ALEF Jazz Festival

ALEF Jazz Festival 2026 | The Pilot

**ALEF: A Legacy Echoes Forever **is a new interdisciplinary outdoor festival in Rotterdam where jazz improvisation, visual art, and community come together in one intimate festival experience. On May 16, 2026, the Courtyard of the Groot Handelsgebouw will transform into a vibrant platform for experimentation, connection, and artistic innovation.
ALEF is an initiative by Goliath Collective, Super-Sonic Jazz, and De Kunstfabriek, and presents improvisation not as a side program, but as the beating heart of the festival. Throughout the day, visitors can move freely between jam sessions, panel talks, art installations, performances, and DJ sets, where music, heritage, identity, and contemporary creativity reinforce one another.

Drawing inspiration from Afrobeat, African American jazz history, and Afrofuturism, ALEF explores how artistic legacy resonates in the present. Under the theme A Legacy Echoes Forever, the festival brings together emerging creators, established artists, and diverse communities in a shared process of listening, responding, and creating in the moment.
ALEF is aimed at a new generation of cultural visitors who move between club culture, art, jazz, and social awareness. Small in scale but ambitious in vision, this first edition aims to grow into an annual festival and provide a lasting boost to Rotterdam’s cultural infrastructure.

Timetable
15:00 - 18:00 RIV
18:00 - 19:15 IMANI
19:15 - 20:15 Osmanbas
20:15 - 21:00 Higherlife Collective (Junior Appiah & Nathan Badu w/ DJ-set)
21:00 - 22:00 Vanyfox (PT)
22:00 - 23:00 S!RENE x Higherlife Collective (live)