Jazz à Juan has revealed the full line-up for its 65th edition, running from 9th to 19th July at the Pinède Gould in Antibes Juan-les-Pins — one of the French Riviera’s most enduring summer festivals.
The programme was presented on Tuesday at the Palais des Congrès d’Antibes Juan-les-Pins by co-artistic directors Jean-Noël Ginibre, Pascal Pilorget and Reno Di Matteo. Ginibre noted that half the artists appearing this year have never previously played at Juan, a deliberate policy of renewal alongside the festival’s bigger names. “These newcomers may be the stars of tomorrow,” he said.
Tom Jones opens the festival
At 85, Tom Jones will open the festival on 9th July, bringing his back catalogue of standards — What’s New Pussycat?, She’s a Lady, Sex Bomb — to the Pinède Gould for the third time, having previously played the venue in 2012 and 2017. Earlier that same evening, José James and China Moses will join forces for a tribute to Marvin Gaye, revisiting I Want You on the album’s 50th anniversary.
The 1990s revisited
Trip-hop icons Morcheeba take the stage on 11th July, touring behind their recent album Escape the Chaos, while Seal makes his Jazz à Juan debut on 13th July. The London singer, who has sold 30 million albums worldwide and holds four Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, brings a catalogue that includes Killer, Crazy and Kiss From a Rose. He will be preceded by Manchester soul and gospel singer-songwriter Mica Millar, whose latest record was recorded at Brad Pitt’s Miraval studios in the Var.
Tributes to Miles Davis
The centenary of Miles Davis’s birth runs as a thread through the 2026 edition. Marcus Miller — playing Jazz à Juan for the 14th time — will present We Want Miles! The 2026 Reunion Tour on 17th July, reuniting former Davis collaborators including guitarist Mike Stern, saxophonist Bill Evans and percussionist Mino Cinelu. On 18th July, trumpeter Erik Truffaz and saxophonist and flamenco singer Antonio Lizana turn their attention to Sketches of Spain.
A festival of varied textures
The 15th July brings together Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara and Bosnian musician Goran Bregovic with his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra, combining brass band energy with Bulgarian vocals. The Fearless Flyers, the American funk supergroup featuring Cory Wong, Joe Dart, Nate Smith and Mark Lettieri, will play on 16th July alongside Keziah Jones. Thomas Dutronc makes his fourth appearance at the festival on 18th July, joined by a band of accomplished jazz musicians including pianist Éric Legnini, trumpeter Stéphane Belmondo and guitarist Rocky Gresset.
Young New York jazz singer Samara Joy, a three-time Grammy Award winner at just 26, plays on 17th July.
Free evenings and practical information
Two evenings are available free of charge on presentation of invitations collected from the Antibes Juan-les-Pins tourist office: 14th July, featuring the Japanese Banksia Trio alongside French singers Laura Anglade and Maë Defays, and 19th July, a gospel closing with American singer Linda Lee Hopkins. Additional free programming runs throughout the festival under the Jammin’ Summer Sessions strand at the petite Pinède and the Albert Camus media library.
Tickets range from €35 to €135 depending on the evening. The box office opens on 25th March at 09:00 at jazzajuan.com.
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Photo credit: Guillaume Laurent, Flickr