Paul Acket Award 2026: Amaro Freitas

Amaro Freitas (1991) is a Brazilian jazz pianist, born in the favelas of Recife. With his raw and unique timbre, he tells the story of his culture through the music, presenting a fresh and ‘decolonized’ interpretation of Brazilian jazz. Themes such as nature, indigenous spirituality, and local cultures regularly appear in his compositions. Freitas has grown into one of the continent’s most surprising and virtuoso jazz musicians. He seamlessly intertwines local musical styles with modern jazz, inviting listeners to participate in the diverse character of a new jazz sound.

With his most recent solo album, 2024’s Y’Y, he pays homage to the Amazon region (Y’Y is an indigenous code for water or river) and encourages treating nature with awe and respect. The penetrating and sometimes contemplative music depicts the rich sounds of mighty Brazilian nature in the first part, while in the second part he presents his interpretation of modern jazz. Collaborations with renowned jazz musicians such as Brandee Younger, Jeff Parker, and Shabaka Hutchings highlight the rich diversity of talent on this album.

Maaike Teunissen, jazz programmer at Brebl in Nijmegen, was one of the jury members this year. She saw Freitas live and was impressed by his innovative style, in which he connects jazz and Brazilian rhythms in a percussive, energetic, and virtuosic manner: “His unique piano approach gives jazz an exciting, fresh, and innovative direction,” according to Teunissen.

With the Paul Acket Award ‘Artist Deserving Wider Recognition’, named after the festival’s founder, the organization aims to draw attention to exceptional jazz musicians who deserve more recognition and a larger audience for their work. Previous winners include Sun-Mi Hong (2025), Kit Downes (2024), Eve Risser (2023), Kris Davis (2022), and Julian Lage (2019).

The nominated artists were selected by an international jury consisting of Ashley Kahn (author and professor at the NYU Clive Davis Institute, New York); Maaike Teunissen (jazz programmer at Brebl, Nijmegen); Maurin Auxéméry (program director at Festival International Jazz Montréal, Canada); Shane Burmania (programmer at Muziekgebouw ’t IJ and BIMHUIS, Amsterdam); and Tina Lešničar (artistic director at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival, Slovenia). They nominated 22 musicians, after which a large group of (inter)national jazz professionals cast their votes.

Amaro Freitas will perform at the festival in Madeira on Saturday, July 11 this year.