From July 10–12, the Georgian Black Sea coast will once again come alive with music as the 19th edition of the Black Sea Jazz Festival takes over the Batumi Tennis Courts. This year’s festival carries special significance: it’s dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Miles Davis’s birth, honoring one of jazz’s most transformative figures with a lineup that spans funk, soul, and genre-bending rhythm.
Opening Night: A Family Tribute to a Legend
The festival kicks off on July 10 with a centerpiece performance befitting the occasion — the Miles Electric Band (M.E.B.), led by producer and drummer Vince Wilburn Jr., who is both an Emmy and Grammy winner and Miles Davis’s own nephew. Founded in 2010, M.E.B. was built specifically to channel the electrified, boundary-pushing sound Davis pioneered in the 1960s and ’70s on landmark records like Bitches Brew and On the Corner, an era where jazz collided head-on with funk and rock.
The band’s roster includes musicians who either shared the stage with Davis himself or were shaped by his influence, among them Darryl Jones, longtime bassist for the Rolling Stones. Their recent album, That You Not Dare To Forget, produced by Lenny White and Wilburn Jr., is a striking artifact in its own right — it weaves in unreleased studio recordings featuring Davis’s actual voice and previously unheard trumpet takes, alongside contributions from jazz heavyweights Ron Carter, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, Donald Harrison, Vernon Reid, and John Scofield.
Soul, Funk, and Everything In Between
The festival continues its momentum on July 11 with Eric Benét, the American R&B vocalist celebrated for his emotive, soul-drenched sound and modern take on classic soul — a style that’s earned him comparisons to icons like Stevie Wonder.
Closing things out on July 12 is Ghost-Note, a band whose reputation for high-energy, improvisational live shows precedes them. Blending funk, jazz-funk, afrobeat, and hip-hop, Ghost-Note channels the raw spirit of James Brown and Prince into performances that regularly tip over into full-blown jam sessions.
The After-Hours Scene
Every night of the festival, the party continues at the festival club Take5, where 11-time Grammy winner Philip Lassiter and his band take over as house act. Lassiter’s musical roots run deep — Texas funk, Alabama gospel, New Orleans jazz, and Nashville soul all inform his sound, and his résumé includes a stint as section leader and arranger for Prince and the New Power Generation.
Practical Details
- Dates: July 10–12, 2026
- Main venue: Batumi Tennis Courts (gates open at 19:00)
- After-party venue: Club Take5 (doors open at 23:00)
- A DJ will warm up the crowd ahead of each night’s main performances
- Tickets: TBC Concept Mastercard holders received a 25% discount during the presale window; a 20% discount has applied since the presale ended
- Free entry for children under 6
Behind the Festival
The Black Sea Jazz Festival is presented by TBC Concept, with Mastercard as general sponsor and Coca-Cola as official soft drink partner. It’s backed by long-standing institutional supporters including the Ministry of Culture of Georgia, Creative Georgia, the Ministry of Culture of Adjara, and Batumi City Hall, with additional sponsorship from ICI PARIS. The event is hosted at Privet Iz Batuma and organized by Eastern Promotions, with media support from Alma, Marketer.ge, Radio Fortuna, and Palitra News.
Now in its 19th year, the festival remains one of the Adjara region’s signature cultural events — and this year’s Miles Davis tribute gives it an extra layer of resonance for jazz fans making the trip to the coast.