Jazz at Monserrate invites audiences to slow down with ‘Other Times’

From 11 to 13 September, the Park of Monserrate will once again host Jazz at Monserrate, the festival promoted by Parques de Sintra that brings together music, heritage and nature in one of the most emblematic settings of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra. Under the theme ‘Other Times’, the 2026 edition brings together Daniel Bernardes, Becca Stevens and the João Barradas Trio with Jonathan Kreisberg, alongside Rita Maria and Angélica Salvi, and Mateus Saldanha. It offers an experience that invites audiences to slow down and engage more attentively with music over three days of concerts, film with live musical accompaniment, Jazz for Babies, jam sessions and a masterclass.

Under the artistic direction of Inês Laginha, the festival begins with the idea that jazz is more than a musical genre; it is a way of inhabiting time. It is an elastic form of time, open to improvisation, dialogue and listening. Moving between tradition and contemporary practice, composition and real-time creation, learning and enjoyment, this year’s programme invites audiences to experience different ways of engaging with music, heritage and landscape. It reinforces the identity of Jazz at Monserrate as a meeting place for artists, audiences and generations.

Retaining its format concentrated into a single weekend, the festival has been designed to be experienced throughout the day. From early morning until nightfall, the programme unfolds across the Park and Palace of Monserrate, encouraging visitors to spend more time in this place of rare beauty and affirming Sintra as a cultural destination where music blends naturally into the landscape.

A Journey Through Different Musical Eras

The opening of the festival on the evening of 11 September once again takes on a distinctive character. Pianist and composer Daniel Bernardes presents a new creation for F. W. Murnau’s silent-film classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922), performing an original score live in a dialogue between music, image, silence and narrative.

On Saturday, 12 September, Jazz at Monserrate invites audiences to slow down, guiding them through different forms of listening over the course of the late afternoon. The first concert brings together Rita Maria and Angélica Salvi, who revisit the music of Bernardo Sassetti, reinventing it through new sounds and different musical languages. Voice, harp and improvisation intertwine with the sounds of saxophone, drums and double bass to bring a new dimension to the Portuguese pianist’s legacy, in a dialogue between memory and contemporary creation.

This is followed by a performance by American singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Becca Stevens, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music, whose writing brings together jazz, folk, pop and singer-songwriter traditions with rare subtlety. Performing Maple to Paper as a solo set, the artist invites audiences to an intimate concert in which the closeness between performer and audience accompanies the fading afternoon light and gives particularly expressive form to the spirit of ‘Other Times’.

On Sunday, 13 September, the programme explores different periods in the history of jazz. Brazilian guitarist Mateus Saldanha presents Troubles, a project that engages with the early decades of this musical language, recovering the sounds and references that marked its beginnings without relinquishing a contemporary approach.

The festival closes with the João Barradas Trio, joined by special guest Jonathan Kreisberg, the American guitarist and one of the leading figures in international jazz today. Their encounter embodies another dimension of this edition’s theme: a form of jazz in constant transformation, capable of renewing its language without losing its connection to its origins. Virtuosity, creative freedom and improvisation converge in the closing concert of Jazz at Monserrate 2026.

A Festival for Audience Development, Encouraging Listening and Nurturing New Generations

Jazz at Monserrate continues to establish itself as a space for discovery, learning and sharing between different generations of musicians and audiences. João Sousa Rego, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Parques de Sintra, emphasises that, in 2026, ‘the festival reinforces this identity through “Other Times”, an edition that invites audiences to slow down, listen and stay.’ He adds that ‘rather than merely presenting a succession of concerts, Jazz at Monserrate offers an integrated cultural experience in which jazz becomes a meeting point for contemporary creation, memory, learning and enjoyment, consolidating the connection between Monserrate, Sintra and music.’

The Jazz for Babies concerts, aimed at children aged between 0 and 36 months and their families, return to the Music Room of the Palace of Monserrate on Saturday and Sunday mornings. In one of the palace’s most emblematic spaces, this experience invites the youngest audiences to discover the world of jazz from their earliest years through a sensory and participatory approach that prioritises listening, rhythm and interaction.

The Jam Sessions, led by students from the Jazz course at the National Conservatory Artistic Music School, once again transform Monserrate into a meeting place for students, professional musicians and audiences. Grounded in improvisation and sharing, these sessions extend the spirit of the festival beyond its concerts, creating opportunities for artistic dialogue and new collaborations.

The festival’s educational component is completed by Daniel Bernardes’s free masterclass, dedicated to the relationship between music and image. Aimed at students and professional musicians, the session offers a reflection on the creative processes involved in composing for film, improvisation and narrative construction, providing participants with an opportunity for close contact with one of Portugal’s leading contemporary pianists and composers.

These three initiatives reflect one of the defining characteristics of Jazz at Monserrate: bringing different generations together, encouraging the development of new audiences and creating the conditions for the festival experience to extend far beyond attending its concerts.

Created by Parques de Sintra in 2022, Jazz at Monserrate grew out of a desire to combine artistic excellence with the unique beauty of the Park of Monserrate, providing cultural experiences that bring together music, heritage and nature. Over its first editions, it established itself as a leading festival through the quality of its programme and its ability to bring artists, audiences and generations closer together in an intimate setting.

In 2026, the festival reinforces this identity through ‘Other Times’, an edition that invites audiences to slow down, listen and stay. Rather than merely presenting a succession of concerts, Jazz at Monserrate offers an integrated cultural experience in which jazz becomes a meeting point for contemporary creation, memory, learning and enjoyment, consolidating the connection between Monserrate, Sintra and music.

Concerts taking place after the Park of Monserrate closes to the general public have a daily ticket price of € 20. An ‘early bird’ pass for all three days is also available for € 45. Tickets for Jazz for Babies sessions cost € 15 and are valid for one adult and one child. The Jam Sessions are free with the purchase of an admission ticket to the Park and Palace of Monserrate, while Daniel Bernardes’s masterclass is free, subject to prior registration and availability.

The three-day ‘early bird’ festival pass, offering a 25% discount compared with purchasing daily tickets, is already available on the event’s official website, www.jazzemmonserrate.pt, but only until 7 August. Tickets for the Jazz for Babies sessions are also on sale. Daily passes will be available for purchase from 8 August.

Jazz at Monserrate is promoted by Parques de Sintra, with the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation as patron in collaboration with BPI and is supported by Sintra Municipal Council. Smooth FM is the festival’s official radio station.