Alexandre Herer – Keyboards
Pierre Mangeard – Drums
Gael Petrina – Bass
BC Manjunath – Mridangam
Manmeet Kaur – Vocals

Bombay Experience brings together the mathematical precision of Carnatic music and the vibrant energy of Indian hip-hop in a groundbreaking fusion project. At its heart are two of India’s most innovative artists: BC Manjunath, virtuoso of mridangam and konnakol from Bangalore, whose mastery spans from classical Indian music to contemporary creations, and Manmeet Kaur, a pioneering female rapper whose powerful environmental messages and social commentary have redefined India’s hip-hop landscape. The project was born from French composer Alexandre Herer’s transformative experiences in India, where he discovered the thriving rap and beatbox scene in Mumbai’s Dharavi neighborhood. A parallel encounter with BC Manjunath revealed unexpected connections between Carnatic music’s mathematical patterns and Herer’s own compositional approach. Drawing on these confluences, Herer has created a unique repertoire where Manjunath’s intricate rhythmic patterns merge seamlessly with Kaur’s compelling verses in Hindi and English. The compositions are supported by the dynamic rhythm section of Gaël Petrina on bass and Pierre Mangeard on drums. This collaboration transcends mere fusion, offering a genuine dialogue between Indian classical traditions, contemporary hip-hop, and jazz aesthetics, creating a sound that is both deeply rooted and boldly innovative.

Birsa Chatterjee – Saxophone
Esteban Castro – Piano
Devi Laskar – Spoken word
Izzy Wise – Electronics, sampling
Xander Farr – Drums, percussion, vocals

CARAVANSERAI, the exciting USA-India quintet making their electrifying debut at Jazzfest, heralds a bold sonic voyage where spoken-word poetry collides with electronic alchemy and primal percussion, evoking ancient silk road reveries in a modern diaspora. Led by Devi Laskar on words, the acclaimed poet and author—known for her searing novels The Atlas of Reds and Blues and forthcoming Midnight, At The War (2026), alongside Pushcart-nominated verse – infuses multilingual lyrics with South Asian introspection and immigrant fire, her spoken-word album Inventions in D Minor (2025, Someplace Called Brooklyn) a testament to lyrical depth drawn from journalism and visual artistry. San Francisco’s Izzy Wise, a multi-instrumentalist and DJ, masterminds electronics and sampling, crafting eclectic textures that leap from West African grooves to West Indian rhythms, his discography pulsing with global dance eclecticism honed in klezmer roots and festival stages. Drummer Xander Farr anchors with percussion and vocals, his rhythms blending tribal drives and melodic chants, forging a hypnotic undercurrent that propels the band’s improvisational odysseys. They are joined by the Birsa-Esteban Duo.

The Birsa-Esteban Duo, a transcendent partnership fusing Indian classical rhythms with Latin and American jazz, unites saxophonist Birsa Chatterjee and Cuban-American pianist Esteban Castro in a vibrant USA-India-Cuba dialogue. Chatterjee, mentored by Pandit Samir Chatterjee and jazz icons Wynton Marsalis and Sonny Rollins, channels intricate Indian talas through his saxophone, honed at Oberlin and Juilliard. His lyrical yet fiery style, showcased at Carnegie Hall and Dizzy’s Club, bridges Kolkata’s bustle with jazz’s freedom. Castro, a Juilliard prodigy under Fred Hersch, began improvising at four and, at 13, became the youngest Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition winner. With over 50 compositions, 15 DownBeat Awards, collaborations with Kurt Rosenwinkel and Marcus Miller, and performances from Montreux to NPR’s Tiny Desk, Castro’s pianism pulses with Havana’s sultry nights and New York’s electric energy. Together, their soundscapes weave meditative depth with improvisational fire, evoking global cities while transcending borders.

Together, CARAVANSERAI weaves a tapestry of cultural confluence—poignant, pulsating, and profoundly innovative—heralding a fresh chapter in jazz’s borderless evolution.

