Jazz am Kloster Rheine

Whitsun Jazz in the Westphalian Premonstratensian Monastery

On Whitsun Monday, May 25, 2026, the courtyard of Kloster Bentlage in Rheine invites you to an open-air jazz day starting at 11 am, which has been a fixture of the Westphalian summer music scene for years. The former 15th-century Premonstratensian monastery with its brick walls, the salt canal, and the old linden trees offers a backdrop that could hardly be more fitting for open-air jazz — intimate, acoustically balanced, and simultaneously in an open landscape on the edge of the Bentlager Wald nature reserve.

Jens Düppe Quintet feat. Francesco Bearzatti — The Morning Set

The day opens with the quintet of Cologne-based drummer Jens Düppe, who brings along Milanese saxophonist and clarinetist Francesco Bearzatti as their most prominent guest. The lineup — Frederik Köster (trumpet), Francesco Bearzatti (saxophone, clarinet), Lars Duppler (piano), Christian Ramond (double bass), and Jens Düppe (drums) — promises a sound that critics have aptly described as “raw and elegant at the same time.” Modern bandleader jazz composition that doesn't descend into academic rigor but grooves, breathes, and leaves room for soloists.

Vanesa Harbek — Blues, Tango, Soul from Argentina

The second set, starting around 2:30 pm, features Argentine-born singer and guitarist Vanesa Harbek. Her sound is a unique cocktail of Blues, Soul, Tango, Jazz, and Latin, making her one of the most original European voices of her generation. Some critics have jokingly called her “the female Carlos Santana” — a label that hardly does justice to her stylistic spectrum but aptly describes the emotional intensity of her performance.

In Case of Rain: The Barn as Plan B

Open air in the Lower Rhine region always means keeping an eye on the weather. Should Whitsun bring rain, the festival will move to the historic monastery barn — a high wooden roof structure with excellent acoustics, making the concerts feel even more concentrated than in the open courtyard. The jazz festival is organized by the Förderverein Kloster Bentlage e.V. in close cooperation with the Rheine-based association Bluesnote e.V., which has kept the regional blues scene alive for decades.

Kloster Bentlage as a Cultural Venue

Kloster Bentlage is much more than just a concert backdrop: it houses a significant museum collection with reliquaries, paintings, and sculptures, as well as changing special exhibitions, a sculpture park, and the historic Gottesgabe saltworks. A Whitsun Monday visit can therefore easily be combined into an all-day excursion: jazz in the courtyard in the morning, a walk through the park in the afternoon, and dinner at the Klostergasthof in the evening.