EIF 2026 first look: Jim Gilchrist on contemporary music
In keeping with this year’s American theme, jazz will feature prominently in the 2026 EIF programme, writes Jim Gilchrist
Against the backdrop of a bitterly fractured world, this year’s Edinburgh International Festival rallying cry of All Rise marks the 250th anniversary of American independence. Perhaps no surprise, then, that the programme showcases what was originally a uniquely American art form, with the festival’s first ever jazz ensemble residency featuring one of the world’s greatest big bands, the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, as trumpeter Wynton Marsalis prepares to step down after 40 years as its artistic director.
The residency kicks off with a performance of Marsalis’s monumental symphony, All Rise, its title inspiring that festival theme. The orchestra will also perform Duke Ellington’s milestone Black, Brown and Beige as well as an exclusive collaboration with virtuoso pianist Yuja Wang.
Other jazz events include a return of Welsh pianist Joe Webb and drummer Domo Branch to lead a jam with the Rising Stars of Jazz they’ll be mentoring. Glasgow’s simmering jazz scene is represented by trombonist Liam Shortall’s genre-defying corto.alto while another guest is Nigerian-born British saxophonist Camilla George.
Elsewhere, American multiple Grammy-winning fiddle virtuoso Mark O’Connor will curate one of the popular late sessions at The Hub, as will Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel, Festival director Nicola Benedetti and Celtic Connections director Donald Shaw.
Further folk luminaries include smallpipes virtuoso Brighde Chaimbeul with the Scottish Ensemble, while concertina maestro Simon Thoumire teams up with Perthshire fiddler and violist Patsy Reid and Orcadian fiddler Catriona Price presents an intriguing liaison with Argentinian musicians. From Fermanagh, meanwhile, award-winning singer and composer RÓIS brings her eerie blend of folk, sean-nós and electronics.
“World music” names include Orchestra Baobab with their exhilarating blend of Afro-Cuban and West African griot music, as well as Rwanda’s first ever all-women drum ensemble Ingoma Nshya and a welcome return of the Aga Khan Master Musicians, whose glittering performances have been highlights of previous Hub programmes.
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