Stephan Mattner – Tenor saxophone
Philipp van Endert – Guitar
Sebastian Räther – Bass
Jo Beyer – Drums

ZOOM, a formidable German jazz quartet, commands the European scene with transcendent artistry, led by tenor saxophonist and composer Stephan Mattner. His luminous originals, evoking Pat Metheny’s ethereal expanses and John Abercrombie’s textural brilliance, fuse 1970s and ’80s influences into a searing, unmistakable sound: rooted yet revolutionary. A 2002 Montreux semifinalist, Mattner’s melodic daring soars with serene authority. Guitarist Philipp van Endert, a Berklee-honed virtuoso, weaves poetic tapestries, his “summer rain” lyricism (Jazzthetik) gracing over 45 recordings alongside giants like Kenny Wheeler. Bassist Sebastian Räther, a Cologne innovator, anchors with pulsating contrabass and electronic audacity, evident in his boundary-pushing Yabbalaga project. Drummer Jo Beyer, a prodigious force, electrifies with explosive dynamics. His trio Malstrom (who performed at Jazzfest Kolkata 2024) have been amassing global accolades. Together, this powerhouse quartet conjures a breathtaking sonic odyssey – unafraid, communicative, and gloriously redefining jazz’s storied tradition with unparalleled vision and drive.

Ida Brinch – Trumpet
Maria Dybbroe – Saxophone
Amyt Dutta – Guitar
Jivraj Singh – Drums
Mainak ‘Bumpy’ Nag Chowdhury – Bass

A transcontinental quintet, ignites a Danish-Indian jazz odyssey blending Copenhagen’s introspection with Kolkata’s improvisation. Trumpeter Ida Brinch, a Copenhagen Conservatory alumna and rising force in Denmark’s avant-garde scene, unleashes luminous, emotive brass lines—evoking Chet Baker’s wistful poetry—across ensembles like her eponymous quartet and collaborations with emerging Nordic voices, her arco trumpet explorations adding ethereal, vocal-like depth. Alto saxophonist Maria Dybbroe, 2021 Danish Music Awards ‘New Name’ winner with Maraton, channels Paul Desmond’s cool intuition through chamber-like melodies. Guitar titan Amyt Dutta, Kolkata’s 1960-born jazz shaman, unleashes Mediterranean-infused riffs and Miles Davis-esque modal meditations, his fractal experiments redefining fusion. Prodigal drummer Jivraj Singh sets the pace with polyrhythmic finesse . Bassist Bumpy (Mainak Nag Chowdhury) anchors with elastic funk. Their raw, transcendent alchemy crafts hypnotic, culturally resonant soundscapes—poignant, boundary-shattering, and profoundly innovative.

Ray Dickaty – Saxophones, flute
Mikołaj Poncyljusz – Guitar
Michał Załęski – Keys, Moog, bass
Dominik Mokrzewski – Drums, percussions

LIGHT STAR GUIDING, the visionary contemporary music collective from Warsaw, Poland, blends improvisation, psychedelia, and spiritual depth, led by saxophonist Ray Dickaty. Known for being in the cult bands Spiritualized (‘90s psychedelic rock) and Moonshake (post-rock), Dickaty – founder of Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra and Solar Fire Trio (also endorsed by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth) – weaves transcendent saxophone and flute, scoring theater and film. Guitarist Mikołaj Poncyljusz, a Chopin School and Katowice Academy graduate, drives jazz-fusion HoTS and WerMik Studio, fusing modal riffs with post-rock. Keyboardist Michał Załęski, a Jazz Juniors winner, electrifies with Moog and bass, his Jazzpospolita and Niechęć (Unsubscribe, 2022) work fueling trance-like grooves. Drummer Dominik Mokrzewski, a polyrhythmic philosopher, powers Niechęć and Infant Joy Quintet, anchoring LSG’s tribal pulse. Their hypnotic, spiritually charged jazz captivates with raw power and spiritual luminescence. An ideal band to listen to outdoors under the stars!

Xacobe Xurxo Martínez Antelo – Double Bass
Manuel Gutiérrez – Piano
Lar Legido – Drums

Sumrrá, the galvanizing Spanish jazz trio of Xacobe Martinez Antelo (double bass), Manuel Gutiérrez (piano), and Lar Legido (drums/sound objects), redefines the piano trio paradigm with avant-garde daring, celebrating 25 years in 2025 as Spain’s longest-running jazz ensemble. With seven albums and a formidable global presence, their incendiary live performances have captivated audiences at festivals like Vitoria-Gasteiz, Vancouver, Jarasum, Joy of Jazz (Johannesburg), and Guangzhou’s International Jazz Festival. Antelo’s resonant basslines, honed through collaborations with icons like Jorge Pardo, anchor the trio’s sonic explorations. Gutiérrez, a Galician pianistic luminary, weaves intricate harmonies with impressionistic flair, while Legido’s percussive wizardry—blending traditional kit with found objects—ignites polyrhythmic fire, drawing from his work with experimental ensembles. Sumrrá’s music, a kaleidoscope of free jazz, modal interplay, and Iberian lyricism, dances between structured elegance and improvisational abandon, earning cult status through hundreds of concerts across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Their 25-year odyssey—marked by relentless innovation and critical acclaim—heralds a boundary-shattering legacy that continues to redefine jazz’s global frontier.

