Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival, taking place from 27 to 29 August, will soon bring some of the most influential names on the contemporary international jazz scene to the picturesque island of Lopud. Alongside the concert programme, the heart of the festival lies in its masterclasses, where selected young music professionals work side by side with artists who are shaping jazz today, and whose artistic languages range from rock to electronics.

This year’s mentorship programme is led by Jamey Haddad, Paul Simon’s long-time percussionist and a collaborator of Yo-Yo Ma. Joining him in the festival residency is a group of artists who have left a powerful mark on the contemporary jazz and improvisational music scenes.

The mentorship line-up continues with Camila Meza, the Chilean guitarist, vocalist and composer whose artistry The New York Times has recognised both in the clarity of her voice and in the seriousness of her guitar improvisation. She has built her distinctive artistic voice on the New York and international music scenes, appearing at festivals around the world and in music programmes such as NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. She has released six albums, including Traces (2016), which won two Independent Music Awards, and Ámbar (2019), which won Chile’s most important music prize, the Pulsar Award, and received a nomination for the Dutch Edison Award. She comes to Lopud in the year in which she released Portal on the GroundUP Music label, her first album composed entirely of original music.

A similar musical breadth will be brought to the island by Rachel Eckroth, a pianist, vocalist and composer described by critics as an artist of extraordinary stylistic transformation, with no upper limit to her creative identity. Raised in a musical family, she earned a master’s degree in jazz piano from Rutgers University, where she studied with the legendary pianist Stanley Cowell, and sees herself first and foremost as a composer – for her own ensembles, from duo to nonet, as well as for orchestras and television. She has released seven albums, with her next, announced for 2027, featuring saxophonists Nicole McCabe and last year’s festival mentor Ben Wendel. Her singing and songwriting can also be heard in the Emmy-winning documentary Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020). Eckroth arrives at the festival as a doubly recognised artist: through the Grammy nomination for her album The Garden (2021), and through her keyboard work on St. Vincent’s Grammy-winning album All Born Screaming.

Her frequent musical partner, composer, drummer and percussionist John Hadfield, has taken his career from his native Missouri to clubs and concert halls around the world, and is now based in Paris. He has released six albums of his own compositions, as well as a number of collaborative projects, while his versatility has taken him to the stage with Yo-Yo Ma, the Silkroad Ensemble, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Saturday Night Live Band on NBC. He has contributed to more than one hundred recordings, including Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated albums, while both The New York Times and Modern Drummer have praised his groove and precision; Modern Drummer described his playing as “a fluid groove, strong yet never intrusive”, noting that his skilful sound-weaving choices “create the illusion of a seamless multi-percussion section”.

From the same world in which jazz meets rock comes Donny McCaslin, the saxophonist whose name became known far beyond jazz circles thanks to his pivotal role on Blackstar, David Bowie’s final album. Since then, he has carved a distinctive path at the crossroads of jazz, rock and electronics – from Blow (2018), which introduced electric guitars and studio effects into his sound, to I Want More (2023), described by Jazzwise as a direct, studio-shaped recording that brings together electronica, post-rock, jazz and improvisation. His latest album, Lullaby for the Lost, continues that exploration, and McCaslin has said that no album he has made has ever brought him greater satisfaction.

Alongside them, the mentorship circle is completed by musicians who have each left their own imprint on the world stage: pianist Gabriel Chakarji, a Grammy Award winner known for bringing together Venezuelan musical traditions and New York jazz; keyboardist Jason Lindner, one of the distinctive names of the experimental electronic scene and another collaborator on Bowie’s Blackstar; and bassist Jonathan Maron, co-founder of the band Groove Collective. The rhythmic foundation is strengthened by four-time Grammy winner Antonio Sánchez, Pat Metheny’s long-time collaborator and the composer of the score for the Oscar-winning film Birdman (2014), alongside drummer Elé Howell, a collaborator of Chief Adjuah and Gary Bartz, and pianist and vocalist Alejandra Sofia, a longtime member of Camila Meza’s band. This stellar lineup is brought together by the festival’s artistic director and co-founder, Grammy-nominated vocalist and composer Thana Alexa.

Led by this year’s master, Jamey Haddad, these musicians will spend three days working with a carefully selected group of young professionals, while also sharing their artistry with festival audiences at evening concerts under the stars of Lopud.

Tickets are available via Entrio, and all information about the programme and accompanying events will be available at pontalopud.hr and on the social media channels of the Ponta Lopud Creative Platform.

The Ponta Lopud Creative Platform presents three summer cultural programmes in 2026 and welcomes all lovers of the arts, primarily film, music and literature. Ponta Lopud Film Festival was the first of the three events; held from 25 to 28 June, it was dedicated to the art of film. The second event, the popular Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival, will bring music lovers to the island from 27 to 29 August, while Ponta Lopud Book Bridge will transform the island into a literary haven from 17 to 19 September, rounding off the summer season of events.