Swanage Jazz Festival Announces 2026 Programme 10 – 12 July

Sandpit Field and Mowlem Theatre, Swanage.

Swanage Jazz Festival today announced its programme for 2026 – the 35th Swanage Jazz Festival – and also announced a number of new developments.

The wide-ranging programme hosts over thirty well known and much-loved British artists including The Nigel Price Trio, The Alan Barnes Quartet, American sax player Greg Abate, Steely Jazz, The John Etheridge/Christian Garrick Duo, Alex Clarke’s ‘Out of The Woods’ Quartet, The Kim Cypher Band, Jo Harrop and trio and the Tim Whitehead Quartet.

The programme reflects three significant Jazz anniversaries. Miles Davis’s 100th birthday is celebrated with performances by The Steve Waterman Octet and also Dorset trumpeter Andy Urqhart’s ‘Electric Miles’. John Coltrane’s 100th birthday is marked by a recreation of “Coltrane and Hartman on Impulse!” featuring Mark Lockheart and singer Marvin Muoneke. And British Jazz piano legend Stan Tracey is remembered with a performance of his timeless ‘Under Milk Wood’ suite by his son Clark Tracey’s Sextet – including two narrators.

A new partnership between Swanage Jazz Festival and Poole promoters SoundCellar reinforces the Festival’s more contemporary edge with performances by a new collaboration between Laura Jurd and Rob Luft, British pianist Ivo Neame and his trio and Al Swainger’s ‘Pointless Beauty’. The contemporary programme is bolstered by The Pete Roth Trio with noted drummer Bill Bruford, Yetii, a further performance by Rob Luft with his own quartet and by pianist and Mercury Prize nominee Joe Webb and his trio.

Swanage’s customary New Orleans programme is being relocated back to a marquee on Sandpit Field with performances by The Pete Allen Big Jazz Band, Roger Marks’ Fiesta Five, The New Orleans Jazz Bandits, The Hot House Combo and The Riveria Ramblers. The Bateman Brothers’ Tribute to Louis Armstrong has been re-booked, but will be staged in the Mowlem Theatre’s main space.

Friday Jazz Improvisation Workshop

In a further development, Swanage Jazz Festival is partnering with AB Workshops to accommodate a day-long Jazz improvisation workshop under the leadership of Jazz saxist and Purcell School Head of Jazz, Simon Allen. The workshop is open to all instruments and is suitable for instrumentalists of Grade 4 standard and above. It takes place on Friday 10 July 10am to 4pm Further details on this are here: www.abworkshops.com/simon-allen-jazz-improv-workshop/

The full Festival programme is listed below. The usual free Festival Fringe and free Stretch Tent programme plus Sunday Church Service are being developed and further announcements will be made in due course.

Paul Kelly, Festival Director said “It’s great to be able to offer another eclectic Festival programme that offers great choice and value for money, especially after the financial challenges we encountered last year. To try and broaden our audience, we are offering free admission to Under 16s accompanied by an adult. We also have a number of half priced day tickets for Under 25s on offer.”

More information is on the Festival website and tickets for the Festival are on sale now at: www.swanagejazzfestival.co.uk/tickets