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 Jordina 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
Terrea offers a new perspective on the music of the Middle East – particularly Iran – by casting its rich musical traditions in a new light. The ensemble aims to redefine the narrative surrounding the music of this region.
At the heart of the project is the remarkable “Claviton”, an instrument built by Georg Vogel that offers 31 tones per octave. It is a defining feature of the ensemble and allows composer and pianist Amir Ahmadi to apply a tuning system he developed based on Iranian and Arabic music. This pioneering approach enables the creation of polyphonic structures that draw on the melodic vocabulary of Iranian and Arabic music, seamlessly weaving these elements into a modern jazz language without losing sight of their traditional roots.
Amir Ahmadi: Claviton
Sarvin Hazin: Violin
Anna Maria Niemiec: Cello
Jordina Millà Trio
The trio consists of Kenji Herbert (electric guitar), Sofia Labropoulou (kanun) and Jordina Millà (piano). As part of their artistic research, they explore a series of questions: What happens when forward-thinking improvisers push the boundaries of what is sonically possible while at the same time respecting the rich traditions that have shaped their instruments? In exploring these and other questions, they engage in musical dialogues informed by their personal histories and curiosity, as well as an intuitive and empathetic form of communication.
Jordina Millà: Piano
Sofia Labropoulou: Kanun
Kenji Herbert: Guitar
fudge summer
fudge summer moves effortlessly between the sonic worlds of R’n’B, hip-hop, electronica and improvised music, developing a distinctive and contemporary musical language in the process. Singer and keyboardist Sara Filipova and drummer and sample artist Max Plattner combine catchy melodies, organic grooves and electronic textures to create a multilayered sound that is both playful and precise.
Their music thrives on spontaneous interaction, unexpected turns and a palpable openness to sonic experimentation. Warm vocals meet pulsating beats, while atmospheric textures encounter rhythmic sophistication. The result is a multifaceted listening experience that transcends stylistic boundaries, driven by creative energy, musical elegance and a distinctive sense of dynamics.
Max Plattner: Drums, Sample Pad
Sara Filipova: Vocals, Keys
Thursday, 3 December 2026
Duo Bouroyen Reisigl
Bouroyen Reisigl Duo explores the power of minimal means through voice and double bass. Vienna-based musicians Amina Bouroyen and Anna Reisigl use a sparse palette to create a sonic world of remarkable density and expressiveness.
Moving between jazz, song form, improvisation and experimental sound art, they create a finely woven musical fabric shaped by openness, sensitivity and attentive 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 while simultaneously opening up expansive spaces for spontaneous development and atmospheric intensity. Every note carries weight, every gesture has meaning. The result is a listening experience that is both calm and full of tension, drawing its impact not from grand gestures but from intimacy, depth and a fascinating sonic identity.
Amina Bouroyen: Vocals
Anna Reisigl: Bass
doubleMe3
double Me3 inhabits a fascinating space between contemporary jazz, avant-garde, pop and electronic sound art. Using saxophone, double bass, drums and carefully deployed effects, the trio creates a sound that is warm and elegant while remaining curious and experimental.
The unusual instrumentation opens up unexpected spaces, drawing attention to timbre, dynamics and the subtle interplay between the musicians. Flowing melodic lines, delicate soundscapes and rhythmic intensification come together in music that remains constantly in motion. Quiet, almost weightless passages organically evolve into tension-filled crescendos, while acoustic and electronic elements merge into an atmospherically dense whole. The result is a multilayered sonic universe rich in depth, contrast and emotional resonance.
Luca Weigl: Bass
Lan Sticker: Tenor Saxophone
Rafael Denkmayr: Drums
X!XU
Noise, groove, club beats, dissonance and sudden stretches of self-contained sonic calm are the building blocks of X!XU’s music. Add to this an exuberant joy in playing and a willingness to erupt into moments of ecstasy. The trio has never left the jazz tradition behind, but has closely studied its mavericks and iconoclasts, using those influences to develop a playful repertoire with one clear aim: to be unmistakably their own.
Valentin Goidinger: Guitar
Alexander Matheis: Bass
Patrick Pillichshammer: Drums
Get your Kick Jazz festival tickets here!