A competition that combines a masterclass with a scholarship for young jazz musicians on the cusp of a professional career. Following its successful baptism of fire in 2021 and the 143 bands participating in the 2024 competition, we're looking forward to the "New Generation #JazzLab" presented by Jaguar in 2025.
Breaking into the music business is a huge hurdle for many young artists. In addition to skill and luck, it takes a lot of energy, perseverance, persistence, and time to gain a foothold. The New Generation #JazzLab aims to make this step a little easier for motivated young talents.
The Award
The Bands invited to the Festival da Jazz are already winners. The days in St. Moritz are intended to focus on the joy of music. The two winning acts will be paired with renowned mentors. The young talents will have five days of intensive work, rehearsing, and arranging in the festival's rehearsal rooms. The grand finale will be the concert in the legendary Dracula Club, the festival's main venue.
And because the music business is business, bands should also gain something on this level on their path to professional careers. Every festival is an organic network from which curious musicians can benefit. What do festivals look for when booking? Where is persistence important, and where is it counterproductive? How do you present yourself online and offline? From sound engineers and band managers to festival directors and external managers – there's a wealth of knowledge and experience available on-site that can be tapped into.
Including board and lodging, with internationally renowned and experienced mentors and hosts of the Festival da Jazz.
Concert
A concert on our main stage, the incomparable Dracula Club.
Professional recordings of the band including the whole concert at the Dracula Club.
award
The award is endowed with prize money totalling CHF 5,000.
The opportunity to establish contacts with international agencies and managers.
Free concert visits for all band members.
The Mentors
Roberta Gambarini
vocals, Italy
Three-time Grammy nominee and internationally acclaimed singer Roberta Gambarini burst onto the jazz scene in 1998 as a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition. Her decades-long, extraordinary career has included performances from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl, via prestigious jazz festivals such as Monterey and Newport, to the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, and the Royal Albert Hall in London. She has collaborated, recorded, and toured with numerous jazz legends, including James Moody, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Hank Jones, Billy Higgins, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Dave Brubeck, the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars Big Band, Jon Batiste, Chucho Valdés, Paquito D'Rivera, and many more.
Aaron Goldberg
piano, USA
"For over 20 years, pianist Aaron Goldberg has distinguished himself as one of jazz's most dazzling interpreters," praises JazzTimes. Goldberg is widely regarded as one of the art form's most compelling pianists, leading his own trio as well as collaborating with many of jazz's titans. His stylistically fluid, unique voice, at once swinging and willing to take risks, reveals that jazz is a tradition of innovation. He has performed in bands led by cross-generational icons, including Betty Carter, Al Foster, Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner, Christian McBride, Tom Harrell, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Joe Lovano, Peter Bernstein, Ravi Coltrane, Carl Allen, Madeleine Peyroux, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Guillermo Klein.
Dario Deidda
bass, Italy
Dario began playing the drums at the age of six, but soon fell in love with the double bass. He graduated from conservatory with a focus on the double bass, but expanded his musical knowledge by studying the electric bass and piano. In the jazz world, he enjoys the highest international recognition for his unique electric bass playing. As a sought-after sideman, he has performed with James Moody, George Coleman, Kirk Lightsey, Mulgrew Miller, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Benny Golson and Vinnie Colaiuta, among others. He has participated on over 60 albums and held numerous music workshops in Italy and around the world - at music schools, conservatories and universities - with a focus on bass techniques and jazz improvisation.
drums, USA/Italy
Jazz Magazine describes him as "the drummer of his generation," and indeed, Gregory Hutchinson is one of the most respected musicians of our time. His mastery of rhythmic timing and expression is at the core of his personal style. A musician-drummer deeply rooted in the jazz tradition, he is able to approach all styles of music with the utmost accuracy and imagination, embellishing compositions with his natural feeling and overwhelming innovation. Over the past 30 years, he has enriched the bands of Greg Red Rodney, Betty Carter, Ray Brown, Dianne Reeves, Wynton Marsalis, John Scofield, Roy Hargrove, Branford Marsalis, Charles Lloyd, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Maria Schneider, and many, many more with his brilliant playing.
the Jury
The jury brings together diverse figures from the jazz, music, and event industry. The Festival da Jazz places great importance on ensuring that the selection of members encompasses a broad spectrum and diverse perspectives:
Carolina Müller-Möhl
Philanthrope & Investor
Christian Jott Jenny
Singer & Founder Festival da Jazz
Robin McKelle
US Jazz-Singer
Antonio Sanchez
Drummer & 4-time Grammy Award winner
Melina Roshard
PR/Media Expert
Peewee Windmüller
Editor-in-chief JAZZ’N’MORE magazine
Erena Terakubo
Saxophonist & Composer, Japan
Roger Rüegger
New Generation #JazzLab
Jazzlab Alumni
Ciara Moser & Friends
Ciara Moser & Friends is a remarkable jazz and fusion ensemble led by blind bassist Ciara Moser. The ensemble is truly international, featuring musicians from South Africa, India, the Dominican Republic, the USA, Morocco, and France. Each member brings their own ethnomusical background, enriching the music with a tapestry of natural global influences. They seamlessly blend world music with jazz and fusion, creating an extraordinary, unique, and vibrant sound experience that feels like embarking on a journey to discover our planet in its many wonderful, colorful dimensions.
