A large community came together through music from 18 to 20 September in Malfa, which hosted the 10th edition of the Festival, featuring concerts at Palazzo Marchetti and special performances at sunrise.
18–20 September 2026 – Palazzo Marchetti – Malfa (Salina).
Clara Rametta con i figli Martina e Luca
The tenth edition of the Salina Jazz Festival comes to a close with an enthusiastic audience response. From 18 to 20 September 2026, Malfa, on the island of Salina, hosted three days of music, culture and encounters, dedicated to the memory of Clara Rametta, founder of the Festival and of the Didime 90 Association. Her son Luca Caruso, a member of the Association, and Riccardo Insolia, its president, expressed great satisfaction with the event’s success and with the positive feedback received from those in attendance.
This year, the Festival placed particular emphasis on the new generations and on the young talents of the jazz scene.
It was a special edition, bringing together experienced musicians and young performers on the stage of Palazzo Marchetti, while the evening concerts were complemented by the Festival’s now distinctive sunrise performances.
The programme opened on Friday, 18 September, with the Giuseppe Urso Piano Trio – “Music for Piano Trio”, featuring Giuseppe Urso on piano, Antonio Alaimo on double bass and Andrea Mortillaro on drums. This was followed by Big Papa & The Kids, with Fabio Lannino on bass and double bass, Tommaso Lannino on piano and Francesco Foresta Jr on drums. The encounter between generations was one of the central themes of the tenth edition.
On Saturday, 19 September, at 6:30 a.m., music accompanied the sunrise at the port of Santa Marina with “Musica all’alba”, featuring Giuseppe Urso on piano. That evening, at Palazzo Marchetti, the programme continued with Chiara Minaldi and Giorgia Meli Duo, presenting a journey through jazz standards, followed by La Salamanca – Latin Project, a project dedicated to the meeting point between jazz and the sounds of Latin music.
The closing day, Sunday, 20 September, at Palazzo Marchetti, featured the Simone Rumolo / Vincenzo Capuano Duo, with drums and saxophone. For the grand finale, Kolne Trio / Naya presented the premiere of the song “Obession.”
Over the three days, Palazzo Marchetti once again became the heart of the event and one of the key venues of Malfa’s cultural life, while the sunrise performances brought music directly into the island’s landscape.
The tenth edition also held particular significance as it marked a new chapter in the Festival’s history, which began with the vision of Clara Rametta and is now carried forward by the Didime 90 Association, under the artistic direction of maestro Giuseppe Urso.
Statement by the Mayor of Malfa, Giuseppe Siracusano
“The Salina Jazz Festival comes to an end with a result that fills us with satisfaction and with the awareness that we have experienced three days of great music, culture and participation in Malfa. The audience response was particularly significant: Palazzo Marchetti, as well as the sunrise events, offered wonderful images of a community and of many visitors who chose to experience music together, in places and at moments that were able to highlight the identity of Salina in an extraordinary way.
The success of this edition confirms how much the Festival has become part of the cultural heritage of Malfa and of the entire island. This tenth edition also had a special significance. Ten years represent an important milestone, but above all they tell a story of passion, commitment and vision that began with Clara Rametta and continues to live on today.
The most authentic way to remember her was precisely to see music once again take centre stage, with a Festival capable of renewing itself and, above all, of giving space to so many young talents. We saw different generations meet, engage with one another and share the same passion. In my view, this is one of the most beautiful aspects of this edition: the ability to preserve a history without remaining anchored to the past, instead transforming that history into an opportunity for the future.
As the Municipal Administration, we are proud to have supported this journey, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Didime 90 Association, to all the artists, technicians and collaborators, and to everyone whose work made this tenth edition possible.
But the greatest thanks go to the audience. To those who came to Malfa to listen to a concert, to those who chose to wake up at dawn to experience music by the sea, to those who filled Palazzo Marchetti and to everyone who shared and told the story of these days.
The great affection shown towards the Salina Jazz Festival gives us an important responsibility: to continue investing in culture, music and young people, making Malfa increasingly a place of encounter, creativity and cultural production.
The tenth edition therefore comes to an end, but the journey continues. In Clara’s name, in the heart of Salina and with our eyes turned towards the future.”
Martina and Luca Caruso: “Ten years are an important milestone, but for us they represent above all a new starting point”
“This tenth edition of the Salina Jazz Festival leaves us with an overwhelmingly positive response and, above all, with an emotion that is difficult to express in words alone.
What struck us most, and what we want to emphasise, was the extraordinary participation of the community. Every evening, Palazzo Marchetti was filled with people. Seeing this place so alive, so full and so engaged was the most beautiful confirmation for us of the value that the Festival has built over time and of its ever stronger bond with the island of Salina.
Ten years of the Salina Jazz Festival mean ten years of history, encounters, music and people who believed in this project. Inevitably, our thoughts turn to our mother, Clara, who imagined and built this story with extraordinary passion, and we, her two children, both want to continue following her vision.
Seeing the Festival continue today, through a new generation of musicians and an ever-growing audience, has been a great source of satisfaction for us. We firmly believe that the most authentic way to preserve what has been entrusted to us is precisely this: to continue creating, giving space to young people, investing in culture and music, and looking towards the future without forgetting our roots.
The result of this edition is the outcome of shared work, of a team and of a network of people who, year after year, have helped make this journey possible.
For this reason, we would like to thank the Municipality of Malfa and the other municipalities of the island and the archipelago that help make this Festival an increasingly important tourist destination and attraction; the Didime 90 Association and its president Riccardo Insolia; the artistic director Giuseppe Urso, whose commitment and presence have been fundamental; and all the artists, technicians and collaborators who worked with passion to make the Festival happen.
Special thanks go to the sponsors and partners who believed in the project and chose to support it. Their contribution represents a concrete commitment to investing in culture, music and the local area. It is also thanks to this trust that we can continue to develop the Salina Jazz Festival and give Palazzo Marchetti an increasingly central role as a place of culture, encounter and sharing.
Over the years, Palazzo Marchetti has become much more than simply the setting for the Festival: it is an integral part of its identity, a recognisable venue and a point of reference for those who live on Salina and for those who visit the island.
Seeing it filled every evening, with different generations brought together by their love of music, was one of the most beautiful images of this tenth edition.
But our greatest thanks go to the community and the audience. To those who are able to enter the heart of a place and of the people who live there.
This edition therefore leaves us with enthusiasm, pride and also a great sense of responsibility. Ten years are an important milestone, but for us they represent above all a new starting point.
In the name of our mother, Clara, and through Palazzo Marchetti, we want to continue building, creating opportunities for encounters and growing the Festival together with the community, with the same enthusiasm with which this story began.”
— Martina and Luca Caruso
Riccardo Insolia, President of the Didime 90 Association
“This tenth edition,” says Riccardo Insolia, President of the Didime 90 Association, “represented an important milestone, but above all a new starting point. The Festival was born from Clara Rametta’s great vision and passion, and today we feel the responsibility to preserve that vision while looking ahead.
The presence of so many young musicians was a fundamental choice for us: we wanted to offer them an important stage, a genuine opportunity, a space in which they could express their talent and engage with the audience.
Culture has meaning when it is able to generate a future and when it knows how to place its trust in new generations. This is what we want to do with the Salina Jazz Festival and with all the activities we organise year after year at Palazzo Marchetti, which has now become a cultural hub.”
Thanks to the sponsors and partners
Special thanks go to all the sponsors and partners who supported the tenth edition of the Salina Jazz Festival, contributing to the organisation of the event and to the continuity of the cultural project.
Note: In the poster image currently available to me in this chat, I cannot read the individual sponsor logos/names with sufficient certainty. I therefore do not want to risk including any incorrectly. If you send me the poster in high resolution (even just a photo of the bottom section with the logos), I can immediately integrate this paragraph with the complete list of sponsors, in the correct order, while keeping the press release ready for distribution to media outlets.
The 2026 Salina Jazz Festival – 10th edition was organised by the Didime 90 Association, with Riccardo Insolia as president, Luca Caruso on the board, and artistic direction by maestro Giuseppe Urso.
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