Curtain up for Austrian jazz: KICK JAZZ, a cooperation between Austrian Music Export and Vienna’s Porgy & Bess, brings some of the most promising acts from Austria’s jazz scene to the stage on the 2nd and 3rd of December, 2026. The showcase festival offers a glimpse into a scene characterised by stylistic openness and a wide range of musical approaches.
The first day of the festival features Terrea, led by pianist and composer Amir Ahmadi, combines Iranian and Arabic musical traditions with contemporary jazz. The Claviton plays a special role in the ensemble, its microtonal possibilities opening up new harmonic and melodic pathways. In the Herbert – Labropoulou – Millà Trio, pianist Jordina Millà, electric guitarist Kenji Herbert and kanun player Sofia Labropoulou bring their diverse musical backgrounds into an open dialogue shaped by improvisation. With fudge summer, R’n’B, hip-hop, electronica and improvised music come together: singer and keyboardist Sara Filipova and drummer and sample artist Max Plattner combine catchy melodies with electronic textures and intricate grooves.
The second day features Duo Bouroyen Reisigl, among others. Amina Bouroyen and Anna Reisigl explore the intersections of jazz, song form and experimental music through voice and double bass, with a finely tuned interplay at the heart of their music. doubleMe3 moves between contemporary jazz, pop and electronic sounds, creating a multifaceted musical fabric from saxophone, double bass and drums. X!XU takes a decidedly more angular approach: the trio combines noise, club beats, grooves and dissonance with influences from the jazz tradition, forging an idiosyncratic musical language marked by spontaneous eruptions. Get your festival tickets here.
Wednesday, 2 December 2026
Terrea
With its unusual instrumentation—violin, cello, and an electric microtonal keyboard featuring 31 keys per octave—the Vienna-based Trio Terrea develops a distinctive musical perspective that consciously transcends conventional boundaries.
In doing so, microtonality becomes a meeting point for diverse musical disciplines—a space where tradition and the present converge.
Amir Ahmadi: Claviton
Sarvin Hazin: Violin
Anna Maria Niemiec: Cello
Herbert – Labropoulou – Millà TRIO
The trio features Kenji Herbert on electric guitar, Sofia Labropoulou on the kanun, and Jordina Millà on piano. Together, they will delve into a series of questions during their research:
What happens when forward-thinking, improvisational musicians push the boundaries of what is sonically possible while still respecting the rich traditions that have shaped these instruments? As they explore these questions and more, they will engage in musical conversations that draw on their personal stories, curiosity, and intuitive, empathetic communication.
Kenji Herbert: Guitar
Sofia Labropoulou: Kanun
Jordina Millà: Piano
fudge summer
Fudge Summer moves effortlessly between the sonic worlds of R&B, hip-hop, electronica, and improvised music, forging a distinctive, contemporary musical language. Vocalist and keyboardist Sara Filipova and drummer/sample artist Max Plattner blend catchy melodies, organic grooves, and electronic textures into a multi-layered sound that feels both playful and precise. Their music thrives on spontaneous interplay, unexpected twists, and a palpable openness to sonic experimentation. Warm vocals meet pulsating beats; atmospheric soundscapes merge with rhythmic sophistication. The result is a multifaceted listening experience that transcends stylistic boundaries, captivating the audience with creative energy, musical elegance, and a unique dynamic.
Max Plattner: Drums, Sample Pad
Sara Filipova: Vocals, Keys
Thursday, 3 December 2026
Duo Bouroyen Reisigl
Bouroyen Reisigl Duo explores the power of minimalism using voice and double bass. Vienna-based musicians Amina Bouroyen and Anna Reisigl create a soundscape of remarkable density and expressiveness from sparse means. Blending jazz, song forms, improvisation, and experimental sound art, they weave a delicate musical fabric characterized by openness, sensitivity, and mutual listening. Bouroyen’s warm, nuanced voice and Reisigl’s resonant double bass meet as equals, unfolding an intimate dialogue rich in poetic subtleties. The music feels transparent and fragile, yet simultaneously opens up vast spaces for spontaneous evolution and atmospheric intensity. Every note carries weight; every gesture holds meaning. The result is a listening experience that is at once calm and compelling—one that eschews grand effects, deriving its impact instead from intimacy, depth, and a fascinating, distinctive sonic identity.
Amina Bouroyen: Vocals
Anna Reisigl: Bass
doubleMe3
Double Me3 operates in a fascinating space between contemporary jazz, avant-garde, pop, and electronic sound art. Using saxophone, double bass, drums, and carefully applied effects, the trio creates a sound that is at once warm and elegant, yet inquisitive and experimental. This unusual instrumentation opens up fresh creative possibilities, drawing focus to timbres, dynamics, and the musicians’ subtle interplay. Fluid melodic lines, subtle soundscapes, and rhythmic intensifications combine to form music that is constantly in motion. Calm, almost ethereal passages transition organically into tension-filled crescendos, while acoustic and electronic elements merge into an atmospherically rich whole. The result is a multi-layered sonic universe filled with depth, contrast, and emotional resonance.
Luca Weigl: Bass
Lan Sticker: Tenor Saxophone
Rafael Denkmayr: Drums
X!XU
Noise, groove, club beats, dissonances, and sudden, tranquil soundscapes form the building blocks of X!XU’s music. Other ingredients include an immense joy in playing and a readiness for ecstatic outbursts. The trio has never abandoned the jazz tradition; instead, they have closely studied the genre’s mavericks and developed a playful repertoire aimed at a single goal: distinctiveness.
Valentin Goidinger: Guitar
Alexander Matheis: Bass
Patrick Pillichshammer: Drums
Get your Kick Jazz festival tickets here!