Jon Batiste, Arturo Sandoval to head to Korea for Seoul Jazz Festival 2026

The 18th edition of the Seoul Jazz Festival will take place at Olympic Park in southern Seoul from May 22 to 24, with a global lineup led by Grammy Award-winning pianist and singer-songwriter Jon Batiste.

A poster for the 18th Seoul Jazz Festival [PRIVATE CURVE]

The 18th edition of the Seoul Jazz Festival will take place at Olympic Park in southern Seoul from May 22 to 24, with a global lineup led by Grammy Award-winning pianist and singer-songwriter Jon Batiste, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and British jazz quintet Ezra Collective joining the event, organizers announced on Thursday.

Organizers of the festival unveiled the first lineup of eight artists.

The inclusion of Batiste, a genre-blending pianist and singer-songwriter with seven Grammy wins, signals the festival’s continued expansion beyond traditional jazz.

Sandoval, a 10-time Grammy winner known for his dazzling trumpet work and roots in Latin jazz, brings depth to the lineup.

The roster also includes Ezra Collective, the first jazz group to win the Group of the Year at the Brit Awards in 2025, and Leisure, a New Zealand-based six-member band known for its relaxed blend of soul and electronic music.

Medeski Martin & Wood, a jazz trio with a 35-year history, also joins the lineup with its improvisational and experimental style

Also appearing are Alfa Mist, a multi-instrumentalist who fuses jazz with hip-hop, and Cimafunk, a Cuban artist who reimagines Afro-Cuban rhythms with a contemporary funk twist.

Rounding out the roster is R&B singer-songwriter Jenevieve, whose track “Baby Powder” (2021) has garnered over 170 million streams globally.

Blind early bird tickets, released ahead of the lineup announcement in December last year, sold out in just 30 seconds.

Limited early bird tickets, offered at a discounted price, for the first lineup go on sale next Tuesday at noon through Melon Ticket.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]