Jazz en la Costa

Jazz en la Costa Almuñécar 2026 celebrates its 39th edition from 21 to 26 July at the Parque Botánico El Majuelo. The festival schedules one main concert each night at 22:00 and rounds off the experience with free late-night sessions, in an intimate format that makes the most of one of the most recognisable cultural spaces on the Costa Tropical.

The edition is already under way and has a complete international line-up: Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Lovano, Chico Freeman, Erik Truffaz, Antonio Lizana, China Moses and Roberto Fonseca explore different ways of understanding jazz, from its Afro-Cuban roots to its dialogue with flamenco, soul and contemporary improvisation.

Dates and format of Jazz en la Costa 2026

The main concerts take place from Tuesday 21 to Sunday 26 July 2026. Doors are scheduled to open at 21:00 and each performance begins at 22:00. The festival keeps a relatively modest capacity and unnumbered seating for single tickets.

The programme does not work like a mega-festival with simultaneous performances. There is one main show per night, which lets audiences attend at a relaxed pace and follow each concert in full. Afterwards, the stage in the plaza hosts the Trasnoches de Jazz, which are free and designed to extend the evening without leaving El Majuelo.

Jazz en la Costa line-up by day

The edition began on 21 July with Paquito D’Rivera Quinteto, in a session that sold out. On Wednesday 22, Joe Lovano Paramount Quartet performs with Julian Lage, Asante Santi Debriano and Will Calhoun.

Thursday 23 brings together Chico Freeman and Francesca Tandoi Trio. On Friday 24, Erik Truffaz and Antonio Lizana arrive with New Sketches of Spain, a project that revisits the dialogue between jazz and flamenco, coinciding with the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth.

On Saturday 25, China Moses performs with It’s Complicated…. The closing show on Sunday 26 is in the hands of Roberto Fonseca, one of the leading figures of contemporary Afro-Cuban jazz, with the show La gran diversión.

Paquito D’Rivera, the festival’s Gold Medal

The 2026 opening also had a historic element. Paquito D’Rivera received the Jazz en la Costa Gold Medal, the event’s highest honour, and signed the slab that will add his name to the Boulevard del Jazz in the Parque El Majuelo.

The tribute recognises a career that connects Cuban music, international jazz and classical composition. Co-founder of Irakere alongside Chucho Valdés, D’Rivera has built a career closely linked to the saxophone and the clarinet, and has a natural affinity with a festival that has always looked towards Latin jazz.

Free late-night sessions in the Parque El Majuelo

From 21 to 25 July, from 23:30, the park’s plaza offers free concerts by David Margam Band, Radio Crooner, Jesús Mata Jazz Quartet, Triana Jazz and Costa Jazz Quartet. Entry is subject to available capacity.

These sessions allow people to experience the festival without a ticket for the main concert and keep the music going after each performance. They also strengthen the link between the international programme and the local jazz scene.

Tickets and venue for Jazz en la Costa

The festival takes place at the Parque Botánico El Majuelo, on Avenida Europa in Almuñécar. The venue is next to the historic centre, below the castle of San Miguel and close to the seafront promenade. The organisers recommend arriving early to get through the entrance before the start.

Single tickets were announced at €25, with unnumbered seating. The numbered pass for all six concerts, which comes with the edition’s poster, went on sale for €125. Availability varies by night and should be checked via the official Jazz en la Costa ticket sales.

In addition to online purchase, there are physical sales points at the Casa de la Cultura in Almuñécar and the Teatro Isabel la Católica in Granada. This listing describes the 2026 edition only and keeps the festival logo as its featured image.