The headliner of the Christmas Jazz festival is the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, regarded as one of the world’s finest big bands, led by legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and featuring vocalists Catherine Russell and Georgia Heers. The festive opening concert, “Big Band Holidays,” will take place on 30 November at Alexela Concert Hall. Tickets go on sale on 27 August at 12 noon, with the first tickets available at a 40% discount! Read more and find tickets HERE.
“Wynton Marsalis is one of those musicians whose work has shaped an entire generation of jazz, and whose presence on stage is always an event,” says festival artistic director Anne Erm. “Estonian music lovers will now have the opportunity to see him with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for the first time, and at a particularly special moment: the 2026 world tour will be Marsalis’ final tour as the orchestra’s artistic director. So this is more than just a great concert – at Christmas Jazz, audiences will have the opportunity to witness the closing of a chapter in jazz history.” The concert, inspired by the Christmas repertoire of Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, is brought to Estonian audiences in cooperation with Jazzkaare’s long-standing partner Jazz Pesulad.
Performing in Estonia for the first time, Wynton Marsalis, a nine-time Grammy Award winner, has served as artistic director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1991. Trumpeter Marsalis is one of the most influential jazz musicians of our time, with more than 150 recordings, five symphonies, instrumental concertos and hundreds of works for big band to his name. He is the only musician to have won Grammy Awards in both the jazz and classical categories in the same year, and the first jazz musician to receive the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Under Marsalis’ leadership, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has become one of the world’s most acclaimed jazz ensembles, bringing together the classic big band tradition with the work of contemporary composers and serving as one of the foremost ambassadors of traditional American jazz.
At the Christmas Jazz “Big Band Holidays” concert, the orchestra’s powerful sound will be complemented by the luminous vocals of Catherine Russell and Georgia Heers. Russell has received three Grammy nominations and has toured with numerous international stars, including David Bowie and Steely Dan. Georgia Heers is an outstanding young jazz vocalist who has attracted attention with her nuanced voice and deep understanding of the jazz tradition.
The 31st Christmas Jazz festival will take place from 30 November to 15 December. Tickets for the Christmas Jazz opening concert go on sale on Thursday, 27 August at 12 noon, with a limited number of tickets available at a 40% discount for the earliest buyers. The full festival programme will be announced in early October. Follow Jazzkaar’s activities on the website, Facebook and Instagram.
The main supporters of the Christmas Jazz festival are JURA, Jazz Pesulad and Delfi Kultuur. Annual supporters are United Motors, Tallink and Nordic Hotel Forum. The concert by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is supported by Jazz Pesulad. Noblessner supports concerts at the Nobel Hall. Christmas Jazz is supported by Reval Café, Aktaprint, ERR, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and UNESCO City of Music Tallinn.