WINNERS OF 2026
Jazz World Photo 2026
Stefano Barni / IT
I live in Turin, Italy, where I was born in 1962—making me a true boomer, with music in my ears and photography in my heart ever since. Self-taught, I would not dare call myself a photographer, but rather a passionate admirer of beautiful melodies and meaningful images. For the past twenty-five years, I have been steadily chasing jazz—searching for light and shadow, and perhaps even more so, for emotion. The greatest gift photography has given me is not only the images themselves, but the many extraordinary encounters along the way: the exchange of ideas, lasting friendships, the feeling of belonging to a world that has always inspired and engaged me, and finally, the thrill of creating my own personal vision of it.
Ota Blahoušek / CZ
Born in Olomouc in 1974, he has been deeply interested in nature, music, and photography since childhood. The connection between nature and photography became especially significant in the 1990s during his university studies in biology, where he applied his knowledge of physicochemical photographic processes to microphotography and experimental documentation. At that time, he also began to pursue photography more systematically and studied it at an academic level—something he later considered a mistake to leave unfinished. Nevertheless, he continued his photographic work, with occasional breaks, into the digital era. In recent years, he has been responsible for the photographic documentation of events at the Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc. His musical interests gradually evolved from classic rock toward blues and jazz. Concert photography naturally became an extension of his perception of music and its atmosphere. In addition to photography, he also creates documentary films focused on environmental themes. In this field, he combines visual sensitivity, camera and drone operation, and a deep knowledge of the natural landscape.
Daniel Glückmann / ES
Together with tango, jazz was the soundtrack of my childhood in Argentina. It was the 1960s, and I can still remember many of the long-playing records my father adored. John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, and many others inspired my early beginnings as a drummer, while I practiced enthusiastically—and broke most of the chairs in our home. In the end, however, it was photography that truly captured my passion. I was incredibly fortunate to begin working as a photojournalist at just eighteen years old, covering the news. Combining both passions, I took my first jazz photograph at a Stan Getz concert in 1976. A manually assembled film roll caused an accidental double exposure, creating a surprisingly beautiful image of two Getzes—one I still treasure today. Since then, and now celebrating my fiftieth anniversary of living in Spain, I have worked in many photography-related roles for newspapers, magazines, and agencies, while never letting go of jazz. When photographing jazz, my eye is always behind the camera, yet I feel completely part of the music. It is truly exciting to tell that story. At @gluckjazz, I have gathered some of the photographs of the hundreds of extraordinary musicians I have captured over the years. More recently, I have covered festivals and concerts, and conducted interviews for leading Spanish jazz publications such as MasJazz and In&Out. Nowadays, instead of breaking chairs, it is my car that suffers while I tap away with the drumstick I still carry everywhere—often in the middle of traffic, always accompanied by eternal jazz.
About US
Jazz World Photo Competition
The world competition for jazz photographers JAZZ WORLD PHOTO had its beginnings in 2013, being organized by photographer Patrick Marek and his friends – promoter Tomáš Katschner and photographer Ivan Prokop. In its first year, the competition was attended by many photographers from all over the world – 134 participants from 29 countries. International jury picked 3 winners, who accepted their prizes in person – 1st prize was awarded to Didier Jallais (France), 2nd prize to Rainer Rygalyk (Austria) and 3rd prize went to Miroslav Novotný (Czech Republic). Thirty selected photographs became the body of well received traveling exhibition. During the following year, this exhibition was shown to great applause at many festivals and in art galleries throughout Czech Republic, Slovakia and Belgium. In the second year, JAZZ WORLD PHOTO participation increased by 40% – to 187 photographers from 27 countries. The increase was unexpected – in the second year, the rules had changed, and the photographers were allowed to send in only pictures taken in that year. And the final result was surprising even for the independent Jury that evaluated the photographs anonymously. All three principal prizes went to authors from one country – Italy. The Jury awarded the 1st place to Andrea Rotili, 2nd place to Andrea Palmucci, and 3rd place to Fabio Orlando. The collection of 30 best photographs again forms traveling exhibition that is in high demand. Every year, the exhibition is accompanied by full printed catalogue. Jazz World Photo is a not-for-profit project aiming to promote jazz and jazz photography in the context of related genres like blues, funk, world music etc. Every year, the winners and jurors meet during the main concert at the international festival Jazzinec in Trutnov, Czech Republic. Both years of the competition were included in the events of the International Jazz Day sponsored by UNESCO. Last year’s prizes were created by well known Czech art designer Jan Činčera, who is already working on the prizes for the next year.
THE JURY
Interantional Jury of The World Jazz Photo 2024
DAN BÁRTA
ANTONIO PORCAR CANO
Tomáš Katschner
Jiří Kučera
Hervé Escario
Patrick Marek
Ivan Prokop
Jiří Turek
Testimonials
