Austrian Jazz Prize 2026: Peter Rom, Lorenz Widauer and Mel*E Win; Michael Mantler Honored

Guitarist Peter Rom, trumpeter Lorenz Widauer and the trio Mel*E are the winners of the 2026 Austrian Jazz Prize (Österreichischer Jazzpreis), the organizers announced in Vienna on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Composer and trumpeter Michael Mantler receives the prize's High Impact Award for his contribution to Austrian jazz at home and abroad.

According to the announcement, a Jazz Prize Academy of 203 experts narrowed 175 submissions to 34 nominees in three categories, and a five-member jury then chose the winners and the second and third places. The annual prize is an initiative of the Austrian Music Council, mica – music austria, IG World Music, the public radio channel Ö1 and the Vienna club Porgy & Bess.

Album of the Year went to Peter Rom's Wanting Machine II, which the jury says he composed and produced with bassist Manu Mayr five years after the first Wanting Machine. The jury praised how its nine tracks mix the idea of Klangfarbenmelodie, or melody built from changing tone colors, with elements of the African American jazz tradition. Guests listed include drummers Lukas König and Valentin Duit, Pamelia Stickney on theremin and saxophonist and flutist Matthew Halpin. Georg Vogel's Ogilsd Vobi placed second and Purple Is The Color's Unbemanntes Raumschiff third.

Newcomer of the Year is Lorenz Widauer, a young trumpeter from Salzburg. The jury pointed to the range of his projects, from the band Chez Fría to two 2025–26 albums, Until We Meet Again with Iranian-born oud player Avin Ahmadi and Bangers and Ballads with guitarist Philipp Schiepek, plus work with large ensembles including Orjazztra Vienna, Shake Stew and the Focusyear Band led by Wolfgang Muthspiel. Elena Schäfer and Avin Ahmadi were second and third.

The Live Act award went to Mel*E, the trio of bassist Judith Ferstl, drummer Judith Schwarz and keyboardist Viola Hammer, whose 2026 album is titled Proud. The jury described an egalitarian band and "a true firework" of energetic music. Big band followers will note that the Jazzorchester Vorarlberg took second place in the category, ahead of TSOMBANIS4.

Mantler, born in Vienna in 1943, moved to the United States in 1962. The committee's citation notes that he organized the Jazz Composer's Orchestra with Carla Bley, worked with Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders and Charlie Haden, among others, and put out Escalator over the Hill, which it dates to 1972 and calls one of the outstanding concept albums in jazz history. It adds that since 2012 he has premiered new works across Europe with Christoph Cech and his ensembles.

The awards will be presented with concerts by the winners on Nov. 28, 2026, at the Dom im Berg in Graz. The organizers say the gala will be broadcast live on Ö1 and ORF ON.