EJC 2026 - Showcase-Programm Tag #2

The international jazz world is coming to Cologne as part of the European Jazz Conference 2026. Over 400 organizers, festivals, labels and industry representatives from all over Europe will meet in the city to discuss the future of jazz and improvised music.

A centerpiece of the conference is the public showcase festival: selected German ensembles present themselves live in front of an international audience of experts - and in front of you. For three days, you will experience some of the most exciting current voices in German jazz in special Cologne venues.

A rare opportunity to discover tomorrow's scene today.

Showcase program day #2
25.09.2026

21:00 | Sartory Halls
Zola Mennenöh A LABOUR OF LOVE

The term soundscape actually encompasses the acoustic totality of a specific place, with all its natural sounds, traffic noise and loud and quiet voices. This definition can also be turned inwards to describe the mental state of people. This is roughly how the singer and composer Zola Mennenöh, who lives in both Berlin and Copenhagen, proceeded when she began to realize her programme "A Labour of Love". In order to stand up for her convictions and express her anger at an increasingly savage world around her, Mennenöh actually takes a step back and lets the lyrical timbre of her voice speak for itself as well as the quiet flow of her spoken words. In combination with the digitally developed sound textures and the differentiated dynamics of the analog instruments, these imaginary soundscapes create a stirring emotionality.

22.00 | Sartory Halls
Holly Schlott UNIQUE

The fact that the Berlin saxophonist, composer and bandleader Holly Schlott has launched her ensemble Unique is of particular significance. "Music knows no gender," Schlott is convinced, "but attitude!" For her, her soloist ensemble is the blueprint for a utopia: music functions as a dialog between the insturmentalists on stage and the audience in front of it, just as it creates connections between generations. It builds bridges across divides, but is also an expression of lived identity. Unique does not play classic orchestral jazz. Rather, this eleven-piece band provides the sonority for a multi-layered chamber music, when it suspends contrasts and allows contradictions. The musicians like the melodic as well as the concrete beat, but they are also aware of the tension when these parameters are dissolved. Music as an alternative to today's political turbulence? That suits Schlott and Unique.

The concert is seated.
The concert hall is barrier-free.
Photography is not permitted.