Gastein jazz festival puts quintets centre stage

The Jazzherbst festival in Bad Hofgastein will focus on five-piece bands when it returns next week, ORF reports. The programme, titled “Take 5”, features musicians from Austria, several European countries, Brazil and the United States.

The festival runs from Wednesday, October 7, to Sunday evening, October 11, at the Sägewerk cultural centre in Bad Hofgastein, in the Pongau region. Impresario Sepp Grabmaier is again leading the event, which presents different styles of contemporary jazz.

Serbian drummer Vladimir Kostadinovic, who lives in Austria, opens the festival with his quintet. His latest album, “Iris”, was made in New York and includes seven of his own nine compositions. The music combines complex rhythms with personal themes, including family.

JBBG Smål, a quintet formed in 2018 by Horst-Michael Schaffer and Heinrich von Kalnein, comes from the circle of Jazz Bigband Graz. Its current album, “Fruits of Passion & Sorrow”, blends jazz with rock and world music.

Vorarlberg saxophonist and composer Gregor Storf, 28, will perform mainly his own compositions with his quintet, “Partners in Time”. He was a member of the European Broadcasting Union’s Euroradio Jazz Orchestra in 2025. The group also includes Philipp Zarfl, Urs Hager, Chris Parker and Max Wintersperger.

Austrian pianist Reinhard Micko will play with Herb Berger, Karl Sayer, Harry Tanschek and Hungarian percussionist András Dés. His programme draws on personal themes and pays tribute to musicians who influenced him, including Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and John Scofield.

Swiss drummer Florian Arbenz leads an international quintet for “Conversation_LAB”, featuring London pianist Ivo Neame, US saxophonist Greg Osby, British trumpeter Percy Pursglove and Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras. The programme focuses on the interplay of different jazz traditions.

Brazilian music will close the festival with Meretrio, a group led by Emiliano Sampaio that has been performing for more than 20 years. It combines Afro-Brazilian traditions with jazz and chamber music. For its 2026 programme, the trio will be joined by saxophonist Joander Cruz and percussionist Chico Santana.