The charming town of Orvieto, Italy, will soon resonate with the vibrant and soul-stirring sounds of jazz as Umbria Jazz Winter #31 unfolds on December 28, 2024. This year's festival promises an eclectic lineup ranging from youthful orchestras to seasoned jazz masters, each offering their unique spin on this timeless genre. From the spirited performances by youth orchestras to the captivating showcases from emerging talents, the festival offers a rich tapestry of events that celebrate both tradition and innovation in jazz. Whether you're a seasoned jazz aficionado or a curious newcomer, Umbria Jazz Winter #31 is set to captivate your heart and ears.

Jazz Reverberates Through Orvieto: Umbria Jazz Winter #31

A rhythm workshop where you’ll get hands-on experience with the core instruments of a samba bateria: agogô, chocalho, repique, caixa, and surdo. Led by Fuad Lues.

UJ4KIDS | Samba-Enredo Workshop

Stadio "Santa Giuliana"

The goal of this workshop is to let children have fun interacting with a video of a train arriving at a station, recreating sound effects to build a complete soundscape—just like a real Foley artist!

UJ4KIDS | dB – Digital Breakfast

Giardini di Santa Giuliana

Jazzlife is the web series by Umbria Jazz aimed at telling about Italy’s immense artistic and cultural heritage through the eyes and notes of musicians who best represent the moment of grace that the Italian jazz scene is experiencing.

Screening Jazzlife – “Gabriele Mirabassi Trio – Castiglione del Lago”

Cinema Méliès

Gianni Coscia was born in Alessandria in 1931. After completing classical studies, he worked as a lawyer for many years. He was a great friend of Umberto Eco and collaborated with Gianluigi Trovesi mainly on ECM. Above all, he is a poet of the accordion—a cultured sound craftsman who has nurtured many musical loves, from the popular tradition of Northern Italy to jazz, from songwriting to Latin rhythms. At the age of 95, Coscia recorded his first solo album for Paolo Fresu’s record label. “La Violetera” narrates his artistic life and presents him as an authentic creator of sounds shaped by memories, thoughts, melancholies, encounters, and life experiences.

Gianni Coscia

National Gallery

For years now, the Umbria Jazz stage has hosted big bands from schools of all levels, from universities to high schools. This year, the bands come from the USA, Italy, and the Netherlands.

EPSG:4326

Orchestra Giovanile Regionale Umbria (OGiReUm)

Piazza IV Novembre

Cécile won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition at the age of 21 (2010). She had just released her debut album, with a music background in the USA and at the Conservatory “Darius Milhaud” in Aix-en-Provence, where her French mother sent her to improve her classical and baroque vocal style. Usually, whoever wins that competition is supposed to have a great career. Since then, Cécile has won many awards (including three Grammys for three consecutive years, and six nominations), released excellent albums, and received plenty of esteem from everywhere: Wynton Marsalis, whose orchestra Cécile was a guest, told the New Yorker that a singer like her comes around once every one or two generations. Her music as a vocalist and composer merges sounds from across ages and cultures, spanning vaudeville, jazz, blues, and storytelling. An outstanding vocal technique is combined with a confident stage presence to draw the identikit picture of an all-round artist.

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Teatro Morlacchi

Born in Perugia, where he graduated from the Conservatory “Francesco Morlacchi”, clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi has ranged between jazz and contemporary classical music for a long time. During his complex career, he has met with artists such as Richard Galliano, Enrico Pieranunzi, Stefano Battaglia, Steve Swallow, John Taylor, and Stefano Bollani on the jazz side. On the classical side, he has collaborated with John Cage, Andrea Lucchesini, and Mario Brunello.

Gabriele Mirabassi “Verso sud” w/ Nando Di Modugno & Quartetto Ascanio

Screening Jazzlife – “Rita Marcotulli & Dado Moroni – Orvieto”

DJP is a piano-less trio that combines interplay and formal freedom, grounded in a natural understanding and great instrumental skill, as required by this fascinating and difficult formula. Dario Deidda (electric bass), Jorge Rossy (drums and vibraphone), and Pietro Tonolo (saxophone and flute) are leading members of European jazz who have already performed at Umbria Jazz in many projects and collaborations. These three musicians have joined their experiences to create a small big band exploring a complex repertoire ranging from author songs (Burt Bacharach, Leonard Bernstein) to jazz classics (Sam Rivers, Bill Evans, Monk, Charlie Parker) to original themes. These three distinct personalities share a deep knowledge of jazz’s language and history, reimagining it with an open-minded, adventurous approach in which improvisation plays a fundamental role. The result is intense, playful, elegant, colorful and lively music.

