2025 Jazztopad NYC Festival

From June 13–18 in New York City, the 2025 Jazztopad Festival will present a lineup including: Immanuel Wilkins with the Lutosławski Quartet (World Premiere – watch live here), Michiyo Yagi with Hamid Drake, Patricia Brennan & Maciej Obara, Maciej Obara NYC Quartet with John Patitucci & Nasheet Waits, Wacław Zimpel with Brooklyn Raga Massive with special guest Amir ElSaffar. Concerts will be held in Manhattan in the Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium and Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as the Rizzoli Bookstore. Concerts will also take place in Brooklyn, at Barbès and in private living rooms.

This paradigm-shifting Polish festival returns to New York City for its ninth edition this year, continuing its mission of building bridges between the most adventurous voices in contemporary improvised music. With concerts and events across Manhattan and Brooklyn, this year’s edition once again invites audiences into intimate, boundary-erasing performances by internationally celebrated artists and emerging innovators.

Presented by the National Forum of Music in Wrocław in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, Jazztopad NYC has become a vital satellite of Poland’s most forward-thinking jazz festival. Each year, Artistic Director Piotr Turkiewicz brings together cutting-edge artists from across the globe, forging a creative platform that emphasizes new work, improvisational exchange, and international collaboration.

I’ve always believed the best jazz festivals don’t just present music—they build communities across borders. This year’s New York edition reflects our most global vision yet. From Japanese koto traditions and Iraqi maqam to South Indian sounds and Mexican vibraphone improvisation and Polish string quartet textures, these artists are redefining what improvised music can sound like in a truly international context…. Improvisation is a universal language. Jazztopad invites musicians to speak across cultural vocabularies—sometimes for the first time. It’s not about seamless fusion, but real conversation—creative exchange in real time. That’s why I’m especially proud of this year’s premieres and small-room collaborations. You can hear the risk, the trust, and the wonder in the sound.

Piotr Turkiewicz, Jazztopad Artistic Director

June 13–18, 2025 | times vary
2025 Jazztopad NYC Festival
Various venues in Manhattan & Brooklyn
Info, tickets & full schedule: instytutpolski.pl

[Source: Press release]