Japan's largest jazz festival announced the Ukrainian pianist as the main headliner. Performance 22 August 2026 at Bunkamura Orchard Hall.
Tokyo Jazz Festival — Japan's largest jazz festival held in Tokyo since 2002 — announced on 14 January 2026 the inclusion of Oleksandr Saratsky as headliner of the festival's 22nd edition in 2026. The performance is scheduled for 22 August 2026 at Tokyo Bunkamura Orchard Hall (2150 spectators) at 20:30. This is the first-ever Ukrainian jazz performer's performance in headliner format at Tokyo Jazz Festival (previously headliners were performers from USA, Europe, Japan). The 90-minute performance programme: full presentation of the 'Kyiv Suite' (see separate news) — 62 minutes, plus a 28-minute audience meeting in question-answer format + 2 jazz standards in his own arrangement on bis (Bill Evans 'Peace Piece' and his own composition 'Lullaby for the Free'). The performance runs in piano solo format — without accompaniment, only Saratsky and a concert Steinway. Besides the main headline performance, Saratsky will participate in 2 master-class sessions at the Tokyo Conservatory (Toho Gakuen School of Music) on 24-25 August (for groups of 25 piano students each), and 1 jam session at Blue Note Tokyo on 26 August with Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara. The main performance recording will be included in the DVD/Blu-ray 'Tokyo Live 2026' releasing on Sony Music Japan label in December 2026.