DJP Trio feat. Dario Deidda, Jorge Rossy, Pietro Tonolo

Many know Paolo Fresu, as a trumpeter, but few people know him as a narrator. They are both the protagonists of “Kind of Miles”, a play and a concert at the same time. On the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth, Fresu reflects, tells, and evokes one of the key figures of twentieth-century music. Not only jazz.

Paolo Fresu, Kind of Miles

Welcome back, Perigeo! The glorious Italian electric jazz band takes to the stage 55 years after its birth. According to Giovanni Tommaso, it will be their last time. Perigeo was a proper “case” on the Italian jazz and progressive scene in the 70s. Formed right after Miles Davis’ electric breakthrough and currently with Weather Report, the Italian band has combined quality and commercial success. They succeeded in bringing a young audience closer to this new electric jazz.

Perigeo – The Last Concert

BEAT is a supergroup formed by two former King Crimson members (Adrian Belew and Tony Levin), guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and explosive Tool drummer Danny Carey to reinterpret three iconic 80s King Crimson albums creatively, “Discipline”, “Beat”, and “Three Of A Perfect Pair”. The supergroup shares the same lineup of the 80s band: two guitars (Robert Fripp and Belew), bass (Tony Levin) and drums, played back then by Bill Bruford.

BEAT

Mafalda has a motto: only play the records you really, really love. You can see that ethos in action when she’s behind the decks, as the beginning of a track makes her smile, or as she sings along the whole way through. The Portuguese DJ’s sets are wide-ranging, spanning anything from soul, gospel and jazz to house, R&B and Brazilian rarities – but they’re always uplifting and forever joyful.

Mafalda

Terrazza del Mercato coperto

Funk Off needs no introduction to the Umbria Jazz audience. This Tuscan street band has become very popular thanks to its original and unmistakable formula: moving beyond the traditional New Orleans marching band concept to offer enthralling, spectacular, modern, and engaging music.

Funk Off on stage

UJ4KIDS | dG – Digital Breakfast

MiniDjLab by Riccardo Schippa aka Ricc Frost, Lapo and Mattia Mariuccini.

UJ4KIDS | MiniDjLab

From the bands of young talents led by Enrico Rava to several projects under their own names, both saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti and pianist Giovanni Guidi were recognized as best new talent by the Musica Jazz Poll (Bearzatti in 2003, Guidi in 2007), which propelled them nationally and internationally. Their duo is a dialogue between two well-acquainted artists and a synthesis of experiences.

“Strange Fruits” Francesco Bearzatti – Giovanni Guidi

A quintet led by Piero Odorici and Daniele Scannapieco. These two bop-inspired and internationally appreciated saxophonists are among the top Italian jazz musicians. Odorici and Scannapieco are experienced jazzmen, and their band with Art Hirahara on piano, Aldo Zunino on double bass, and Joe Santoro on drums.

Piero Odorici & Daniele Scannapieco Quintet

Carducci Gardens

Accordi Disaccordi is an incredibly active Italian project on the national and international scene. In fourteen years of activity, the band has performed more than a thousand concerts, including fourteen editions of Umbria Jazz (in Perugia and Orvieto), sold-out concerts at the Blue Note, and appearances at international festivals such as Jazz à Juan, Moscow Jazz Festival, JazzMi, and Athens Jazz. They have also completed several tours across the USA, Australia, the UAE, and Europe.

Accordi Disaccordi

Priori Secret Garden

Bottega del Vino

The quintet was formed in 2008 between Cremona and Piacenza. The band is dedicated to revisiting rock and pop classics with a retro style recalling gypsy jazz, the swing era, and early rock & roll with virtuosic vocal and instrumental arrangements. Their version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was even publicly acclaimed by Queen guitarist Brian May.

