American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau is among the 10 international stars who will perform at the festival this year. Other artists in the lineup include James Carter, Christian Sands, vocalist Jose James with his band, Lizz Wright (who recently released the album “Shadow”), Stacey Kent, and Nigel Kennedy & Band.

Polish artists include Krzesimir Dębski, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Marek Napiórkowski, Krystyna Stańko, and Tomasz Białowolski.

In total, over 300 artists will perform at the festival, which will last until the end of the vacation season.

The festival program includes over 100 concerts, beginning with a solo recital by Brad Mehldau on Saturday at the Kraków Philharmonic.

“Mehldau is a visionary, someone who shapes contemporary jazz piano. He’s called the ‘god of jazz piano,’ one of the most influential jazz pianists of the last 20 years. Young creators consider him a guiding light, someone who expands visions and improvisational possibilities,” said festival director and Polish cellist Witold Wnuk during a press conference.

“Kraków has been a source of jazz in Poland and remains its stronghold. There are daily active jazz clubs here and an army of musicians—around a thousand creators dedicated to jazz, with 500 of them making a living from playing jazz and related music, while another 500 study jazz at Krakow’s universities,” he added.

Additionally, the festival will feature the traditional Niedziela Orleańska (New Orleans Sunday) parade on the first weekend of July, leading from the Main Square (Rynek Główny) to Szczepański Square, along with concerts in cafés. On that day, the festival award—the “Baranek Jazzowy”—will be presented. This year’s honoree is Jan Gonciarczyk. The festival will conclude with a concert on September 1st, commemorating the Polish jazz guitarist Jarek Śmietana.

The Summer Jazz Festival Kraków is the largest jazz festival of its kind in Poland. Each year, the event attracts approximately 50,000 people to its concerts.