Each summer, the Siena Jazz School transforms the historic Tuscan city into a vibrant hub of contemporary jazz through its International Summer Workshop – an intensive program of masterclasses and workshops designed for students from around the world.

For its 56th edition, held from July 21 to August 7, 2026, the Festival placed itself under the sign of creation — not only as the transmission of knowledge, but as the generation of new ensembles and new artistic encounters. On stage, once again, the Siena Jazz Academy brought together artists of note, including Jen Shyu, Nicole Mitchell, Marquis Hill, David Linx, Jason Palmer, Ben van Gelder, and James Brandon Lewis.

The International Summer Workshop remains the Academy’s flagship event of the year. Each evening, after a day of workshops and masterclasses shared with some ninety students from around the world, these same artists take to the stage for the Siena Jazz Masters concert series – putting into practice, in front of their own students, the lessons taught earlier in the day. At every concert, one spots the same students slipping in to watch their teachers perform, fresh out of that afternoon’s masterclass.

August 3 – Piazza Jacopo della Quercia

The evening opens on a site steeped in history: Piazza Jacopo della Quercia occupies the exact footprint of the never-completed nave of the “Duomo Nuovo”, the cathedral extension abandoned in the 14th century. It is in this unfinished cathedral nave that a first trio, rich in shifting textures, performs: Jen Shyu (voice), Nicole Mitchell (flute, her playing agile, moving between breath and song), and Fabrizio Puglisi (piano).

The program, contemporary and deeply felt, strings together homages: a piece by Alice Coltrane, Wisdom Eye, carried by a vocal and gestural performance with mystical, symbolic reach; a tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim, with lyrics written by Jen Shyu; the set floats, the music seeming to drift among shadows; then a composition by Nicole Mitchell, and a surprise, an Italian song slipped in as a nod to the host country. Siena Jazz, once again, proves itself a place of innovation, where the old and the new meet.

At 10:30pm, a change in decibels: Marquis Hill (trumpet), Brandon Ross (guitar), Thomas Morgan (double bass), and Savannah Harris (drums) take over for a set squarely built on exploration. The concert takes shape in real time, like a chain of sonic landscapes; every musician is given free rein to express themselves: Savannah Harris‘s playing is precise, teeming with detail, and leaves a decisive mark. Marquis Hill‘s tone, soft and airy, steers a set entirely given over to improvisation and mutual listening.

August 4 – Piazza Jacopo della Quercia

Second evening, and a question that is not really a question: guitar and double bass – is there a more beautiful instrumental pairing? David Linx (voice), Domenico Caliri (guitar), and Brad Jones (double bass) form a brand-new trio – a lineup that is literally getting acquainted on stage, yet playing a repertoire already firmly written.

The set opens with a composition by Domenico Caliri, its tones by turns mysterious, unsettling, and troubled. It’s followed by Chorinho para uma Ovelha, where David Linx’s vocal agility carries the themes with expressiveness, alternating frantic improvisation with fresh vocal nuances. On Dizzy Gillespie‘s Con Alma, Domenico Caliri unfurls tremendous virtuosity from the very introduction – David Linx, for his part, proves both the technicality and the precision of his playing. Mouse by Domenico Caliri, precedes Just You Stand, penned by David Linx: a beautiful, melodic, melancholy piece that draws our gaze, with real emotion, to the surrounding ruins – a wink, surely not accidental, at the very setting of the concert.

At 10:30pm, a change of lineup and temperament: Jason Palmer (trumpet), Ben van Gelder (alto saxophone), Thomas Morgan (double bass), and Savannah Harris (drums) deliver an explosive set, somewhere between swing and bop. On the program: Wayne Shorter‘s Pinocchio, Rise – penned by Ben van Gelder – and a vibrant tribute to Eric Dolphy. Ben van Gelder‘s playing, fluid, unhesitating, remarkably clear, alternates ballads and bebop runs with a striking range of colors.

August 5 – Bastione San Domenico

A change of scenery: the Bastione San Domenico hosts a much-anticipated concert, the James Brandon Lewis Quartet, with Aruán Ortiz (piano), Brad Jones (double bass), and Chad Taylor (drums).

An award-winning saxophonist recognized by critics worldwide, James Brandon Lewis performs pieces drawn from Omni, released in June 2026 on Intakt Records. The set, nervy and urgent, gives ample room to committed, playful solos; James Brandon Lewis‘s saxophone takes on the character of a roar, raw and inhabited, before turning into a buoyant bop. A thoroughly first-rate evening.

August 6 – Orti dei Tolomei

A change of register for the Festival’s penultimate evening: onward to the Orti dei Tolomei, in the territory of the Contrada della Tartuca, where the Final Concerts of Ensemble Classes open. No headliners here: the stage belongs to the students of the International Summer Workshop, gathered into ensembles formed over the weeks of workshops, and guided on stage by the same artist-teachers encountered throughout the Festival.

The setting alone is worth the trip: the view over Siena from the Orti dei Tolomei gardens is sublime, the whole city laid out below, bathed in evening light. But what strikes most is the mood – an end-of-festival atmosphere, made up of equal parts relief among the organizers and a warmth, lovely to witness, between teachers and students. After weeks of masterclasses, rehearsals, and mutual listening, that closeness finally takes the shape of a shared stage: the Final Concerts are no mere end-of-session exercises, but genuine artistic productions, in which everything that makes Siena Jazz distinctive can be read – that constant porousness between teaching and creation, between master and student, that has run through the entire Festival.

Thanks to the dedication of the Siena Jazz faculty, Tuscany once again nurtures a dynamic pool of talented musicians we’ll soon see on international stages – and, who knows, perhaps even back in Siena one day, leading summer masterclasses of their own.