Sugarpie & The Candymen

Nico Gori is an incredibly talented and experienced musician. When it comes to the clarinet, he is the most prominent figure in the Italian jazz scene. Gori has performed at the highest levels in big bands, symphony orchestras, and jazz groups, both as a leader and a highly sought-after sideman, spanning classical music, jazz, funk, and acid jazz, and performing in theaters, clubs, festivals, radio and TV shows all over the world.

Nico Gori Quartet

With his old-fashioned and ironic swing, singer and saxophonist Ray Gelato has become a festival favorite at Umbria Jazz, where he has performed many times. He was born in London, the son of a US soldier stationed in the UK. Young Ray grew up listening, on the one hand, to the songs of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and, on the other, to rock & roll and jive. Back then, young fan favorites were Louis Jordan, Louis Prima and Bill Haley. Ray’s model for tenor sax was Sam Butera.

Ray Gelato & The Giants

La Taverna

Funk Off can be considered the musical postcard of Umbria Jazz, blessed with widespread success.

Funk Off street parade

Mitch Woods was nominated for Pinetop Perkins Piano Player and Traditional Blues Album for his recent “Happy Hour” at the 2025 Blues Music Awards.

Mitch Woods

Rosetta Hotel Perugia

Based in San Francisco, this band of soul experts boasts prestigious collaborations, starting with their leader, guitarist and songwriter Anthony Paule, who has worked and recorded with Boz Scaggs, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Adams, Maria Muldaur, and The Johnny Nocturne Band.

Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra feat. Willy Jordan

If “This Is Real” marked the birth of an artist capable of bringing soul to the volcanic lands of Auvergne in 2022, this new opus is the manifesto of a resurrection. Today, Thomas Kahn is no longer content to simply echo the giants of Memphis or Philadelphia; he now inhabits his own geography: that of a man who had to relearn how to use his own voice to keep from losing his essence.

Thomas Kahn

“Conosci Mia Cugina?” is the ironic and cheeky name (inspired by a classic song) of a band founded in 2015 and active across the national scene. Their mission is to revive the repertoire of Italian swing from the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s.

Conosci Mia Cugina?

Founded in Naples in 1991, the Tribunal Mist Jazz Band consists of twenty members, including professionals and career musicians united by their passion for music, especially jazz. The band was founded by lawyer Paolo Pannella and is conducted by Valentina Ramunno.

Tribunal Mist Jazz Band

Brassense combines the words “brass” and “sense”, blending the tradition of the brass quintet with a fresh perspective on this classic formula.

Brassense

Born in New Orleans, Jonté Mayon started singing in public at the age of four at the 1984 World’s Fair. Coming from a family of musicians, her musical education followed the standard path of any young singer in the Crescent City: gospel, soul, blues, and R&B. Since then, she has traveled the world, from Broadway tours of “Mama I Want to Sing” to the duo Fried with David Steele of the Fine Young Cannibals, and performed on major festival stages including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Essence Festival, and Umbria Jazz, where she debuted years ago in a gospel choir in Orvieto. Her voice has been featured in Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” and Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns”. Mayon has collaborated with soul and gospel stars and performed at the Porretta Soul Festival last year. From small clubs to major festivals, her soprano voice has captured audiences worldwide.

Jonté Mayon

Harlem After Dark: An Uptown Jazz Party is a thrilling celebration and a labor of love for the golden era of Harlem, when the neighborhood (full of dance halls, theaters, and jazz clubs) was the heartbeat of New York’s nightlife and the center of African American culture.

Allan Harris & Harlem After Dark

One of the Festival’s long-standing traditions is the late-night jam session, the perfect finale to a day of music. Starting after midnight, these sessions go on as long as musicians want to play. The heart of the session is a “house band”, a quintet that has already performed in both Perugia and Orvieto, led by Piero Odorici and Daniele Scannapieco. These two bop-inspired and internationally appreciated saxophonists are among the top Italian jazz musicians. Odorici and Scannapieco are experienced jazzmen, and their band (Art Hirahara on piano, Aldo Zunino on double bass, and Joe Santoro on drums) recreates the fervent atmosphere loved by night owls.

The House Quintet “Coltrane Centenary”

Ristorante Al Tezzon

Mystic Jungle is a key figure in the Neapolitan underground scene, founder of the acclaimed Periodica Records label and the vinyl records store Futuribile Record Club.

