In short
- The Cartagena Jazz Festival has nine days and 12 concerts left: it begins tonight with Kenny Barron and ends on Sunday 15 with Samara Joy.
- The big names play at the Auditorio El Batel: as well as Barron and Samara Joy, there is Kurt Elling with the Yellowjackets, Rocío Márquez, and Rita Payés with Lucía Fumero.
- Tickets cost between €5 and €35, and two of the remaining concerts are free: the jam on Thursday 12 at the Mister Witt Café and the Big Band del Conservatorio on Saturday 14 in the street.
- Kenny Barron, Kurt Elling and Samara Joy then continue their tours at other November festivals: Málaga, Madrid, Lugo and Zaragoza host one of the three in the following days.
The 45th Cartagena Jazz Festival enters its final week. It began on 28 October and has already featured Ibrahim Maalouf, Andrea Motis and Nubiyan Twist. Now comes the home stretch: from tonight, Saturday 7 November, until Sunday 15, with pianist Kenny Barron opening and singer Samara Joy closing at the Auditorio El Batel. In between, Kurt Elling, Rocío Márquez, Nacho Vegas and Rita Payés take the stage.
Cartagena Jazz Festival programme from 7 to 15 November
These are the remaining concerts, with times, venues and prices from the festival's official website:
- Saturday 7: Kenny Barron «Songbook», with Ekep Nkwelle, Russell Hall and Jonathan Barber. Auditorio El Batel, 20:00. Tickets at €35, €30 and €25.
- Sunday 8: Tito Ramírez on the terrace at El Batel, at 12:30 (€15); Kurt Elling & The Yellowjackets in the auditorium, at 19:00 (€35, €30 and €25).
- Tuesday 10: Sebastián Mondéjar, poetry and music recital. Mister Witt Café, 21:30, €5.
- Wednesday 11: La Patri. Mister Witt Café, 21:30, €5.
- Thursday 12: Nacho Vegas at the Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy, at 20:30 (€30); Hermes Alcaraz Trio and jam session at the Mister Witt Café, at 22:00, free entry.
- Friday 13: Rocío Márquez. Auditorio El Batel, 20:30, €25.
- Saturday 14: Big Band del Conservatorio in the Plaza Cartagenas del Mundo, at 12:30, free; Rita Payés & Lucía Fumero at El Batel, at 20:00 (€35, €30 and €25).
- Sunday 15: La Perra Blanco on the terrace at El Batel, at 12:30 (€18); Samara Joy in the auditorium, at 19:00 (€35, €30 and €25).
Kenny Barron, Kurt Elling and Samara Joy at El Batel
Tonight's concert carries the most historical weight of the week. Barron, born in Philadelphia in 1943, started out in Dizzy Gillespie's group in 1962 and worked with Stan Getz in the 1980s. In Cartagena he presents Songbook, the project from his 2025 album of original songs, featuring the voice of Ekep Nkwelle, who also sang on that recording.
On Sunday 8, singer Kurt Elling performs with the Yellowjackets, and the final weekend features two Spanish acts and an American finale. On Friday 13 flamenco singer Rocío Márquez arrives, and on Saturday 14 it is the turn of the duo Rita Payés and Lucía Fumero. On Sunday 15, American singer Samara Joy closes the festival.
The midday concerts on the terrace at El Batel and the evenings at the Mister Witt Café cost less and have a different atmosphere. On Thursday 12, Asturian artist Nacho Vegas brings his singer-songwriter repertoire to the Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy.
Cartagena Jazz Festival tickets: prices and where to buy
Tickets for the concerts at El Batel and on its terrace are sold on Bacantix, the auditorium's platform. Those for the Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy are sold on Compralaentrada. Both are linked from the festival's official website, which also sells a 45th Cartagena Jazz Festival pass on Bacantix without publishing its price on the page. For the €5 concerts at the Mister Witt Café, the website does not link to advance sales.
- Auditorio El Batel: €35, €30 and €25 depending on the area for Kenny Barron, Kurt Elling, Rita Payés and Samara Joy; €25 for Rocío Márquez.
- El Batel terrace: €15 for Tito Ramírez and €18 for La Perra Blanco.
- Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy: €30 for Nacho Vegas.
- Mister Witt Café: €5, except for the jam on Thursday 12, which is free.
- Plaza Cartagenas del Mundo: the Big Band del Conservatorio, free.
Availability for each concert does not appear on the festival's website and the ticketing platform does not show it without starting a purchase, so we cannot confirm which dates have few tickets left.
Kenny Barron, Kurt Elling and Samara Joy, also at other November festivals
Three of the Cartagena names continue their tours at other jazz festivals in the following days. Kenny Barron plays on Sunday 8 at the Festival de Jazz de Málaga, on Tuesday 10 at JAZZMADRID and on Wednesday 11 at the Festival de Jazz de Lugo. Kurt Elling and the Yellowjackets stop in Málaga on Monday 9 and open the Festival de Jazz de Zaragoza on Thursday 12. Samara Joy sings at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid on Saturday 14, the day before her concert in Cartagena. For anyone looking for more jazz in the south, the Festival de Jazz de Huelva starts on the 12th with Al Di Meola as headliner. The rest of the month's events are in the November festival listings and in the list of festivals in the Region of Murcia.
Sources: official website of the 45th Cartagena Jazz Festival (Cartagena City Council), programme, prices and ticket links, consulted on 7 November 2026; La Opinión de Murcia, «Kenny Barron hará sonar su piano de leyenda en el Cartagena Jazz Festival con el proyecto ‘Songbook’» (7 November 2026).
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