jazzhane Festival 2026

Aynur is one of the most iconic and influential voices of Kurdish music today. Over her 25-year career, she has reshaped the musical landscape by blending the deep-rooted traditions of Kurdish folk music with contemporary Western influences, creating a timeless and globally resonant musical language. Her extraordinary voice and motive storytelling represent the rich cultural heritage of her roots, reinterpreted as a universal genre.

Aynur has collaborated with world-renowned musicians and ensembles, including Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Maestro Riccardo Muti, Kayhan Kalhor, Javier Limón, Kinan Azmeh, the Nederland Blazers Ensemble, and the NDR Big Band. These partnerships have expanded her artistic spectrum and elevated Kurdish music to a global platform. Her remarkable talent has also been featured in acclaimed films, including Fatih Akın’s Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul and Morgan Neville’s The Music of Strangers, which documents her journey with the Silk Road Ensemble.

Islandman, a music trio in this realm but a fictional character in reality, is a musical identity, a visionary, a full spectrum experience.

Their music can be described as a unique blend of smooth electronic textures and dance beats with spacey live guitars backed by shamanic rhythms. The power of the band comes from the perfect balance between electronic structures and acoustic harmonies: Turkish psychedelica meets African roots music.

Swissa-Moroccan multi-instrumentalist and producer emerging from the alternative scenes of Switzerland, Sami Galbi draws from his parallel musical universes to create his own sound.

He embraces north african raï and chaâbi and blends it up with some of the electronic beats and textures that shaped his upbringing ambidextrously.

His influences feature US hip-hop, UKbass, House and Afro-Caribbean dance music. Using analog machines, raw synthesizers and theelectric guitar, and borrowing from the codes of postmodern urban music, Sami delivers highly energetic performances.

Saliah (pronounced SAAL-YA) is a British Lebanese Electronic music producer and DJ. Playing her debut Boiler Room and Glastonbury sets and being named one of Virtuoso’s ‘Ones to watch’, Saliah is renowned for her unique blends of acapellas, UK Bass, popular Arabic classics and a range of ground-shaking Electronic genres; Saliah’s curated selection and stage presence guarantees explosive energies on the dancefloor. She has supported MOBO-Award-Winning Lady Leshurr and BBC Introducing’s Miss Melody. Her performances have opened for familiar jazzhane' family members, such as Omar Souleyman, Shkoon, and others.

Saliah is continuously working behind the scenes supporting Diversity and Inclusion, safer spaces and speaking on panels for social change.

The four-piece band Den Dala from Zurich captivates with their distinctive instrumental sound, blending influences from indie, jazz and psychedelic rock. Their music thrives on inventive guitar melodies, a strong sense of groove, and dreamy soundscapes.

Den Dala’s new studio album, Say Hi To The Storks, was released in November 2025, marking the band’s most ambitious work to date. Inspired by storks and other observations, the band creates their signature relaxed atmosphere throughout the album. The ten instrumental tracks showcase both the musicians’ collective chemistry and the unique guitar playing of bandleader and frontman Andrin Stettler.

The band, whose members met at the Jazz School, have been performing together since 2021. What started as a solo project by Andrin Stettler gradually evolved into a wellrehearsed group that brings vibrant energy to every stage. With performances at festivals such as m4music, BScene, and Montreux Jazz Festival, Den Dala has established themselves in the Swiss music scene and continues to captivate a growing audience far beyond the country’s borders.

Tillmann Ostendarp a.k.a. DJ Real Madrid is a diverse genre-bending musician, producer and DJ based in Zürich. He is one half of the electronic live act „Skiclub Toggenburg“ and longtime drummer and trombone player of Swiss singer „Faber“. He toured north america as drummer of „Kerala Dust“ and if there is time, he plays with Kalabreses „Rumpelorchester“ and severeal other projects.

Okvsho stand out as one of the most intriguing and promising projects within the European modern jazz scene. The two brothers (Christoph & Georg Kiss) from Zurich (Switzerland) who form Okvsho let their original musical background in beat-making and electronic music flow in with the sounds of the young and vibrant European jazz scene and discover new grounds at the same time. Through playing with local jazz musicians their live-band project Okvsho +experience emerged, which celebrates improvisation, spontaneity, and jazz as dance music.