Mystic Jungle

With virtuoso guitarist and long-time collaborator Dominic Miller and dynamic drummer Chris Maas (Mumford & Sons, Maggie Rogers), fans will experience some of Sting most electrifying hits, along with rarities from his timeless discography. The “STING 3.0” World Tour played to sold-out audiences and received rave reviews. Known for his groundbreaking work as a solo artist and as the frontman and songwriter in the seminal group The Police, Sting has consistently pushed the boundaries of musical innovation throughout his illustrious career. The “STING 3.0” Tour represents a new dynamic era showcasing selections from his vast catalog through the urgent lens of a tight three-piece combo, and inspired his new song, “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)”. Additionally, a new live album, “STING 3.0 LIVE”, is now available digitally, on CD and on 180g vinyl.

Sting 3.0 – World Tour

UJ4KIDS | Contemporanea…mente

Chiostro San Fiorenzo

UJ4KIDS | Stazione Armonia

Serena Brancale is a multi-instrumentalist, performer and composer born in Bari who combines a passion for soul, R&B and jazz.

Festival Preview | CNA presents Serena Brancale

UJ4KIDS – Preview

Corso Cavour & Borgo XX Giugno

Francesca Tandoi – pianist, singer, composer and bandleader – is one of the most brilliant artists of the jazz scene in recent years. She has collaborated with important musicians but has dedicated herself to the trio over the last few years. Her trio performances are an explosion of swing in which energy, musicality and elegance merge (not to mention her excellent mastery of technique). This formula allows her great freedom and a connection with the tradition of great jazz pianists.

Francesca Tandoi Trio feat. Max Ionata

Museo Emilio Greco

A leading exponent of the thirtysomething generation, Emmet Cohen is a pianist who is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. For his Masters Legacy Series, he has hosted legends such as Ron Carter, Benny Golson, George Coleman, and Houston Person, the tenor saxophonist with 70 years of career behind him. Cohen shows an attitude towards tradition and the history of American music, adding his freshness, personality and taste. Cohen is a brilliant and technically flawless pianist who recalls the virtuosity of Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson with smooth and elaborate phrasing.

Emmet Cohen w/ Philip Norris & Kyle Poole

Palazzo del Popolo

There’s no need to introduce Funk Off to those who attend Umbria Jazz. The Tuscan street band has become very popular with its original and recognizable formula: to overcome the concept of a marching band in the New Orleans tradition by proposing enthralling, spectacular, modern, and engaging music written and conducted by Dario Cecchini.

This is how Funk Off has become the audience favorite since Umbria Jazz

Funk Off Umbria Jazz

Centro Storico

The Benedict Gospel Choir  from South Carolina is a dynamic and energic group of 30 elements. Created by Reverend Darryl Izzard, the choir has become an icon among the greatest exponents of gospel music in the USA. The winner of five out of seven editions of the prestigious Black Music Caucus Choir Competition of New York, the Benedict Gospel Choir draws on various genres (gospel, spiritual, blues, reggae and African traditional music). The choir performed together with many renowned artists such as Tramaine Hawkins, Shirley Caesar, Donald Lawrence (Tri-City Singers), Ricky Dillard (New Generation Chorale of Chicago), Norman Hutchins, O’landa Draper & The Associates, and participated in important events such as the Christmas Concert in the Vatican (2000) and the Christmas Concert in Monte Carlo. Internationally speaking, the choir has toured Ghana, West Africa, Caracas, Venezuela, and Bogotá. The choir has recently performed for the Prince and Princess of Monaco. The group has been seen and listened to by millions of people through TV and radio performances worldwide. It has been the number one choir among the college gospel choir in the USA for more than a decade, obtaining important awards from the National Black Music Caucus of New York and the HBCU National Hall of Fame.


“Gospel Explosion” Benedict Gospel Choir

Teatro Mancinelli

Jazz is commonly seen as a “serious” genre of music that is often complex, hard to play, and out of any temptation of easy listening. It’s not always like that. There has always been a kind of jazz that has fun, entertains, creates a good mood, seeks a relaxed approach, and encourages people to dance. The Good Fellas – with their rockin’ swing – are part of it. They are good musicians who know how to play swing and rock & roll, perfectly stepping into the role, recalling the 50s, and taking inspiration from icons such as Louis Prima, Louis Jordan and Elvis. Our mind goes back to that Italian-American genre by Fred Buscaglione and Renato Carosone and to Italy dreaming of America and its myths.

The Good Fellas – Festival Closing Dinner

The concert focuses on Paolo Fresu’s creativity and wisdom as a leader. Some of Fresu’s closest colleagues join him in two great small bands – the trio and the quartet – reflecting his personality and perfectly translating the inspiration. These artists usually perform with Fresu on his label’s records, Tǔk Music, and tours. Over time, they have created a profound harmony so much that imagining other musicians for those projects would be hard. Despite the different personalities, musical chemistry is always at the root of good music.

Paolo Fresu Trio & Devil Quartet

Joel Ross is the latest rising star of vibraphone. After the common thread uniting Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton, this extraordinary instrument didn’t have a chance to rejoice. There were not many important players, until Joel Ross. Originally from Chicago, he shouldn’t be seen only as an expert in this instrument but also as a leader and composer jazzman. His talent as a soloist can be fully appreciated in the trio.


Joel Ross Trio w/ Jermaine Paul & Jeremy Dutton

A theater, some musicians, and words used as signage are combined to connect jazz and its creativity with feelings, passion and obsessions that have defined our time and return in the images that document them, from the imagery of cinema to the search of art beyond the common sense of things.

The Feeling of Jazz – A Century

Teatro del Carmine

A very popular DJ and radio host, Nick The Nightfly (his real name is Malcolm MacDonald Charlton, while his stage name is an homage to Donald Fagen’s album title) begins as a musician and singer. When he was young, Malcolm was a promising soccer player (the Scottish U18 national team selected him) and a badminton player, but the music was his real love.

An Italian citizen since 1982, he is a star of Radio Monte Carlo for his cultural and ironic radio show, in which people can always listen to great music. He has hosted Sting, Pat Metheny, Peter Gabriel, Ryūichi Sakamoto, Herbie Hancock, Miriam Makeba, Caetano Veloso, Enya, Donald Fagen, Pino Daniele, Annie Lennox, and many others.

Nick The Nightfly Quintet

Palazzo dei Sette

There’s no need to introduce Funk Off to those who attend Umbria Jazz. The Tuscan street band has become very popular with its original and recognizable formula: to overcome the concept of a marching band in the New Orleans tradition by proposing enthralling, spectacular, modern, and engaging music written and conducted by Dario Cecchini.

Funk Off

Centro Storico Orvieto

The Benedict Gospel Choir  from South Carolina is a dynamic and energic group of 30 elements. Created by Reverend Darryl Izzard, the choir has become an icon among the greatest exponents of gospel music in the USA. The winner of five out of seven editions of the prestigious Black Music Caucus Choir Competition of New York, the Benedict Gospel Choir draws on various genres (gospel, spiritual, blues, reggae and African traditional music). The choir performed together with many renowned artists such as Tramaine Hawkins, Shirley Caesar, Donald Lawrence (Tri-City Singers), Ricky Dillard (New Generation Chorale of Chicago), Norman Hutchins, O’landa Draper & The Associates, and participated in important events such as the Christmas Concert in the Vatican (2000) and the Christmas Concert in Monte Carlo. Internationally speaking, the choir has toured Ghana, West Africa, Caracas, Venezuela, and Bogotá. The choir has recently performed for the Prince and Princess of Monaco. The group has been seen and listened to by millions of people through TV and radio performances worldwide. It has been the number one choir among the college gospel choir in the USA for more than a decade, obtaining important awards from the National Black Music Caucus of New York and the HBCU National Hall of Fame.

Mass for Peace & Gospel w/ Benedict Gospel Choir

Duomo di Orvieto

It all started with early jazz and its charm: the soundtrack of the Roaring Twenties of the first capitals of jazz music, from New Orleans to New York and Chicago. The Chicago Stompers are the most internationally renowned Italian hot jazz ensemble. These young musicians have specialized in performing philologically the repertoire of the American and European orchestras between the 20s and the 30s.

Chicago Stompers

“After Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn, and Samara Joy, who debuted at Umbria Jazz, Ekep Nkwelle will join this list.” Here’s how Artistic Director Carlo Pagnotta presents this 25-year-old Cameroonian-American singer, the new revelation among the female jazz vocalists. No wonder she was honored with the prestigious Juilliard Career Advancement Grant.

From the vibrant streets of Washington, DC, to the heart of New York City’s jazz scene, Ekep’s artistic path through the esteemed Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University, and The Juilliard School has been quick and without uncertainty. She has quickly won the esteem of Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut, Peter Washington, and Emmet Cohen. She performed in renowned venues such as the Radio City Music Hall, where she shared the stage with pianist Lang Lang, the Library of Congress, Marian’s Jazzroom, the Kennedy Center, and the Lincoln Center. She also performed at the Newport Jazz Festival. She collaborated with Dee Dee Bridgewater during the fourth year of her exclusive, all-women artistic residency, The Woodshed Network.

Ekep Nkwelle

Ethan Iverson is a pianist, composer and critic: an authentic music intellectual. Iverson has become famous in the jazz world for being a member of The Bad Plus. The trio had the merit to renovate – Iverson’s contribution was fundamental – the language of the classic piano-double bass-drums formula. Iverson has performed multiple times at Umbria Jazz, in piano solo at the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria and with Joshua Redman. He has also played with the quartet of cult musician Billy Hart. For Umbria Jazz, Iverson has created interesting projects with the Festival orchestra: the latest one is “Simply Cinematic”, a reinterpretation of film music. Iverson also performs in trio at Umbria Jazz Winter, with Thomas Morgan on double bass and Kush Abadey on drums.

Ethan Iverson Trio

He is a songwriter and pianist from Naples who won the 2007 Carosone Prize. Lorenzo Hengeller takes inspiration from Renato Carosone, Lelio Luttazzi, Gorni Kramer, Fred Buscaglione, and Vittorio De Sica, both in his songs and the reinterpretation of the great classics of the Italian songbook of the 30s-60s, with a particular focus on the Neapolitan repertoire. Swing and irony are combined to produce an elegant, easy-going, relaxing lightness during his concerts – he will perform in trio in Orvieto. He is a gentle entertainer who rests on a solid musical foundation.

Lorenzo Hengeller Trio

Nico Gori is an incredibly talented and experienced musician. If you think of clarinet, Gori should be the first to come to mind in the Italian jazz scene. The Young Lions’s sophisticated arrangements and energy generate jazz music with a tremendous emotional impact, tied to tradition but with eyes open to modernity.

The Florentine musician has performed (even on saxophone) at the highest levels in any situation – big bands, symphony orchestras, and jazz groups – both as a leader and a highly-requested sideman, ranging from classical music to jazz, from funky to acid jazz, and performing in theaters, clubs, festivals, radio and TV shows all over the world.

Nico Gori Young Lions Quartet

The Good Fellas

He has produced successful compilations under the aegis of The Nightfly and Monte Carlo Nights, but he also loves to play music, both with the Monte Carlo Nights Orchestra and a smaller band like the quintet. Nick is a lovely and dynamic figure (artistic director of Blue Note Milano, festival organizer, producer and talent scout) who is well known by the public of Umbria Jazz for his live radio broadcasts of the Festival in Perugia and as presenter and performer.

The Hot Gravel Eskimos, led by multi-instrumentalist Mauro L. Porro – one of the main representatives of Italian hot jazz – rediscover the joy of tradition by performing well-known and lesser-known tunes of the 30s and 40s of the 20th century. It is a philological operation: period instruments, faithfully reproduced orchestrations from the old 78 rpm records and a stage presence inspired by the fashion of the Swing era. An authentic journey through time!

Hot Gravel Eskimos

Joel Ross is the latest rising star of vibraphone. After the common thread uniting Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton, this extraordinary instrument didn’t have a chance to rejoice. There were not many important players, until Joel Ross. Originally from Chicago, he shouldn’t be seen only as an expert in this instrument but also as a leader and composer jazzman. His talent as a soloist can be fully appreciated in the trio.

“L’Arcobaleno: I colori dell’amicizia”
Concert by Banda Giovanile della Filarmonica “Luigi Mancinelli” Orvieto. Project SaràBanda

Uj4kids

There’s no need to introduce Funk Off to those who attend Umbria Jazz. The Tuscan street band has become very popular with its original and recognizable formula: to overcome the concept of a marching band in the New Orleans tradition by proposing enthralling, spectacular, modern, and engaging music written and conducted by Dario Cecchini.

This is how Funk Off has become the audience favorite since Umbria Jazz introduced them in 2003. The reason for such popularity is straightforward: the group is fun, it plays well, and its sense of entertainment, together with its musical innovations, manages to renew a centuries-old genre such as the marching band, which is part of the dawn of jazz music.

New York is their home now, but they come from all over the world: Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica, and Hawaii. They are Mwenso and the Shakes. Michael Mwenso is their charismatic leader, a vocalist from Sierra Leone who moved to London. After a late-night jam session at Ronnie Scott’s, Wynton Marsalis hired him as a musician.

Mwenso and the Shakes form a group (more than a band) of global artists whose music aims at merging the highest form of entertainment and artistry.

“A Soulful Christmas” hosted by Mwenso & The Shakes

Happy New Year! A dinner to celebrate the New Year with good live music will take place at the Palazzo dei Sette with:

New Year’s Eve Dinner

Happy New Year! A dinner to celebrate the New Year with good live music will take place at the Palazzo del Popolo – Sala Expo with:


The concert focuses on Paolo Fresu’s creativity and wisdom as a leader. Some of Fresu’s closest colleagues join him in two great small bands – the trio and the quartet – reflecting his personality and perfectly translating the inspiration. These artists usually perform with Fresu on his label’s records, Tǔk Music, and tours. Over time, they have created a profound harmony so much that imagining other musicians for those projects would be hard. Despite the different personalities, musical chemistry is always at the root of good music.


“After Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn, and Samara Joy, who debuted at Umbria Jazz, Ekep Nkwelle will join this list.” Here’s how Artistic Director Carlo Pagnotta presents this 25-year-old Cameroonian-American singer, the new revelation among the female jazz vocalists. No wonder she was honored with the prestigious Juilliard Career Advancement Grant.

Ethan Iverson, is a pianist, composer and critic: an authentic intellectual of music. Iverson has become famous in the jazz world for being a member of The Bad Plus. The trio had the merit to renovate – Iverson’s contribution was fundamental – the language of the classic piano-double bass-drums formula. Iverson has performed multiple times at Umbria Jazz, in piano solo at the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria and with Joshua Redman. He has also played with the quartet of cult musician Billy Hart. For Umbria Jazz, Iverson has created interesting projects with the Festival orchestra, such as the one on Bud Powell and “Ritornello, Sinfonias & Cadenzas”, a reinterpretation of classical structures with the jazz language. He then arranged Burt Bacharach’s famous songs for Dianne Reeves, always with the Umbria Jazz Orchestra. This new project, “Simply Cinematic”, consists of a reinterpretation of film music. Iverson performs in this project with his trio, including Thomas Morgan on double bass and Kush Abadey on drums.

“Simply Cinematic” Ethan Iverson & UJ Orchestra feat. Thomas Morgan & Kush Abadey

Teatro Mancinelli Orvieto

Hot jazz in the 1920s New Orleans experienced its golden age and was the starting point for the following development of swing and bebop. Despite his young age, Mauro Porro is considered one of the most important musicians of hot jazz, which is philologically performed with instruments and techniques of that time.

The concert is a tribute to the 1920s hot jazz in its various styles (Dixieland, Chicago, New Orleans, New York), with the typical ensemble including trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, tuba bass, banjo and drums.

Brilliant performances of well-known and lesser-known tunes from the golden age of jazz take place through free improvisation and meticulous transcriptions from 78 rpm records.

Dixie Blue Blowers

For some years now, this house band has performed at the most recent summer and winter editions of Umbria Jazz as a resident band and the heart of the night-time jam sessions. The rhythm section now includes Luca Mannutza on piano, Jason Weaver on double bass, and Willie Jones III on drums.

