Berlin Jazz Week #8 – Collective improv(e)ment

The capital continues to be regarded internationally as one of the most exciting cities for musicians in this genre: here, boundaries dissolve, new forms emerge, and the stylistic diversity ranges from mainstream to avant-garde.

Jazzwoche Berlin #8 highlights this unique scene for a week and invites you to discover its diversity and spirit of experimentation.

Jazz Week Berlin #8 is themed “collective improv(e)ment”—a multifaceted motto that brings together central artistic, social, and cultural-political questions of the current jazz scene.

Together. Unpredictable. And quite lively.

At the center is collective improvisation—that special art form where no one knows exactly what will happen next, and that is precisely where the magic lies. Music emerges in the moment, from the interaction: a glance, a sound, an impulse—and suddenly something develops that no one could have planned alone. Excitement guaranteed.

But “collective improv(e)ment” doesn’t just happen on stage. Behind the scenes, there is just as much collective thinking, organizing, and experimentation. Collectives, networks, and self-built structures have long been the driving force behind Berlin’s jazz scene. Here, things are tried out, discarded, reimagined—and sometimes, quite incidentally, the future is invented.

And because good improvisation always has to do with open ears, the focus is also on the conditions under which this music is created. How can collaboration become fairer, more sustainable, and more united? Jazz Week sees itself as a space for precisely these questions—and for conversations that may not provide all the answers, but strike the right notes. Thus, this year’s theme connects artistic practice, collective action, and cultural-political engagement—and invites us to experience and rethink jazz not only as music, but as a living, collective process.

Jazz Week Berlin has been initiated and organized by IG Jazz Berlin since 2019. It is supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. IG Jazz Berlin is the cultural-political representative of Berlin’s jazz and improvised music scene. With currently around 400 members, IG Jazz Berlin advocates for the interests of Berlin’s diverse scene—not only its musicians, but also its event organizers and other stakeholders in the field of jazz and improvised music.

Opening: June 19, 2026, Club Gretchen, Obentrautstr. 19–21, 10963 Berlin

Jazz concerts, improvised music, and discussions: June 20–26, 2026, at numerous Berlin clubs

Under the patronage of:

Sarah Wedl-Wilson, Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion, Berlin