bahrainthismonth.com | NOVEMBER 2026 HAPPENINGS 88 All That Jazz BNP Paribas Bahrain Jazz Fest marks its 10th edition on December 4 at the Royal Golf Club, with a line-up spanning Memphis blues, Caribbean steelpan, Arabic soul and New Orleans swing. This year’s Bahrain Jazz Fest brings several of those interpretations to one stage, pairing international performers with artists from the Kingdom. Memphis Calling Headlining the festival is Memphis-born guitarist Eric Gales, whose career spans more than three decades. A Grammy winner and multiple Blues Music Award recipient, he first attracted attention as a teenage prodigy before establishing himself on festival stages across North America, Europe and Asia. Fellow guitarists Carlos Santana and Joe Bonamassa have praised his playing. The festival marks his Bahrain debut. Trinidad and Tobago’s Leon Foster Thomas brings a different instrument to the foreground. Playing the steelpan with the improvisational freedom often associated with the saxophone, he combines Caribbean rhythms with contemporary jazz harmonies. A two-time World Steelband Music Festival winner, Thomas has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center and worked with Hugh Masekela and Randy Brecker. Fresh Interpretations Toronto-based duo Kazdoura draws on the musical heritage of Syrian singer Leen Hamo and Lebanese multi-instrumentalist John Abou Chacra. Arabic melodies and ornamented vocals meet funk, soul and psychedelic sounds, a combination explored on their debut album, Ghoyoum, which won the 2026 JUNO Award for Global Music Album of the Year. The name Kazdoura means ‘a stroll’ in Levantine Arabic. Italy’s Cosimo and the Hot Coals turns to early New Orleans jazz and 1920s swing. The sixpiece band combines traditional jazz arrangements with Italian songwriting, including original material on its 2025 album, Troppa serietà. Soulful Groove Collective, led by pianist Giorgos Morfitis, brings together musicians from Cyprus and South Africa. Its repertoire connects jazz improvisation with soul and funk, informed by Morfitis’ training in Cyprus, Cuba and the Netherlands. His performance experience includes the Madrid Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival’s Round Town programme. Supported by the Cyprus Ministry of Culture, the collective’s Bahrain appearance adds to the growing cultural exchange between Cyprus and Bahrain through jazz. Homegrown Sounds Cuban music also features through Sonora Nueva Vista, led by Marcos Tamayo. Made up of Cuban musicians living in Bahrain, the band performs the repertoire associated with Buena Vista Social Club, bringing Cuban son to the Royal Golf Club nearly 30 years after the landmark album’s release. Bahrain’s The DMT Experience draws on jazz, hip-hop, funk and soul. Bahraini DJ, producer and musician DU$T adds his own combination of jazz, electronic sounds and lo-fi beats. These appearances continue the festival’s inclusion of Bahraini musicians on its main stage every year for a decade, alongside international guests. According to the organisers, the festival has provided more than USD150,000 in direct grants, fees and performance opportunities to Bahraini artists during that time. They also describe it as the first festival in Bahrain to disburse grants directly to local musicians. For more information, visit bahrainjazzfest.com @bahrainjazzfest Tickets and further information are available at www.manama.platinumlist.net/ event-tickets/bahrain-jazz-fest
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