Complete program

Rising star Ekep Nkwelle is a 25-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist. The power of her voice has resonated with jazz luminaries such as Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut, and Peter Washington, along with young stars like Emmet Cohen and Endea Owens, leading to countless collaborations.

Grammy Award winning Wayne Escoffery is one of the most gifted tenor saxophonists in American jazz. Extraordinary trumpet player Jeremy Pelt played with Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Ravi Coltrane, Nancy Wilson and Cedar Walton. Rising star Emma Smith is a multifaceted singer-songwriter with outstanding vocal ability

Popular singer Gisele Jackson began her career on the classic soul scene and rose to prominence as band member of Ray Charles, Donna Summer and James Brown. Cyrus Chestnut worked as a sideman with some of the leading players in the music including Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Branford Marsalis, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Freddy Cole, Bette Midler, Jimmy Scott and Isaac Hayes. Both musicians are fimly rooted in Gospel music and exclusively present their new project

Nicole Zuraitis is a Grammy winning and 4x Grammy-nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist, arranger, and bandleader from New York. Nicole is a trailblazing artist who is redefining vocal jazz, earning her a place as one of the top artists to watch in jazz and beyond

Vocalist, composer, songwriter and arranger Michael Mayo is based in Los Angeles and – with his phenomenal tenor voice – sings jazz, neo-soul and R&B. He captivates audiences worldwide, headlining his own gigs and touring with the likes of Herbie Hancock

The japanese piano wonder brings her newest project “Sonicwonder” with virtuoso trumpet player Adam O’Farrill to the 50th anniversary of the Int. Jazzfestival Bern and the Swiss Jazz Orchestra present their „Tribute to Quincy Jones“ under the direction of Pepe Lienhard with the singer Brigitte Wullimann. This jubilee night takes place in the brand new Bern Expo Cube

From street musician collective to a solid group transporting the traditional music from New Orleans onto the concert stages of the world: Tuba Skinny truly are a one-of-a-kind group. The lead trumpet player is Shaye Cohn - daughter of Joe Cohn and granddaughter of Al Cohn

Judith Owen’s stylistic range spans jazz, blues, rock, pop, classical, and musical theatre. Her New Orleans project „Come On And Get It“ is rooted in her fascination with the music of the women of the Jazz and Blues world of the 40’s / 50’s. After the enormously successful week in Marians Jazzroom in January 2024 (during which Judith recorded her live album “Comes Alive”), Judith brings her extraordinary live band to the Jazzfestival Bern