PENG Festival | Zola Mennenöh, Fabiana Striffler & Aki Takase, SO SORRY

PENG Festival 2026
FLINTA* Jazz Festival | An event organized by the PENG Jazz Collective
October 2–4, 2026 | Maschinenhaus Essen

Lineup

Saturday, October 3
6:00 p.m. Zola Mennenöh A LABOUR OF LOVE
7:00 PM Fabiana Striffler & Aki Takase - Capriccio
8:00 PM SO SORRY
Starting at 9:00 PM: PENG PARTY with sparkling wine and cake

Zola Mennenöh A LABOUR OF LOVE
October 3, 2026 | 6:00 PM | Maschinenhaus Essen

Zola Mennenöh, a composer and singer based in Copenhagen and Berlin, returns with her album “A Labour of Love”—a nuanced collection of subtly experimental ballads that blend baroque pop, spoken word, and sound design. At its core is the search for an expression of strength within fragility, as well as the question of how truth can be conveyed gently yet firmly. Inspired by artists such as Björk, Laurie Anderson, and Julia Holter, the album unfolds a sonic world of strings, synthesizers, and improvisational elements that bridges the organic and the digital.

Songs like “For Hope” and “Speak Freely” showcase the range between tender intimacy and ominous sonic density. The album concludes with the personal track “A Glimpse of Hope,” whose vocals were recorded in a single improvised take. Recorded with an ensemble of Copenhagen-based musicians and co-produced by Shahzad Ismaily, “A Labour of Love” was released on November 24, 2025, on Papercup Records. Mennenöh is regarded as a versatile artist who bridges the worlds of improvisation, avant-garde, and interdisciplinary practice.

Website: https://zolamennenoeh.com/

Fabiana Striffler & Aki Takase - Capriccio
October 3, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | Maschinenhaus Essen

And suddenly, time bends… A sugar cube melts on the tongue, honey drips—a brief, intense moment. In the duo Capriccio, pianist Aki Takase and violinist Fabiana Striffler let opposites blend together: bizarre and delicate, edgy and sweet.
They combine playful freedom with radical clarity and precision. Two voices that respect one another, swirl, rub against each other, fall, float, and shine like stars.

Regarding their debut concert at Jazz in E., Thomas Melzer wrote in *Jazzthetik*: “The most moving moment of the festival came from the duet between 77-year-old pianist Aki Takase and 37-year-old violinist Fabiana Striffler. It made one wonder how Striffler could simultaneously tap into the DNA of Stéphane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty, and whether Takase had ever been heard playing so tenderly, so gently…”

https://www.fabianastriffler.com/aki-takase-fabiana-striffler

SO SORRY
October 3, 2026 | 8:00 p.m. | Maschinenhaus Essen

SO SORRY is an up-and-coming Berlin-based band that creates soulful, extroverted music blending contemporary jazz, alternative pop, and R&B. SO SORRY was founded in 2023 by Shanice Ruby Bennett, Zuza Jasinska, and Käthe Johanning, and the band has been performing with its current lineup—featuring Lenny Rehm—since 2024.
The four musicians—Zuza Jasinska (vocals), Käthe Johanning (keyboards), Shanice Ruby Bennett (bass), and Lenny Rehm (drums) create their unmistakable sound and musically impressive, electrifying live shows through their collaborative and improvisational songwriting.

SO SORRY has already made a strong impression on the German music scene: They received the prestigious Musicboard Berlin Fellowship in 2024, won the Sparda Jazz Award in 2025, and the renowned Young Munich Jazz Prize in 2025. Their debut EP, “WE ARE SO SORRY,” was released in January 2026.

With impressive musicality and moving songwriting, SO SORRY is not an apology, but a statement about reclaiming space and courage.

Website:
https://www.wearesosorry.de/

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Tickets:

We’ve opted for a solidarity-based ticketing system—if you’re on a tight budget, you can buy a discounted ticket; with the solidarity ticket, you help fund the discounted tickets.

One-Day Ticket (Friday/Saturday)
Solidarity Ticket: 25€ / Regular Ticket: 20€ / Discounted Ticket: 10€

One-Day Ticket (Sunday)
Solidarity ticket: 15€ / Regular ticket: 10€ / Discounted ticket: 5€

Festival Pass (all three days)
Solidarity Ticket: 50€ / Regular Ticket: 45€ / Reduced-Price Ticket: 25€

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For more information about the bands and the entire festival, please visit our website: 
https://www.peng-festival.de/

The PENG Jazz Festival is sponsored by the Ministry of Family, Children, Youth, Culture, and Sports of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Kunststiftung NRW, the City of Essen’s Cultural Office, the Regionalverband Ruhr, and Sparkasse Essen.
Special thanks go to KAWAI and the Maschinenhaus Essen.