Jazz doesn’t begin and end on stage. That’s why, once again this year, we’re curating a supporting programme that takes jazz beyond the concert stage and into film, photography, books, discussions – and long summer gatherings that often stretch late into the night.

The accompanying programme opens on 29 June with a screening of Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows, featuring a soundtrack by Miles Davis, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the musician’s birth. His improvised score helped make the film iconic and remains one of the most striking examples of the fusion between jazz and cinema.

A day later, on 30 June, the photography exhibition Face to Face, Soul to Soul by photographer and music journalist Ssirus W. Pakzad opens at the Small Gallery of Cankarjev dom. Over several decades, Pakzad has photographed legends who shaped the history of jazz, capturing them not only on stage, but also between concerts, during interviews, and while travelling. After the opening, join us for a Q&A with the photographer, moderated by curator Žiga Koritnik.

As part of the Jazz v dialogu / Jazz in Dialogue series, two discussions will take place in the Alma Karlin Hall. The first will bring together female musicians performing at the festival for a conversation on voice, creativity, and the place women occupy in jazz, while the second will feature British saxophonist, composer, and rapper Soweto Kinch. Together with the festival’s artistic director Tina Lešničar, he will reflect on the question of what the world might look like if it were ruled by jazz.

Between concerts, the Jazz in Books library will open beneath the treetops in CD Park, offering books on music, the people, the scenes, and the communities that sustain jazz.

Once the concerts end, the festival, following an established tradition, moves to Kazina Jazz Klub. There, Gašper Bertoncelj will lead the Jazz po jazzu / Jazz After Jazz jam sessions – late-night gatherings that tend to keep people around well into the early hours.