Now entering its 34th year, the EFG London Jazz Festival returns to the capital from 13–22 November, bringing ten days of headline concerts, intimate club nights, bold new commissions and community-led events across venues both iconic and under-the-radar. It’s a citywide celebration that thrives on contrast: the hush of a late-night set, the electricity of a packed hall, and the thrill of hearing artists who refuse to stay inside one genre’s borders. Expect groundbreaking songwriters, adventurous ensembles, and fearless cross-genre collaborators—each adding a fresh chapter to a legacy that never stops evolving.
One of the festival’s features is Coltrane 100: Lovano, Aldana, Makhathini, Oh, Watts on Friday 13 November 2026. A century after the birth of John Coltrane, Coltrane 100 arrives not as a museum piece, but as a living, breathing tribute—one that recognises Coltrane’s influence as something still in motion. This is a collective offering shaped by musicians who understand that the deepest respect isn’t imitation; it’s continuation.
As Joe Lovano puts it:
“This quintet will honor Coltrane’s compositions as a springboard to explore and express ourselves. We do not seek to recreate, but rather to create in the spirit of Coltrane.”
That spirit—restless, searching, devotional—runs through every name on this bill. Lovano and Melissa Aldana, two saxophonists with distinct voices and shared lineage, meet at the crossroads of post-Coltrane fire and modern storytelling, where tone becomes narrative, and improvisation becomes identity. Nduduzo Makhathini brings a profound sense of purpose to the piano, drawing from South African musical and spiritual traditions to shape a language that’s both intimate and expansive—music that feels like memory, prayer, and forward motion all at once.
Holding the centre is the unmistakable authority of Linda May Han Oh on bass—clear, grounded, and quietly commanding—paired with the volcanic precision of Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, a player whose decades of experience don’t soften the edge; they sharpen it.
Together, these leading voices in modern jazz come together for a rare collective set—one that honours Coltrane not by looking back, but by pushing outward. In a festival built on discovery and legacy, Coltrane 100 promises both: a reminder of where the music comes from, and a glimpse of where it can still go.
For further information, please visit the Barbican website.
Images provided, courtesy of Barbican
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