From November 1 through 24, 2026, Rome will celebrate the golden anniversary of its iconic Jazz Festival. Spanning 18 headline concerts across celebrated venues like the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, the Casa del Jazz, and the Alcazar—alongside special performances in Fossanova and Rieti—the milestone event honors a rich legacy.

Established in 1976, the festival has hosted over 1,000 concerts, charting the evolution of jazz across generations and musical languages. The 2026 edition pays tribute to Miles Davis in honor of his birth centennial. Titled Rereading Miles, Rethinking Jazz, the program aims to honor the trumpet icon without falling into nostalgic clichés.

The star-studded lineup features renowned artists such as Jason Miles (the producer and arranger closely tied to Davis’s electric era), Paolo Fresu, Gregory Hutchinson, Jeremy Pelt, and Erik Truffaz. Over the past five decades, the festival has welcomed legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea, cementing its place on the global jazz map. This year’s roster also highlights contemporary giants like Kurt Elling with the Yellowjackets, Steve Coleman and the Five Elements, and the Latin jazz duo Hamilton de Holanda and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, alongside fresh acts like the Polish quintet Omasta.