JazzFestBrno 2026 – Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein & Bill Stewart

JazzFestBrno 2026: Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein & Bill Stewart Bring 30 Years of Jazz Magic to Brno

Some musical partnerships take years to find their footing. Others click almost immediately and just keep getting better. Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart fall firmly into the second category. On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, this legendary organ trio brings more than 30 years of musical partnership to the intimate setting of Cabaret des Péchés in Brno at 7:30 PM, as part of the landmark 25th anniversary edition of JazzFestBrno.

This is not a typical festival booking. This is three of the most celebrated jazz musicians in the world, playing together in one of the most characterful small venues in the Czech Republic, in a city that has spent a quarter century building an audience worthy of them. If you're in or near Brno on the evening of April 7, this is exactly where you need to be.

JazzFestBrno at 25: A Festival That Has Earned Its Reputation

JazzFestBrno was founded in 2002 and has built its reputation year by year as one of the most thoughtfully programmed jazz festivals in Central Europe. The festival's mission, as it has always stated, is to present jazz as "a living genre that enriches, cultivates, and inspires lives" — not just a museum piece, but a constantly evolving art form.

The 25th anniversary season, running from February 6 to May 5, 2026, reflects that ambition fully. The 2026 lineup includes some of the most significant names in contemporary jazz:

• February 6: Béla Fleck, Edmar Castaneda, and Antonio Sánchez at Sono
• February 13: Esperanza Spalding at Sono
• March 28: Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride at Besední dům (two performances)
• April 7: Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart at Cabaret des Péchés
• April 28: GoGo Penguin at Sono
• May 5: Joshua Redman (closing concert) at Sono

The April 7 date stands apart from the others in the season — not only because of the calibre of the musicians involved, but because it takes place at Cabaret des Péchés, a venue whose intimate character suits the organ trio format in a way that even the beloved Sono Music Club cannot fully replicate.

Three Masters, One Sound: Who Are Goldings, Bernstein & Stewart?

Larry Goldings: The Hammond B3 Voice of a Generation

Larry Goldings is widely regarded as one of the finest Hammond B3 organists in jazz today. Born in Boston in 1968, he studied at the New England Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music before establishing himself as a performer of extraordinary range — equally at home in the jazz organ trio format, as a session pianist for major pop artists, and as a solo improviser of genuine depth.

His organ playing has a quality described by many critics as "groovy" without ever being simplistic, drawing comparisons to organ giants like Dr. Lonnie Smith and Joey DeFrancesco while maintaining an unmistakably personal voice. Over the past three decades, he has recorded with James Taylor, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and dozens of others, but the trio with Bernstein and Stewart remains the creative partnership most central to his identity as a jazz musician.

Peter Bernstein: The Most Complete Guitarist Working in Jazz

Peter Bernstein is a guitarist from New York City who has spent three decades building a reputation as, in the words of the legendary Jim Hall, someone who is "always red-hot." French music journalists have called him "le guitariste le plus complet du moment" — the most complete guitarist of the moment — and it's not hard to understand why when you hear him play.

Bernstein's style combines a deep knowledge of bebop tradition with a harmonic sophistication and emotional directness that makes every note feel purposeful. He has performed and recorded alongside Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, Lou Donaldson, Joshua Redman, and Brad Mehldau, among many others. His ability to simultaneously outline a harmony, provide rhythmic propulsion, and sing a melodic line through the guitar neck is what makes him so invaluable in the organ trio format, where the guitar carries an unusually heavy structural load.

Bill Stewart: The Drummer Who Makes Everyone Sound Better

Bill Stewart is from Des Moines, Iowa, and has been one of the most sought-after drummers in jazz since the early 1990s. His playing is described consistently as "melodious" — a quality that connects him to the lineage of Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, and Al Foster, drummers who approach the kit as a singing, responsive instrument rather than a purely rhythmic one.

He has recorded and performed with Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, and Dr. Lonnie Smith, among many others. Within the trio, his role is the connective tissue that allows Goldings and Bernstein to take risks. His responses to what the other two are doing in real time are one of the great pleasures of listening to this group live.