TBA Trio
The TBA Trio consists of Gadi Lehavi, Romeu Tristão, and Ofri Nehemya, all of whom are leaders of the band. Deeply rooted in the jazz tradition, with a solid understanding of its history and complete mastery of the jazz language, the TBA Trio originated at the Festival da Jazz 2024 when the original bassist was unable to make the trip due to visa complications. As a result, the GTO Trio became the TBA Trio ("To Be Announced"). The three groove and swing powerfully, creating their own band sound, which is a joyful burst of positive energy, taking them from zero to full throttle in just one week.
DANIEL MIGLIOSI 6TET
The young sextet around Luxembourg trumpeter Daniel Migliosi brings a mixture of traditional hardbop enriched with a healthy pinch of contemporary jazz to the stage to create their own sound and take the audience on an emotional journey. Original compositions inspired by the “Young Lions” from the USA enable the perfect musical exchange between the six “Young Lions” from Cologne, London and Luxembourg.
JULIA RICHARD TRIO
Three years ago, French‑Mexican singer and bassist Julia Richard was accepted into the Regional Conservatory of Paris, less than a year after she began playing jazz and double bass. There she met the outstanding fellow musicians of her current trio. Together, they beautifully blend different genres, combining pop with jazzy undertones and more to create memorable performances.
Yotam Ben-or Quartet
Harmonica player and composer Yotam Ben‑Or was born and raised in Nataf, a small village in the Jerusalem area. He started playing the harmonica at the age of 11, taught by his uncle. He moved to New York in 2014 after receiving a full scholarship to study at the New School. Since moving to NYC, Ben‑Or and his group have performed at the most prestigious venues and festivals in town such as: Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. They toured Europe, the Americas and Israel.
InSpace
InSpace is an ensemble of five young musicians from Ukraine, Russia and Germany. The compositions of their singer Kateryna Kravchenko are supported by an acoustic and warm band sound, which exhausts the timbre of each individual instrument and gives the music a depth which is rich in contrast. The melody assumes the leading role. Not subject to any pulse, it is organically embedded in complex rhythmic structures. It intertwines with the accompaniment to form a continuous unity.
Karoline Weidt Quartett
Karoline Weidt found her way to jazz through classical music and is about to complete her Masters degree in Jazz vocals in Dresden. With her quartet she serves “lyrical vocal jazz” in an inviting and playful way. Weidt’s flawless voice dances with ease over the subtle sound and the complex arrangements of the quartet.
MarcO Poingt Trio
Marc Oliver Poingt studied classical and jazz piano at the same time. No wonder his “MarcO Poingt Trio” combines styles and genres with playful ease. Together with Sam Ruff on drums and Baptiste Watiez on bass, Poingts piano playing blends into a modern sound with cinematic timbres.
MISS C-LINE
Anyone who composes their own songs in the style of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu at the age of twelve knows where they are going. Carolina Müller a.k.a MISS C-LINE is one of our “New Generation #JazzLab” winners. Even if she’s busy with her Jazz vocal bachelor degree, she produces fresh hip hop with a deeply rooted jazz sensitivity. For the JazzLab she’ll be accompanied by her band. Yummie
Application
And this is how it works: Interested bands can apply for the #JazzLab via this online form. Entry deadline is April 6, 2025. A jury of national and international experts will select two winning acts from all submissions.
IMPORTANT: The winners will be invited to Festival da Jazz in the week from July 13 to 19, 2025. These dates have to be kept free! The jury’s decision will be announced in the last week of April. There will be no correspondence regarding the decision, the legal process is excluded.
ehemalige Mentoren
Das «New Generation #JazzLab» findet seit 2021 dank äusserst grosszügiger Unterstützung unseres Main Partners Jaguar statt. Die Mentorinnen und Mentoren, welche unsere Sieger-Acts während einer knappen Woche betreuen, spielen eine sehr zentrale Rolle. Sie sind Ansprechpartner, Lehrer:in, Psychiater und Quelle der Inspiratioin für unsere Sieger-Acts. Das Festival da Jazz ist besorgt um eine gute Auswahl dieser Mentorinnen und Mentoren. Unter aufgeführt sind die bisher Involvierten.
Iiro Rantala
Omar Sosa
Dave Grusin & Lee Ritenour
Yilian Cañizares
Lars Danielsson
Aaron Goldberg
Mattias Svensson
Gregory Hutchinson
Robin McKelle
Reuben Rogers
General Application Terms
The New Generation #JazzLab call is intended for:
National and international bands that operate in the broad field of jazz
Bands that are still at the beginning of their career and whose members are on average no more than 30 years old
Bands of jazz students and/or jazz school graduates
A video recording is mandatory, ideally via youtube link. We want to see how you play ‘live’, without editing/mastering. Completely edited studio recordings will not be accepted.
No more than two songs.
Keep the dates from 13 to 19 July free until the end of April 2025. Then we will inform you.