Festival de Jazz de Lugo 2026: Paquito D'Rivera and Kenny Barron, day-by-day programme and which concerts are free

Lugo is once again devoting eleven days of November to jazz. The XXXVI Festival de Jazz de Lugo runs from 4 to 14 November 2026 with 22 concerts spread across the Círculo das Artes, the Club Clavicémbalo, the USC's Casa do Saber and the Auditorio Fuxan os Ventos. It opens with Paquito D'Rivera, and its other two biggest names are Kenny Barron and James Carter.

Paquito D'Rivera, Kenny Barron and James Carter: the concerts worth securing

Paquito D'Rivera opens the festival on Wednesday 4 November at 20:30 at the Fuxan os Ventos. The Cuban clarinettist and saxophonist, who founded Irakere with Chucho Valdés, arrives as a trio with Pepe Rivero on piano and Sebastián Laverde on vibraphone. Lugo is the first stop on a run of concerts in Spain that in November will also take him to Zaragoza, Madrid and Tenerife.

A week later, on Wednesday 11 November at 20:30 and at the same auditorium, Kenny Barron takes the stage. The Philadelphia pianist, who began playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1963, brings “Songbook” with Russell Hall on double bass and Jonathan Barber on drums. It is the same programme he plays beforehand at the Cartagena Jazz Festival on Saturday 7 November and in Madrid on Tuesday 10 November.

The two concerts have something in common that is worth knowing before you buy: they are not included in the festival pass and are sold separately, each through a different ticketing platform.

At the Círculo das Artes, the paid programme starts on Thursday 5 November with the James Carter Organ Trio and “Trane - A Centennial Supreme”, their tribute to John Coltrane on the centenary of his birth, with Gerard Gibbs on Hammond B3 organ. They are followed by Japanese trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, who records for Blue Note and blends jazz with funk and hip hop (Saturday 7 November); Mexican vibraphonist Patricia Brennan with a septet that includes Adam O'Farrill and Jon Irabagon (Thursday 12 November); and Erik Truffaz and Antonio Lizana with “New Sketches of Spain”, their reinterpretation of the Miles Davis album (Friday 13 November). The same show was on the line-up of KM251 in Ponferrada in August. Closing on Saturday 14 November is Clarence Bekker, former lead vocalist of Playing for Change, with the band he formed in 2016 with musicians from Barcelona.

Day-by-day programme for the Festival de Jazz de Lugo 2026

The format is the same almost every night: a concert at 20:30 at the Círculo das Artes or the Fuxan os Ventos, followed by a club session at the Clavicémbalo. On Fridays and Saturdays there are two sets at the club, at 22:30 and 23:45, with one ticket covering both. There are no concerts on Monday 9 or Tuesday 10 November.

Wednesday 4 November

• 20:30, Auditorio Fuxan os Ventos: Paquito D'Rivera Trio.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: Swing Titans.

Thursday 5 November

• 20:30, Círculo das Artes: James Carter Organ Trio, “Trane - A Centennial Supreme”.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: JUZZ, in collaboration with FACELA Fest.

Friday 6 November

• 20:30, Círculo das Artes: Jogo de Damas (Portugal). Free with invitation.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: MØrrajäss.
• 23:45, Club Clavicémbalo: Irati Bilbao Sextet.

Saturday 7 November

• 20:30, Círculo das Artes: Takuya Kuroda Quintet.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: Do Like Sco, a tribute to John Scofield.
• 23:45, Club Clavicémbalo: Mario Morla Quinteto.

Sunday 8 November

• 19:30, Auditorio Fuxan os Ventos: Abe Rábade, “Nova Botánica”. Free.

Wednesday 11 November

• 20:30, Auditorio Fuxan os Ventos: Kenny Barron Trio.
• 22:45, Club Clavicémbalo: Luis Nacht, Demian Cabaud and Jeff Williams.

Thursday 12 November

• 19:00, Casa do Saber USC: Mariola Membrives Trío. Free.
• 20:30, Círculo das Artes: Patricia Brennan Septet.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: Abe Rábade Trío with Ariel Brínguez.

Friday 13 November

• 20:30, Círculo das Artes: Erik Truffaz and Antonio Lizana, “New Sketches of Spain”.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: Andrés Coll Cosmic Trío.
• 23:45, Club Clavicémbalo: Víctor Antón, Barney Kessel Tribute Quintet.

Saturday 14 November

• 20:30, Círculo das Artes: Clarence Bekker Band.
• 22:30, Club Clavicémbalo: Javier Vercher Cuarteto.
• 23:45, Club Clavicémbalo: Cachas & Cousins.

Thursday 12 November is the only night with concerts at three venues: Membrives at 19:00, Brennan at 20:30 and Rábade with Brínguez at 22:30. With an advance club ticket, all three concerts come to €28.

Three free concerts: how to get into each one

The free concerts do not all work the same way, and the difference matters:

• Jogo de Damas, Friday 6 November at 20:30 at the Círculo das Artes. This is the only one that requires an invitation, which you collect from the festival booth in the Praza Maior. The vocal group from Porto alternates a cappella songs with others accompanied by piano, double bass and drums. It is organised by the culture department of the Diputación de Lugo.
• Abe Rábade, Sunday 8 November at 19:30 at the Fuxan os Ventos. Entry is first come, first served until the main hall is full. The Galician pianist presents “Nova Botánica”, which crosses jazz, chamber music and Galician tradition with nine performers on stage, among them Perico Sambeat on saxophone, Davide Salvado on vocals and a traditional dancer. It is organised by the Concello's culture department.
• Mariola Membrives, Thursday 12 November at 19:00 at the USC's Casa do Saber. Also first come, first served, until capacity is reached. The singer, who moves between flamenco and improvisation, comes as a trio with Javier Pedreira on guitar and Ramon Prats on drums.

Tickets: how much they cost and where to buy them

Sales are split by venue, so it is worth checking where each concert takes place before looking for a ticket:

• Círculo das Artes: €25 for James Carter and for Truffaz with Lizana, and €20 for Kuroda, Brennan and Bekker. They are on sale online from 27 October on the festival's channel on Notikumi and, from 30 October, at the booth in the Praza Maior, opposite the Círculo das Artes, from 12:30 to 14:00 and from 19:00 to 20:30.
• Club Clavicémbalo: €10 on single-concert nights (€8 in advance) and €15 on double-set nights (€12 in advance). Tickets can be bought at the venue itself or in advance on Woutick.
• Paquito D'Rivera: only on Ataquilla. Kenny Barron: only on Notikumi, with doors opening at 19:30. The festival website does not give the price for either.

The organisers mention a festival pass, but neither its price nor the concerts it includes appear on their website. For queries, the festival can be contacted at festival@jazzlugo.com.

Lugo is not the only jazz event in November. Jazz Palencia holds its theatre concerts between 7 and 21 November, and the Festival de Jazz de Granada ends on 7 November. The rest of the month is in our guide to November festivals.

Sources: official Festival de Jazz de Lugo website (home page, programme, tickets and individual concert pages); the festival's channel and the Kenny Barron concert page on Notikumi; La Ganzúa (16 October 2026), on Paquito D'Rivera's tour. Accessed on 31 October 2026.