Castelbuono Jazz Festival

The Castelbuono Jazz Festival is the August jazz week in Castelbuono, created and directed by Angelo Butera. Concerts start in the late afternoon in the Chiostro di San Francesco and go on into the night in Piazza Castello and Piazza Margherita. In 2026 the 29th edition ran from 16 to 23 August, with free entry to every event.

The festival also travels outside the village. In 2026 some evenings were held in San Mauro Castelverde, in July and August. For 2027 the director has announced a celebration of thirty years since the first edition; dates have not been released yet.

What an evening looks like

Since 2026 every evening has three parts, also meant to leave room for the restaurants and bars in the centre. Butera put it this way: “The festival’s goal is to be a partner of restaurateurs and the economy, not a competitor”.

Time	Where	What
19:00	Monumental Chiostro di San Francesco	the main concert of the evening
22:30	Piazza Castello, below the Ventimiglia castle	concert in the square, often tributes and special projects
23:30	Piazza Margherita	“La Notte Jazz” with the masterclass students

The 2026 masterclasses were led by Giuliana Di Liberto, Claudio Giambruno and Giacomo Tantillo. All evenings are presented by journalist Mario Caminita.

The 2026 programme

The 2026 edition was dedicated to the centenary of the births of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. These were the concerts in the cloister, from the programme published by Madonie Press and Madoniedintorni:

• 16 August: “We love Miles”, Stefano Di Battista Quartet, a tribute to Miles Davis;
• 17 August: the Latvian accordionist Ksenija Sidorova;
• 18 August: “Le Jazz à la Française” with Nicolas Folmer, Claudio Giambruno and Giuliana Di Liberto;
• 19 August: the Dual Flow Quartet of Roberto Gervasi and Giacomo Tantillo;
• 20 August: “George in my mind”, Salvatore Bonafede on George Gershwin;
• 21 August: “Neapolis Mambo” by Walter Ricci;
• 22 August: the Fabrizio Bosso Quartet with the Routes project;
• 23 August: “Un amore supremo”, Francesco Bearzatti for the Coltrane centenary.

Piazza Castello hosted more popular projects: Lidiya Koycheva’s Balkan Orkestra, “Brasil Fala Italiano” with Pamela Barone, a tribute to Ornella Vanoni with Anna Bonomolo and Salvo Correri, “Clapton Story”, film soundtracks with Valeria Milazzo, “Born in Sicily” for Rosa Balistreri and the Baciami Piccina Swing Band. On the last night the square belonged to the students of the Claudio Lo Cascio Masterclass.

The awards

The festival gives a few awards every year. In 2026 they included the “80 voglia di diritti” award (presented by the mayor to a Sicilian woman mayor, for the eightieth anniversary of women’s first vote), the “Il paladino di Sicilia” award to a figure engaged against the Mafia, the Marco Tamburini award to a young emerging musician, given for eleven years, and the Claudio Lo Cascio award to a masterclass student.

Past editions

The calendar changes a lot from year to year:

Year	Edition	Dates	Theme and names
2026	29th	16-23 August (plus evenings in San Mauro Castelverde from July)	Coltrane and Davis; Di Battista, Bosso, Bearzatti
2025	28th	30 July-21 August	Andrea Camilleri and Pino Daniele; Bosso and Mazzariello, Bearzatti, Di Battista

In 2025 the festival opened on 30 July with an open-air concert in the Madonie Park, in the shade of ash trees, with the new JFP Madonie Orchestra of 22 Sicilian musicians. On 1 August, in the Sala del Principe of the Ventimiglia castle, there was an event on “La Sicilia di Andrea Camilleri”. The main concerts were in Piazza Margherita, from 16 to 20 August.

Getting there, where to stay and eat

Castelbuono is about 23 km from Cefalù (25 minutes) and about 90 km from Palermo (1 hour 20), according to our calculation on OpenStreetMap without traffic. The sources on the festival do not mention parking or shuttles: the three stages are in the centre, a few minutes’ walk apart.

In August festivals follow one another in Castelbuono: Castelbuono Classica, Ypsigrock and then the jazz. Look for a room early in where to stay in Castelbuono and book a table between concerts with the list of where to eat in Castelbuono. Before you set off, check the Castelbuono weather.

The summer’s other concerts are on the music in the Madonie page and the Castelbuono events page.