and is a member of Willow Smith's band, with which she has also performed on Jimmy Fallon's show and on Tiny Desk. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

On Sunday, Mattia Müller Laser Sights will perform. The project was founded by the Slovak-Italian drummer Mattia Müller while studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and it brings together graduates of the school and internationally active musicians from the USA, Europe and Israel. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗ The American vibraphonist Joel Ross will come with his band Good Vibes. Blue Note Records released his fifth studio album, Gospel Music, this year, and according to the festival he is the label's youngest and most prolific star composer. Unlike many contemporary vibraphonists, he plays with two mallets rather than four, so as not to affect the harmony. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

The festival closes with the trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf. He was born in 1980 in Beirut and grew up in Paris. His father invented the microtonal, that is quarter-tone, trumpet, on which Arabic maqams can be played. Maalouf has been nominated for a Grammy twice, first in 2022 with the album Queen of Sheba. Wikipedia ↗ In Bratislava he will perform with the project Trumpets of Michel Ange: on stage, four trumpeters take turns and improvise together with a jazz quartet consisting of saxophone, guitar, bass and drums. According to the festival, it was Quincy Jones who discovered him for America, and Jon Batiste introduced him on Stephen Colbert's Late Show as a living jazz legend. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

Their official videos offer a taste of the festival's three headliners.



"We are pleased that we managed to put together a programme in which everyone can find their own concert – whether they want to discover new musical worlds or enjoy performances by artists they know and admire," said festival co-organizer Katarína Štefková. Hudba.zoznam.sk ↗

According to the Ticketportal presale, concerts start at 19:00 on Friday and Saturday and at 18:00 on Sunday. A one-day ticket costs €59 for free seating, €69 for a reserved seat and €109 for the VIP zone. The three-day pass costs €129 (free seating), €159 (reserved seat) or €289 (VIP). Second-wave presale prices are valid until midnight on 30 September. Ticketportal ↗ The price of VIP tickets includes drinks and refreshments, and children under 12 accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket get in free. Bratislavské jazzové dni ↗

Caravan Palace, the headliner of Friday evening. Photo: Bratislava Jazz Days press kit