Etienne Cabaret – Clarinet
Christophe Rocher – Clarinet
Nicolas Pointard – Drums

CABARET ROCHER TRIO, a visionary ensemble from Brittany, France, redefines musical boundaries with a thrilling fusion of Breton folk and avant-garde jazz, led by multi-clarinetists Etienne Cabaret and Christophe Rocher. Renowned across France for their dynamic duo performances and global collaborations with luminaries, they now unveil a bold trio with drummer Nicolas Pointard, crafting a repertoire that marries traditional Breton melodies with free jazz’s daring spontaneity. Their sound dances between rousing, danceable tunes and haunting ballads, weaving Balkan flourishes, imaginary sonic textures, and improvisational fire. Cabaret, a Brittany native, infuses clarinet virtuosity with Celtic soul, while Rocher, a stalwart of ensembles like ONCEIM and Umlaut Big Band, conjures spectral clarinet dialogues rooted in jazz innovation. Pointard, a rhythmic alchemist from Brest’s vibrant scene, propels the trio with intricate grooves, blending folk pulse with freeform energy. Together, they craft a hybrid soundscape—wildly free yet deeply rooted—that oscillates between joyous celebration and melancholic introspection, captivating global audiences with its raw, evocative power and boundless creativity.

Simone Aubert – Guitar, vox, synth, effects
POL – Electronics, sampling
Beatriz Raimundo – Cello
Luciano Turella – Viola

TOUT BLEU, the Geneva-based quartet, conjures a spellbinding fusion of experimental jazz, pastoral darkwave, and glitch techno, led by Simone Aubert’s visionary artistry. Evolving from her 2016 Cave12 solo project, Aubert’s incendiary guitar, fervent vocals from Hyperculte, and synth effects weave operatic anthems with socially charged lyrics, as heard on Tout Bleu (2020) and Otium (2021), evoking Julia Holter’s enigma and Scott Walker’s brooding intensity. Electronics maestro POL, a Genevan leftfield pioneer, crafts glitchy synthscapes and dub pulses at Black Bunker Studio, amplifying the quartet’s polyphonic sprawl. Portuguese cellist Beatriz Raimundo, steeped in Lisbon’s avant-garde scene, infuses haunting, polyrhythmic warmth, her bow conjuring cinematic depths. Viola virtuoso Luciano Turella, from Irtum Branda, electrifies with soaring swells and effects, blending chamber rock with postpunk edge. Flirting with Krautrock and synthpop, TOUT BLEU’s sound—released on Bongo Joe Records—channels urgent conscience through tense, trance-like odysseys. This quartet’s innovative alchemy, bridging pastoral serenity and abrasive fervor, redefines jazz with a hypnotic, cross-cultural resonance.

Gergely Lukasc – Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Mohcine Ramdan – Vocals, Frame drum
& Gembri (Moroccan acoustic bass)
Karthik Mani – Percussion
Alaa Zouiten – Oud
Marwan Fakir – Violin

JISR, a Munich-based collective uniting Germany, Morocco, Hungary, and India, forges a pan-Oriental Afro-jazz odyssey, led by Moroccan visionary Mohcine Ramdan. A linguist and Gembri master, Ramdan’s multilingual vocals—Arabic, French, English, German—blend Gnawa mysticism, Saharan blues, and Sufi depth with rock, classical, and jazz on albums like Too Far Away (2020) and HASRA (2023). Hungarian trumpeter Gergely Lukács ignites Balkan fire and spiritual jazz with soaring flugelhorn. Moroccan violinist Marwan Fakir, a conservatory-trained innovator, weaves oriental maqam and gypsy jazz grooves. Berlin’s Alaa Zouiten, an oud virtuoso since Hada Makan (2012), fuses Arabic, Andalusian, and flamenco realms with technical brilliance. Indian percussionist Karthik Mani, heir to Carnatic legends, delivers virtuosic ghatam, mridangam, and konnakol, bridging Hindustani-Carnatic traditions with global rhythms from collaborations with jazz giants. Frame drums pulse beneath, anchoring JISR’s transcendent sound—a universal manifesto of longing and hope that heals with raw, boundary-defying grace, evoking moonlit caravans from the Isar to the boats on the Ganges.