In 2026, Danish organisers are celebrating 100 years of Danish jazz with more than 100 concerts, talks, and festival experiences nationwide. The summer programme includes major opening concerts, tributes to jazz pioneers, and events for jazz lovers of all ages.

Festivals, artist talks, and the heroines of jazz

Summer is festival season, and there are plenty of opportunities to experience both the legacy of jazz history and the genre’s present and future at festivals across Denmark. Both Aarhus Jazz Festival and Copenhagen Jazz Festival will open with the anniversary work 100 Stemmer. In Odense, audiences can look forward to performances including Kresten Osgood Kvintet, while Brønshøj Sommerjazz invites visitors to join a parade to the sounds of New Orleans jazz with Dusty Rag Jazz Band. If you cannot get enough of the sounds of New Orleans in the streets, you can also join the Mardi Gras Copenhagen parade in Nørrebro, Copenhagen.

Jazz’s female pioneers will be celebrated through SØSTRE’s three-day concert series across three different Copenhagen venues. Around the country, curious audiences will also have the opportunity to gain insight into the artists’ creative processes through a range of artist talks. In short, this summer’s anniversary programme offers jazz experiences for everyone.

Selected Dansk Jazz 100 År events throughout the summer

• Aalborg Youth Jazz Orchestra – This is ayjo, Studenterhuset, Aalborg, 6 June
• Jørgen Teller feat. TS Høeg – Jørgen Tellers Jazz100, Café Pavillionen, Fælledparken, Copenhagen, 7 June
• Fredagsjazz på kajen – Viktoria Søndergaards SECRETS, Den Sorte Diamant, Copenhagen, 19 June
• Jazz Dippers på Gårdspladsen, Bredekærgård, Ishøj, 21 June
• Fredagsjazz på kajen – Kjeld Lauritsen Trio, Den Sorte Diamant, Copenhagen, 26 June
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – Dansk Jazz 100 år fejring med kagebord, Musikhusparken, Aarhus, 27 June
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – 100 Stemmer, Musikhuset, Aarhus, 27 June
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – Artist talk: Astrid Engberg, Institut for (X), Aarhus, 29 June
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – Bærentzen, Esbjerg & Flensborg Pianotrio, Piano Værkstedet, Mattsson & McGehee, Aarhus, 30 June, 2 July, and 3 July
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – Artist talk: Tonearts saxofonrefleksioner, Helsingør Theater i Den Gamle By, Aarhus, 2 July
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – Saxofon-Refleksion over Dansk Jazz gennem 100 år, Helsingør Theater i Den Gamle By, Aarhus, 2 July
• Aarhus Jazz Festival – Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra: Indian Skies, Musikhuset, Aarhus, 2 July
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival – 100 Stemmer, DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, 3 July
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival – Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra: Indian Skies, Den Sorte Diamant, Copenhagen, 3 July
• Fredagsjazz på kajen – Emil de Waal Old News, Den Sorte Diamant, Copenhagen, 3 July
• Jens Søndergaard & Flying High Plays West Coast Jazz + Artist Talk, Posthus Teatret, Copenhagen, 3 July
• Brønshøj Sommerjazz – Brønshøj Torv, 3–5 July
• På Tirsda’ På Tirsda’ – Dansk Jazz 100 År for Børn, Frederiksberg Hovedbibliotek, Frederiksberg, 4 July
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival – Mardi Gras Copenhagen Street Parade, Dr. Louises Bro, Copenhagen, 5 July
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival – Søstre: Upcoming night, m. Lea Foxman & Ronja Rose Andersson, H15, Copenhagen, 9 July
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival – Søstre: Instrumental night m. Lis Wessberg, Kathrine Windfeld, Michala Østergaard-Nielsen, Ida Hvid & Cecilie Strange, ALICE, Copenhagen, 10 July
• Copenhagen Jazz Festival – Søstre: Grand finale & vocal night m. Yasmin Kierkegaard, Feridah Rose, Mai Lan Doky & Melissa Inya, KOKO, Copenhagen, 11 July
• Odense Jazz Festival – Kresten Osgood Kvintet: 100 år med dansk jazz, Kulturmaskinen, Odense, 31 July
• A String Of Pearls – Dansk bigbandjazz i 100 år, Hadsten Kulturhus Sløjfen, Hadsten, 27 August

Find more info about the individual events here.

Stay tuned for more historic jazz experiences

Throughout 2026, Dansk Jazz 100 År presents events across Denmark featuring musicians and organisers spanning genres, generations, and communities. New events are continuously being added, so keep an eye on your local concert calendars as well as livejazz.dk, which will continue to gather anniversary events through the dedicated tag. The programme as it appeared on the launch date can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Dansk Jazz 100 År is a celebration, education, and preservation initiative launched by Jazz Danmark with support from Augustinus Fonden and Statens Kunstfond, in collaboration with a wide range of jazz organisations and contributors from across the Danish jazz scene.