The Papandayan International Online Jazz Competition (TPJC) 2026 once again concluded successfully as one of the most prestigious jazz competitions that brings together young talents and professional musicians from various regions and countries. Entering its sixth year, TPJC continues to evolve into not only a competitive platform but also a space for musical and cultural exchange that strengthens the presence of Indonesian jazz on the international stage.
This year, TPJC featured highly competitive performances through two main categories: the Youth Category and the Warrior Category. Participants demonstrated remarkable diversity in musical backgrounds, arrangement approaches, and jazz explorations presented in their performances.
Based on participant data, TPJC 2026 was joined by dozens of groups and musicians from various cities across Indonesia, including Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Bekasi, Depok, Malang, Bantul, Kuningan, and Surakarta. In addition, this year’s competition also attracted international participants from India, Italy, Kenya, Thailand, and the United States, further strengthening TPJC’s position as a jazz competition with international recognition.
The judging session for the Youth Category was particularly dynamic and exciting. The judges expressed admiration for the outstanding musicality displayed by participants at such a young age. Many emerging talents demonstrated mature instrumental skills, strong musical character, technical proficiency, and fearless improvisation.
Meanwhile, the competition in the Warrior Category was extremely intense, with finalists showcasing evenly matched musical quality. Each group performed with high professionalism and creativity in presenting unique and diverse jazz genres. The performances ranged from jazz fusion, Latin jazz, modern jazz, to ethnic jazz explorations that reflected each band’s distinct musical identity.
After an intense and carefully considered judging process, the winners of The Papandayan International Online Jazz Competition 2026 are as follows:
Youth Jazz Category Winners
- 1st Place: SFG (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- 2nd Place: SnD (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- 3rd Place: Sea Dreams (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Jazz Warrior Category Winners
- 1st Place: Smoove (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
- 2nd Place: Dadaks (Bantul, Indonesia)
In addition to the main categories, the judges also awarded the Best New Talent recognition to Steven Ryan Priatna, keyboardist of SFG. One of the judges, Barry Likumahuwa, stated that the award was given due to Steven’s remarkably mature instrumental skills at such a young age. The judges viewed Steven as a young musician with a bright future and great potential to grow within the jazz music industry.
The judging panel for TPJC 2026 featured renowned jazz musicians and practitioners from both Indonesia and abroad, including Dwiki Dharmawan, Barry Likumahuwa, Sri Hanuraga, Hari Pochang, Venche Manuhutu, and Carolina Brusse (the Netherlands). Their presence brought broad musical perspectives in assessing technical quality, creativity, improvisation, and interpretation of the finalists’ performances.
During the TPJC 2026 Grand Final, each finalist performed two compositions consisting of one compulsory song and one original composition. The performances highlighted the participants’ musicality, improvisational creativity, and courage in exploring their unique musical identities.
Representing the 1st Place winner of the Jazz Warrior Category, Benz Rio Manurung from Smoove shared his excitement after winning TPJC 2026:
“Winning TPJC 2026 is both a surprise and a tremendous honour for us. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to the entire TPJC 2026 committee for creating such an incredible platform and event. Thank you as well to the judges for their appreciation and energy, and for providing us with a space to express ourselves. We hope the Indonesian jazz scene continues to become more supportive, more relaxed, healthier, and more connected.”
Meanwhile, the representative of the 1st Place winner in the Youth Jazz category expressed their gratitude for their achievement in this year’s competition.
“We are truly grateful to TP Jazz for providing a platform for us. Thanks to this competition, SFG (which is now called Disorganise) was able to come together. We genuinely enjoyed the entire process, and winning 1st place was something we never expected. We feel happy, surprised, and deeply thankful to everyone involved in this competition because it is through all of our collective spirit that this music can continue to live on. We hope jazz music will become even more popular in the future, and that more people will come to love this tradition that we must preserve so it can live forever,” said Steven, Fellita, and Gerrard of SFG.
As a form of appreciation, the winners received cash prizes, gold-plated trophies, certificates of appreciation, and the opportunity to perform at The Papandayan Jazz Fest 2026 alongside national and international jazz musicians.
Since its inception, TPJC has consistently presented a competition format that opens opportunities for jazz musicians from various countries to connect through music. Through its hybrid and digital approach, the competition continues to expand its audience reach while strengthening Bandung’s position as one of Indonesia’s important jazz music destinations.
“Entering the sixth year of TPJC, we have witnessed how this competition continues to grow into a platform that brings together jazz talents from various generations and musical backgrounds. Every year, TPJC welcomes participants from around the world who bring diverse musical colours, characters, and jazz approaches. Last year, we saw extraordinary enthusiasm with the emergence of a Jazz Warrior winner from Japan, proving that TPJC is gaining greater international recognition. This year, we once again witnessed strong musical quality and spirit from the winners. This proves that TPJC is not only a competition, but also a continuously evolving platform for cultural and musical exchange that strengthens Indonesia’s position on the international jazz map,” said Bobby Renaldi, Founder of TP Jazz Management and General Manager of The Papandayan Hotel Bandung.
TPJC 2026 was organised by TP Jazz Management together with various partners and sponsors committed to supporting the growth of the creative industry and jazz music in Indonesia.
About TP Jazz
TP Jazz is a jazz music event management program organised by The Papandayan and Media Group, held at The Papandayan Hotel since 2013. Numerous renowned national and international jazz musicians have performed at TP Jazz events, leading the Mayor of Bandung, Muhammad Farhan, to declare TP Jazz as “A Beacon of Jazz, from Bandung to the World.”
TP Jazz was founded with the philosophy and spirit of facilitating and developing jazz potential in Bandung, with the hope of encouraging the city to become a producer of outstanding musicians and musical groups capable of bringing pride to Indonesia on the international stage.
TP Jazz consistently organises well-planned annual programs, including TP Jazz Weekend, Monthly Special Performance, Road to The Papandayan Jazz Fest, International Online Jazz Competition, and the annual Papandayan Jazz Fest, which enters its 11th year this year.
In addition to music programs and band performances, TP Jazz also organises various jazz-related events such as international online jazz competitions, jazz markets, jazz news, jazz master classes, and jazz for youth programs.
Through the full range of TP Jazz programs and with the support of sponsors, TP Jazz aims to become a central hub for musicians, a platform for appreciation and creativity among jazz artists, as well as a music tourism destination program in Bandung and one of Indonesia’s national music event agendas.