Multitalented Flavia Schweizer is a Swiss-Persian choreographer, dancer, and DJ, currently living in Zurich, Switzerland. Usually found on the dance floor performing with Pharell Williams, One Direction, and Talib Kweli or directing choreographies for world-renowned TV-Shows, dance theater productions, or commercials, Flavia found her way into DJing in 2018.

As Flavah Nice, she plays eclectic sets that feature tunes from all over the world. Paired with her outstanding history in dancing, the sets are a powerful representation of her very own biography. Music from the silk road, irregular rhythms, and melodramatic tunes are blended with Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Soul, Funk, and Afrobeats, transforming an explosive energy to the dancefloor.

Flavia is a resident DJ in Zurich at the Open Mic Show at Plaza Klub, the Kinderdisco at Tanhaus Zurich, Anundpfirsich Impro Theater at Zollhaus, and Barfussbar at Frauenbadi. She is no stranger to Switzerland's nightlife scene, performing at Kasheme, Variété, Longstreet Bar, St. Gallen Openair, Heitere Openair Zofingen, Kunsthaus Zurich, etc.

Hailing from Odessa in Ukraine, Yuliya’s charm resembles that of her city. Rythms have shaped all her life both on the theater stage and on the dance floor. Yuliya’s music and herself have a seemingly never ending energy. She describes her dj sets as a canvas, painting beautiful moments to connect with the dance floor.

Maqam Workshop on Friday, July 24, 2026, from 17.00 - 18.30. Book your session here.

This workshop explores microtonal tonal systems and modal approaches from Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, and Turkish Maqam traditions, as well as North African grooves and modes.

The focus lies on practical approaches to:

• Introduction to Maqams and microtonal modes

• Microtonal modulation in modal and harmonic contexts

• Developing an individual musical language rooted in personal backgrounds and traditions

• Application in improvisation and composition

Ensemble work & Arrangements
Selected arrangements by Mahan Mirarab will be studied and performed together. Rhythm, microtonality, and improvisation are integrated within the ensemble context. The aim is to implement musical concepts practically and deepen intercultural playing techniques through collective music-making.

About Mahan Mirarab
Mahan Mirarab is a musician and composer. He grew up in the Iranian capital Tehran and lives in Vienna. Anyone who listens to Mirarab play his multi-neck guitar understands the» honest language« the artist articulates in his music. 

European elements of chamber music combined with contemporary forms of jazz. They open a new interpretation of Iranian classical music.

He represents a generation of young migrant musicians in Europe who are changing the sound borders in the music industry and are pushing for more diversity with respect to quality, dialogue, and creativity. His aim is to introduce a new narrative through music in regard to middle eastern cultures and jazz and in doing so he has succeeded to create his complex yet approachable style.

His approach to composition and arrangement introduces a unique blend of rhythms and harmonies that showcases his rich musical vocabulary as well as his depth of knowledge in many different music styles. As a result, his compositions avoid so brilliantly cliche and expand the understanding of how each style can be interpreted. Mirarab is composing, arranging, and performing in many jazz, experimental, acoustic/electronic, folk, and traditional projects as well as film, dance, and theatre.

In 2022, Mirarab played over 70 concerts around the world. He also released his latest album, recorded with his fixed sextet during the Corona Pandemic. With »Say Your Most Beautiful Word« Mirarab finds a way of articulation that goes beyond playing the guitar. It’s as much a request as it is a guide to confronting and communicating one’s feelings — an attitude toward life grounded in trust and culminating in one word: Hope.

Jazz, therefore, defines as a kind of philosophy by Mirarab. It is a way of solidarity, how to fight for one’s identity, he says. »As a migrant in Europe, I bring strong influences from my cultural background «, Mirarab amplifies. »Through the philosophy of jazz, I find my own language, with the help of which I can break out of traditional conventions.« 

That this liberation is evident in the combination of elements of European and Persian classical music is becoming increasingly important to Mirarab. He doesn’t present tradition, but represents it anew — in music that provokes practical diversion and analytical complexion, but is always defined by the relationship of rhythm to the body: »Even if the pieces are difficult to play, the focus is on making it groove.«

Introduction to Djing with Saliah on Saturday, July 25, 2026, from 13.00 - 14.30. Book your session here: