BlackForestJazz Festival

BlackForestJazz Festival — Jazz throughout the Northern Black Forest

The BlackForestJazz Festival is a young, rapidly growing jazz festival in the Northern Black Forest. 2026 marks the third edition — and the festival has already established itself as a fixture in the South German jazz scene. The organizer is the renowned Kulturhaus Osterfeld gGmbH in Pforzheim, a multi-disciplinary venue with a theater, concert hall, and studio. The festival concept is itinerant: instead of concentrating all concerts in one place, the program is spread across the entire region — from Freudenstadt in the south, via Bad Wildbad, Calw, and Pforzheim, to Maulbronn and Remchingen in the north.

25 Concerts, 24 Venues, 6 Jazz Films

The 2026 program includes 25 concerts at 24 locations, plus an additional six jazz films shown in four cinemas in the region. This allows the festival to achieve remarkable breadth and depth — from the main stage (Kulturhaus Osterfeld Pforzheim) to castle churches and concert halls, as well as jazz clubs and smaller venues in the region. Stylistically, the festival covers the entire spectrum of contemporary jazz: from mainstream hard bop and contemporary European jazz to crossover, experimental styles, and jazz-pop fusions.

Joo Kraus, Tingvall Trio, NDR Big Band

The 2026 opening headliner is Joo Kraus, the trumpeter and composer from Ulm who has been bridging jazz, pop, and film music for years. The Tingvall Trio from Hamburg meets the NDR Big Band — one of the most exciting collaborations in European jazz. Sandie Wollasch & Matthias Hautsch present more intimate concerts. A Jazz for Kids series introduces young audiences to the genre, while acts like David Helbock & Fola Dada showcase the festival's experimental side.

Northern Black Forest — A Jazz Landscape

Pforzheim (independent city 08231, around 125,000 inhabitants) is located on the edge of the Northern Black Forest at the confluence of the Enz and Würm rivers. The "Gold City" is an important cultural center of the region and home to the Kulturhaus Osterfeld. With the BlackForestJazz Festival, the entire Northern Black Forest tourism region becomes a cultural experience landscape — concert tours through Black Forest villages and small towns become a dense cultural end-of-summer celebration.