The biggest and best star constellation

Until 28 December, the Voll-Damm Festival de Jazz de Barcelona will bring stars such as Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Brian Blade, Ron Carter and Dave Holland to various stages around the city, along with projects exclusively conceived for the festival, such as the tribute to Paquito D'Rivera and commissions such as the duo of Andrea Motis and Marco Mezquida or the unprecedented Passing the Torch! by the Sant Andreu Jazz Band and three members of the historic La Locomotora Negra.

According to its director, Tito Ramoneda, "we are facing the best line-up in the history of the Festival, with more than 100 concerts and activities with stellar names and exclusive concerts that will make Barcelona the world capital of jazz".

Madeleine Peyroux will open the 54th edition of the event on 11 October, which will bring together other "vocal divas" such as the return of Cécile McLorin Salvant with her new album, Ghost Song (23 October); the debut of the very young Samara Joy, considered the voice of the future of jazz (24 October), and the recitals of Dianne Reeves (9 November) and Melody Gardot (29 November).

The programme includes a performance by Bill Frisell and his Harmony Quartet, with Petra Haden - Charlie Haden's daughter - as a soloist, and "two glorious returns": the Joshua Redman Quartet and the duo formed by the pianist Michel Camilo and the guitarist Tomatito, who will perform on 26 October and 11 November at the Palau de la Música Catalana, respectively.

Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Tete Montoliu's death, five pianists will come together on 1 December around two grand pianos to reinterpret his legacy in the show Per sempre, Tete. They are Albert Bover, Ignasi Terraza, Alejandro Esperanza, Xavi Torres and Lucía Fumero, daughter of Horacio Fumero, Tete's double bass player.

Meanwhile, vibraphonist and multi-instrumentalist Jordi Rossy will be the star of the Retrat d’Artista, with four exquisite concerts at the Conservatori del Liceu based on his figure as frontman and sideman, together with the Liceu Jazz Grup (on 19 October) and artists such as Robert Landfermann and Jeff Ballard (on 3 November), Carme Canela and Jaume Llombart (on 7) and Kurt Rosenwinkel (on 30). Bassist Ferran Rico will also be playing, having arrived expressly from Boston to present Punctum, his new project. This concert is one of the five events of the Carta Blanca, which will open the doors to local bands such as the Liceu Big Band, the BLAM Collective and the Gran Ensemble.

The flamenco series De Cajón!, "a festival within the festival", includes names such as Rafael Riqueni, Rosario La Tremendita, Vicente Amigo, Niña Pastori, Miguel Poveda, Raúl Rodríguez, Estrella Morente, with the presentation of her latest album, Leo, and the return of Martirio and Chano Domínguez 25 years after Coplas de madrugá. Brazilian music will also make an appearance, with Toquinho (27 October), Hermeto Pascoal (2 November) and Yamandu Costa (19 November) lining up an unrivalled trident of music lovers.

Once again this year, the Conservatori del Liceu will offer a unique series of master classes and jazz concerts, with musicians such as Larry Grenadier, Billy Hart, Marco Ribot, Shai Maestro, Mark Turner, Sofiane Pamart, Avishai Cohen and Steve Coleman, as well as new talents such as James Francies and Nduduzo Makhathini.

To round it off, the festival offers dozens of concerts - such as those by Gemma Abrié, Belén Bandera, Adriana Ospina, Marïe Pratt, OBX and BJ Griffin, among others - at the Harlem Jazz Club, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and at the Milano, which, among others, has programmed guitarists Peter Bernstein and Jesse van Ruller. On 28 December, Edu Ferrer and the Joan Chamorro Trio will bring the show to an end at Luz de Gas with a tribute to Frank Sinatra.

You can see the entire programme of the festival and buy tickets in advance at this link. Tickets for 3 or 4 concerts are automatically discounted by 10%, and for 5 or more, there is a 20% discount.