Cala Gonone
Jazz
Festival

Cala Gonone Jazz Festival 2026

The 39th edition, five evenings across the Teatro Comunale, the Cala Gonone Aquarium and the Bue Marino Caves. From the international jazz of Lakecia Benjamin and Joey Calderazzo to the Sardinian launeddas tradition of Luigi Lai, through the piano of Frida Bollani Magoni and the scat singing of Gegè Telesforo.

Programme — Day by Day

Thursday 9 JulyTeatro Comunale9:30 pm

Lakecia Benjamin

Alto sax, with Oscar Perez, Elias Bailey, Quentin Baxter · six-time Grammy nominee

A New York saxophonist, among the most acclaimed voices in contemporary jazz. The albums “Pursuance: The Coltranes” and “Phoenix” earned her six Grammy nominations. In 2024 she released “Phoenix Reimagined (Live)”, featuring John Scofield and Randy Brecker, and also performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk.

“Dueperduo” — Morelli / Spano

Tenor sax and flute / double bass · original tracks outside the commercial mould

A duo formed by saxophonist and flautist Andrea Morelli and double bassist Massimo “Maso” Spano, performing a repertoire of original compositions.

Friday 24 JulyCala Gonone Aquarium7:00 pm

Mauro Palmas and Giacomo Vardeu

Mandola and cantabile lute / diatonic accordion · “Sighida”, Sardinian tradition meets the Mediterranean

Mauro Palmas, a Sardinian composer and multi-instrumentalist with a long career of international collaborations, meets young diatonic accordionist Giacomo Vardeu, from Orosei, one of the most promising talents to emerge in Sardinian traditional music in recent years. Together they released the album “Sighida” in 2025, born during the Mare e Miniere festival.

Teatro Comunale10:00 pm

Francesco Piu

Sardinian bluesman, one-man band · over twenty years on international stages

A guitarist and singer from Sassari, active since 2004 as an acoustic one-man band. He has opened for artists such as John Mayall, Jimmie Vaughan and Robert Cray, bringing Sardinian blues to international stages from Memphis to Toronto.

Gegè Telesforo — “Jazz Radio”

Voice and percussion, with band · scat virtuoso, a show between live music and radio talk

A singer and multi-instrumentalist from Foggia, launched by Renzo Arbore, among Italy’s foremost interpreters of scat singing. He has duetted with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Dee Dee Bridgewater, and has been a UNICEF Italy goodwill ambassador since 2015.

Saturday 25 JulyBue Marino Caves12:00 pm · boarding 11:00 am

⛵ How to get there by sea →

Rachele Andrioli — solo “Leuca”

Jew's harp, ukulele, bendir, harmonic flute · sonic rituals from the Salento

A singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the Salento. In 2022 she released her debut solo album, “Leuca”, winner of the Loano Prize for best traditional Italian album. She accompanies her voice with frame drums, ukulele and a loop station.

Giacomo Vardeu solo

Diatonic accordion

A very young accordionist from Orosei, praised for his technical and expressive maturity despite his young age — here in a solo moment.

Cala Gonone Aquarium7:00 pm

Elmusura — Sandro and Laura Fresi

Multi-instrumentalist/ethnomusicologist and voice · folk repertoire of the western Mediterranean

A project by musician and ethnomusicology researcher Sandro Fresi, from Gallura, who has spent over thirty years studying the folk music traditions of Sardinia and the Mediterranean. “Elmusura” is also the title of a 2010 album of his, with a foreword by Paolo Fresu.

Teatro Comunale10:00 pm

Freak Motel

Sardinian instrumental project blending electronica, nu-jazz and post-rock

An instrumental quartet from Cagliari (trumpet, Fender Rhodes, bass, drums). Their latest album, “Human Codec”, was released in 2025 on the Bologna-based label IRMA Records.

Joey Calderazzo

Piano, with Orlando Le Fleming and David Hawkins · longtime pianist for Branford Marsalis

An American pianist, longtime member of the Branford Marsalis Quartet since 1998, and alongside Michael Brecker since 1987. He has released over thirteen albums as a leader, including the recent “Live from the Cotton Club, Tokyo”.

Friday 31 JulyTeatro Comunale8:30 pm

Luigi Lai and Gianfranco Cabiddu

Launeddas / film director and screenwriter · where music meets Sardinian cinema

Luigi Lai, born in San Vito in 1932, is considered the greatest living performer of the launeddas, the historic Sardinian three-reed instrument. A pupil of masters Antonio Lara and Efisio Melis, in 2023 he became the first oral-tradition musician to receive an honorary degree in Italy, from the University of Bologna. Alongside him, Gianfranco Cabiddu, a film director from Cagliari with a degree in ethnomusicology, winner of the 2017 David di Donatello for “La stoffa dei sogni”.

Screening — “Su Maistu”

Documentary on the life of Luigi Lai, master of the launeddas

Directed by Gianfranco Cabiddu, also known for “La stoffa dei sogni” (2017 David di Donatello) and artistic director of the Creuza de Mà Festival.

Saturday 1 AugustBue Marino Caves12:00 pm · boarding 11:00 am

⛵ How to get there by sea →

Lauryyn Duo

Jew's harp, ukulele, bendir, harmonic flute · singer-songwriter from Puglia, 2025 Targhe Tenco finalist

Stage name of Aurora De Gregorio, a singer-songwriter from Puglia. Her debut album “Aritmia” (2025) was among the five finalists for the Targhe Tenco Best Debut Album award.

Mario Ganau solo

Piano and live electronics

A solo repertoire between piano improvisation and live electronics.

Cala Gonone Aquarium7:00 pm

Orlando Mascia, Luca Schirru, Eliseo Mascia

Accordion and launeddas · passing on Sardinian musical tradition

A trio dedicated to Sardinian traditional music, between accordion and launeddas, passing on a folk repertoire from one generation to the next.

Teatro Comunale10:00 pm

Frida Bollani Magoni

Piano and voice · has performed at the Quirinale and with Roberto Bolle at Milan Cathedral

A Tuscan pianist and singer, born in 2004, daughter of Stefano Bollani and Petra Magoni. She performed at the Quirinale before the President of the Republic in 2021, and in 2023 accompanied Roberto Bolle in the show at Milan Cathedral.

Official videos from the artists' own YouTube channels (not owned by BBCalaGonone). We could not find a representative video for every act on the programme — for Freak Motel, for instance, here is their official YouTube channel.

Cala Gonone Jazz Festival 2023

36th edition. Four days, over fourteen concerts, five different venues between sea and mountains.

Cala Gonone Jazz Festival 2018

The twenty-first edition, celebrated as “30+1”. Three preview evenings between the nuraghic site of Serra Orrios and the S’Abbafrisca Park Museum, then four days across the Teatro Comunale, the Aquarium, the Bue Marino Caves and the Palmasera Arena. On the bill, Pee Wee Ellis, James Brown’s historic saxophonist, and the very young Matthew Whitaker.

Cala Gonone Jazz Festival 2013

Seven days of jazz with the Brecker Brothers Band Reunion (Randy Brecker, Dave Weckl, Ada Rovatti, Dean Brown, George Whitty, C.M. Doky) and the Stochelo Rosenberg Trio as headliners. An edition that made festival history.

Brecker Brothers Band Reunion · 26 July 2013

Stochelo Rosenberg Trio · 27 July 2013

Mike Stern at Cala Gonone Jazz, 2012