The House Band

Jazz is commonly seen as a “serious” genre of music that is often complex, hard to play, and out of any temptation of easy listening. It’s not always like that. There has always been a kind of jazz that has fun, entertains, creates a good mood, seeks a relaxed approach, and encourages people to dance. The Good Fellas – with their rockin’ swing – are part of it. They are good musicians who know how to play swing and rock & roll, perfectly stepping into the role, recalling the 50s, and taking inspiration from icons such as Louis Prima, Louis Jordan and Elvis. Our mind goes back to that Italian-American genre by Fred Buscaglione and Renato Carosone and to Italy dreaming of America and its myths.


Dino Rubino, Marco Bardoscia and Stefano Bagnoli usually perform together in Paolo Fresu’s live and studio projects and for his label, Tǔk Music. Their chemistry is well established, and the piano trio may be the best formula to let the three artists express their full potential. An album of the trio, “Solitude”, was released a few months ago.

Rubino’s triple album of new songs seems to meet the need to set a key moment in his career with such a challenging and ambitious product. It’s Dino Rubino’s seventh album on Tǔk Musi, the first in trio after 11 years, and it has a specific structure: the first two records include original compositions written by the pianists in the latest years, while the third one mainly contains standards. The album takes its title from one of these standards: Solitude by Duke Ellington.

Dino Rubio Trio w/ Marco Bardoscia & Stefano Bagnoli

New York is their home now, but they come from all over the world: Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica, and Hawaii. They are Mwenso and the Shakes. Michael Mwenso is their charismatic leader, a vocalist from Sierra Leone who moved to London. After a late-night jam session at Ronnie Scott’s, Wynton Marsalis hired him as a musician.

“A soulful Christmas” hosted by Mwenso & The Shakes

A very popular DJ and radio host, Nick The Nightfly (his real name is Malcolm MacDonald Charlton, while his stage name is an homage to Donald Fagen’s album title) begins as a musician and singer. When he was young, Malcolm was a promising soccer player (the Scottish U18 national team selected him) and a badminton player, but the music was his real love.

The Feeling of Jazz is the history of a century or a language experiment to tell the centuries-old history through music, images and words.

A theater, some musicians, and words used as signage are combined to connect jazz and its creativity with feelings, passion and obsessions that have defined our time and return in the images that document them, from the imagery of cinema to the search of art beyond the common sense of things.

Paolo Fresu’s trio, along with Dino Rubino and Marco Bardoscia, is one of his most evocative projects. This great small chamber-like trio is capable of unlimited nuances in sound. Their music is intimate but moving and highly communicative: such different personalities find perfect harmony on stage. Fresu, Rubino and Bardoscia are different musicians, but perfectly assimilable and complementary. A refined three-part dialogue, with a great emotional and intellectual impact that consists of Fresu’s warm sound and vivid and creative mind, the powerful and engaging lines of Bardoscia’s double bass and the elegant and vibrant Rubino’s pianism. Fresu formed this trio for the theatrical project “Tempo di Chet – La versione di Chet Baker” produced by the Teatro Stabile di Bolzano. The trio is now on tour with another theatrical work. This time, the project is focused on another great trumpeter, Miles Davis: a work in which music and lyrics tell a cross-section of the “major” history of jazz music. As it’s always time for Chet, it’s always time for Miles.

Paolo Fresu Trio w/ Dino Rubino & Marco Bardoscia

Nico Gori is an incredibly talented and experienced musician. If you think of clarinet, Gori should be the first to come to mind in the Italian jazz scene. The Young Lions’s sophisticated arrangements and energy generate jazz music with a tremendous emotional impact, tied to tradition but with eyes open to modernity.

Traveling event of music and stories by Scuola Comunale di Musica “Adriano Casasole”, Collettivo Teatro Animazione, Nuova Biblioteca Luigi Fumi.

Dino Rubino, Marco Bardoscia and Stefano Bagnoli usually perform together in Paolo Fresu’s live and studio projects and for his label, Tǔk Music. Their chemistry is well established, and the piano trio may be the best formula to let the three artists express their full potential. An album of the trio, “Solitude”, was released a few months ago.

Umbria Jazz

Jul 5, 2026

UJ4KIDS | Samba-Enredo Workshop

Jul 5, 2026

UJ4KIDS | dB – Digital Breakfast

Articles & News

Umbria Jazz