Thirty Years of Playing Together: What That Actually Means

The New York Times called them "the best organ trio of the last decade" in the mid-1990s. That was three decades ago, and the trio has not stopped playing together since. They have over a dozen recordings to their name, all of which display what they describe as their "distinctive sound, whether exploring the depths of jazz standards or playing their own original compositions."

Their most recent album, Perpetual Pendulum, released on Smoke Sessions Records, is the latest document of a musical relationship that has grown richer and more nuanced with every passing year. When musicians have played together this long, something happens that cannot be manufactured or shortcut: a kind of telepathic musical communication where the group responds as a single organism rather than three individuals. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, reviewing a recent Stockholm performance at Fasching, described their playing as characterised by "ruthless swing." That phrase captures it well.

Their recent European tour has taken them through Ronnie Scott's in London on April 3, Brussels Jazz Station on April 4, New Morning in Paris on April 15, and Fasching in Stockholm — placing Brno's Cabaret des Péchés on April 7 right at the heart of a major European run.

Cabaret des Péchés: The Right Room for This Music

The choice of Cabaret des Péchés as the venue for this concert is a significant one. The Hammond B3 organ trio is one of the most intimate formats in jazz — a music that was originally born in small clubs, bars, and late-night venues where the organ's full-bodied warmth and the drummer's groove could fill a room without overwhelming it.

Cabaret des Péchés, with its cabaret-style seating and close-proximity stage, is one of the most appropriate venues in Brno for exactly this kind of music. Unlike the larger Sono Music Club, which suits full-band performances and more contemporary sounds, Cabaret des Péchés has the character of a proper jazz club — the kind of space where the music and the audience inhabit the same atmosphere rather than being separated by distance and spectacle.

This is where the Goldings/Bernstein/Stewart sound genuinely belongs. The organ fills the room. The guitar speaks directly to you. The drums pulse in a space where you can hear every nuance. For jazz fans, there are very few more satisfying ways to spend an April evening.

Exploring Brno on Concert Night

April 7 in Brno is deep into spring, and the city is one of the most pleasant places in Central Europe to spend a late afternoon and evening in this season. The old town is compact and walkable, making it easy to combine an hour or two of sightseeing with dinner before heading to the show.

Where to Go Before the Concert

• náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square) is the city's vibrant main square, surrounded by gorgeous Baroque and Art Nouveau facades. The terraces are open by April, and a glass of Moravian wine at one of the square's cafes before a jazz concert feels exactly right.
• Zelný trh (Cabbage Market) is just a short walk from Freedom Square and is Brno's most historic market square. The restaurants and wine bars around it make it an ideal spot for a pre-concert dinner.
• Špilberk Castle is a 20-minute uphill walk from the city centre and rewards the effort with sweeping views over the city. The spring gardens around the castle are beautiful in April and early May.
• The Old Town Hall with its famously crooked tower and the legendary Brno dragon — a stuffed crocodile displayed hanging from the ceiling since the 17th century — is one of the city's most charming and distinctly local sights.
• The neighbourhood around Jakubské náměstí has some of the best independent restaurants and wine bars in the city, ideal for a relaxed pre-show dinner with Moravian Welschriesling or Pálava.

Getting There

Brno is very well connected by rail:

• From Prague: approximately 2.5 hours
• From Vienna: approximately 1.5 hours
• From Budapest: approximately 3 hours
• Brno Airport (BRQ) handles regional European flights

For the concert itself, Cabaret des Péchés is in central Brno and easily reached on foot from the city centre or by tram from Brno Central Station (Brno hlavní nádraží).

One Evening That Jazz History Will Quietly Note

There is a certain kind of jazz concert where you know, sitting in the room, that you are watching something that will not always be available to you. Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart have been playing together for over 30 years. Their music has been described by the New York Times as the best of its kind. Their most recent album represents the latest chapter of an ongoing creative conversation that has never stopped growing.

On April 7, 2026 at 7:30 PM, they play Cabaret des Péchés in Brno. Tickets are available at jazzfestbrno.cz. Reserve your spot, plan an evening in one of Central Europe's most beautiful spring cities, and come ready to hear what happens when three exceptional musicians bring three decades of trust and listening into a room together. This is jazz at its most irreplaceable.

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