12th International Workshop For Jazz Guitar & Vocals 2026 in South Tyrol

The workshop has since taken place.  

Information about upcoming workshops will be posted on the Events page as soon as it becomes available.

The 12th Jazz Guitar and Vocals Workshop will take place again in 2026 at the Hotel Steinegger in Eppan near Bolzano. This will be the fourth time it’s been held there!

With this course, we want to offer participants an environment where they can focus exclusively on music for five days. We’re providing, so to speak, a “safe space for music.” Here, they can learn from our instructors Jeanne, Paulo, and Bruce, who are professional musicians performing at the highest international level. In addition to the lessons, participants will also have plenty of time to interact with one another, learn from each other, and inspire one another.

The focus of the workshop is on having fun together. That’s why we deliberately limit the number of class hours to three per day. This gives participants plenty of opportunity to try out what they’ve learned together or apply it in sessions, thereby building their skills in a playful way.

Jeanne, Paulo, and Bruce are always available and happy to help with any musical questions. What’s more, they’re more than willing —and actually enjoy— playing with every participant during the sessions.

In 2025 we introduced guided sessions for less experienced participants. Bruce, Jeanne, and Paulo each led a session, offering participants tips and guidance on how to work through the songs during a session. This program was very well received, so we’ll be offering it again in 2026.

As the organizer, I’m delighted that the workshop is now very well established at the Hotel Steinegger and that our concept is proving successful. The hotel management —Verena and Michi— and their dedicated staff play a big part in this. With their warm hospitality, they make their hotel feel like a second home for us during the workshop days and create a cozy atmosphere where our group feels more and more at ease with each passing year.

In 2025, we had the most diverse mix of nationalities in the course. Participants came from Taipei, Toronto, Baltimore, Cambridge, London, Barcelona, and Apeldoorn, Netherlands, in addition to Germans, Austrians, and Swiss. I’m curious to see if such a diverse and exciting mix of international participants will gather again at Hotel Steinegger in 2026.

The course is once again dedicated to our longtime instructor Helmut Nieberle, who sadly passed away far too soon in 2020. However, our instructors Paulo Morello, Bruce Forman, and Jeanne Gies will carry on his musical legacy and, of course, enrich it with their own styles.

Paulo Morello structures his lessons around a wealth of worksheets. Depending on the group’s level and interests, he covers all topics relevant to jazz guitar. In addition, he offers practice strategies tailored to the individual abilities of the participants.

Jeanne Gies describes her approach this way: Her wildly popular teaching methods are simple and practical: everybody sings every day! Instruction is tailored to each student’s experience level and interests. Healthy voice production, vocal styling and song interpretation, repertoire, microphone technique, and the art of working with an accompanist are among the many areas of musical magic covered.

And Bruce Forman’s philosophy goes like this: Discover the music and the guitar. Techniques for expanding your knowledge and enjoyment … and to play what you hear!

Paulo Morello 
Through numerous Brazilian jazz projects — such as those with Grammy winner Leny Andrade — and the “Night of Jazz Guitars” featuring Larry Coryell, Paulo Morello has earned an excellent reputation as one of the most versatile jazz guitarists in Europe. His unmistakably expressive style reveals influences from jazz’s most important guitarists: from Joe Pass to Pat Martino to Mike Stern. Morello earned his stripes as a member of a Hammond trio while serving as a sideman for the legendary Jimmy Smith, whom he accompanied on his final European tour. Morello is currently touring with his Hammond organ trio, Hammond Eggs, featuring American musicians Randy Brecker and Bob Mintzer. He has also collaborated with Paul Kuhn, Ivan Lins, Philip Catherine, Airto Moreira, Roberta Gambarini, André Ceccarelli and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. He is a professor of jazz guitar and the artistic director of the Jazz Institute Berlin.

Bruce Forman 
A hectic touring schedule; twenty-one recordings as a leader,  countless sideman recordings including Ray Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, Roger Kellaway; soundtrack performances on three of Clint Eastwood’s distinguished films — most notably Academy Award-winning Million Dollar Baby; raconteur, arranger, acclaimed educator, in residence at USC’s Studio/Jazz Guitar Dept., when does Bruce Forman rest?  

Deep immersion in American culture inspires Forman to contribute to the traditions that he draws from. Reunion! (the newest project) revisits the famed Poll Winners sessions with cohorts John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, playing instruments owned by Barney Kessel, Ray Brown and Shelly Manne; Formanism (his trio project); original works like The Red Guitar; his high-rated podcast, GuitarWank; Cow Bop and the “road challenges” down historic byways like Route 66; JazzMasters Workshop; Junkyard Duo; GrumpsTV (a fifty episode YouTube variety show during the lockdown), the popular ‘first chorus of the day’ series on Instagram … these are only the latest answers to the endless question that underlies Bruce Forman’s creativity.  His music and life reflect every step of his journey, and demonstrate the awareness of an artist who’s very much at home in the world, and at the top of his form.

The guitar course will be expanded to include a vocal group. Guitar and vocals are a common and popular combination in jazz. That’s why the workshop can broaden the horizons of both guitarists and singers, as they’ll have the opportunity to play intensively with the other group of musicians for four days at the hotel enclave and make musical discoveries. All instructors have many years of experience playing in duos and will focus a significant portion of the course on this form of musical expression. During lessons, as well as during the days spent jamming, we aim to foster mutual understanding of the other instrument and refine our ensemble playing.

That’s why the trio of instructors is rounded out by singer Jeanne Gies from New York. Her presence adds a special touch to the course. She has recorded and performed with numerous renowned jazz artists, including Howard Alden, Russell Malone, and Bucky Pizzarelli. She is an experienced and captivating frontwoman who can bring a personal and unique touch to any jazz standard.

To make a reservation, please visit:

Prices do not include half-board. Participants staying there will be able to have their meals with the other course participants at the Hotel Steinegger. Half-board will be charged separately at the Hotel Steinegger.

Registration Deadline: March 11, 2026                              
Course spots are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Registration Fee: 610,– €

Please transfer the participation fee to the following account: 
Stefan Sonntag
IBAN: DE21 7205 0000 0250 8012 63
BIC/SWIFT: AUGSDE77
Stadtsparkasse Augsburg

The right to participate is granted only after the course fees have been received in Stefan Sonntag's bank account.

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