Cortona Jazz was founded in 2017 by Associazione Culturale Mammut with the aim of bringing high-quality jazz to Cortona while creating opportunities for young musicians to meet, study and perform alongside internationally acclaimed artists.
The project began with Cortona Jazz Night, a jazz night held throughout Cortona’s historic centre. Following the success of its first editions, the project evolved into Cortona Jazz Festival, a multi-day programme of concerts, workshops and special events hosted in some of the town’s most distinctive historical and cultural venues.
Over the years, Cortona Jazz has welcomed internationally acclaimed artists including Joel Ross, James Brandon Lewis, Adam Nussbaum, Abraham Burton, Michael Rodriguez, Steve Cardenas, John Hébert, Eric McPherson, Fay Victor, David Virelles, Jim Black and many others.
Under the artistic direction of Ohad Talmor, Cortona Jazz has developed an increasingly international identity, building a strong dialogue between the European and New York jazz scenes and creating opportunities for established artists and emerging musicians to meet, collaborate and perform together.
At the heart of Cortona Jazz is the encounter between established artists and a new generation of musicians. Workshops, masterclasses, rehearsals and performances create a shared space where students and professionals can exchange ideas, experiences and different approaches to jazz.
This international dimension has grown through collaborations with institutions and organisations including The Jazz Gallery in New York, Siena Jazz – Accademia Nazionale del Jazz, and the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique de Genève, as well as other European music schools and conservatories.
Cortona itself is an essential part of the project. Concerts are conceived in dialogue with the town and its extraordinary heritage, bringing jazz into historic churches, museums, fortresses and unexpected spaces. The aim is not simply to present music in Cortona, but to create a festival in which music, place and people become part of the same experience.
Behind Cortona Jazz is Associazione Culturale Mammut, a multidisciplinary team of artists, musicians, photographers, videomakers and communication professionals, united by a shared passion for creating ambitious cultural projects and connecting Cortona with the contemporary international jazz scene.
