The selected participants in 2026 are:
– Patricija Škof (voice), SI/CH
– Elise Ganguillet (voice), CH
– Linda Scharnagl (saxophone), DE/CH
– Gloria Ryter (trombone), CH
– Lea Gasser (accordion), CH
– Clélya Abraham (piano), FR
– Ping-En Hung (bass), TW/NL
– Lucyann Ceballos (bass) PR/CH
Patricija Škof (Voice)
Slovenia/Switzerland
Š’ta Godba & Patricija Škof – Reci Le Zakaj
Based in Basel, Slovenian vocalist and bandleader Patricija Škof earned her Master’s degree in Jazz Performance at the Jazzcampus of the Musik-Akademie Basel, where she is currently completing her studies in jazz pedagogy. The multi-award-winning artist won the DownBeat Student Music Award in 2021, placed third at Jazzon 2024 for best Slovenian jazz composition, and claimed the Grand Prix at the 2025 international Jazz Juniors competition in Kraków with her trio birds of unknown. Alongside collaborations with prestigious ensembles like the Bundesjazzorchester and the RTV Slovenia Big Band, she leads her own projects; following their 2022 debut album Gently Sailing, her trio is set to record their next album with EMME Record Label and will perform on international festival stages this coming summer.
Elise Ganguillet (voice)
Switzerland
Cully jazz part.3 My mind avec la star
Lausanne-based singer and songwriter Elise Ganguillet (25) weaves a singular musical identity, born from her jazz vocal bachelor’s at HEMU and her current master’s studies at ZHdK Zurich. Her journey spans classical music and pop before finding its full expression in jazz. After honing her craft as a sidewoman for several years, she now launches her personal project “Esgui,” a sonic adventure that recently captivated audiences by opening the Cully Jazz Festival. Currently recording an EP slated for release in 2027, she explores the many facets of her voice, blending rich harmonies, rhythmic play, and intimate lyrics in both French and English.
Linda Scharnagl (Saxophone)
Germany/Switzerland
Crush (Bob Reynolds) on baritone saxophone
Born in Nuremberg, baritone saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Linda Scharnagl (*2002) is a defining voice of the young European jazz scene, weaving classical elegance, vibrant jazz, and a profound artistic vision into her music. Her academic journey has led her from Würzburg to New York’s Eastman School of Music and onto the Jazzcampus Basel, where she completes her bachelor’s degree in 2026. Whether performing as an expressive force in the Bundesjazzorchester, alongside international greats like Mike Holober and Anna Webber, or within the delicate tapestry of the all-female saxophone quintet Pentaphone Project, she leaves behind deep sonic footprints. With her own quintet, she guides contemporary compositions and world music colors into a shared home, capturing this distinct, multifaceted musical cosmos on her debut album scheduled for release in 2026.
Gloria Ryter (trombone)
Switzerland
Gloria Ryters Posaunen-Challenge
Swiss trombonist Gloria Ryter (b. 2002) is considered one of the most promising talents on the young local jazz scene, weaving a fearless passion for improvisation with deep musical dedication. During her studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), she impressively demonstrated her courage: As an artist in the “SRF Kultur Debut” initiative for emerging talent, she mastered the bass trombone in record time in 2025. With this powerful sonic foundation, she represented Switzerland at the renowned Euroradio Jazz Orchestra in Slovenia on an international stage. To further expand her musical horizons, she continued her training in Italy.
Lea Gasser (accordion)
Switzerland
Lea Gasser 5tet – Chorale (live at UpJazz, Suisse Diagonales Jazz 2024)
Based in Bern, accordionist and composer Lea Gasser (*1992 in Zurich) weaves a deeply intimate and personal sonic language from the classical precision of her HKB studies and the expressive freedom of her Lausanne jazz master’s degree. Since 2020, she has explored these worlds with her quintet, whose albums “L’Heure Bleue” (2022) and the delicate “Circles” (2025) captivated audiences, earning the band the renowned ZKB Jazz Prize alongside selection for Suisse Diagonales Jazz 2024. As a subtle sidewoman in the Thomas Dürst Trio, the Tzupati Orchestra, and with The Optics (2023), she helps shape musical collectives, while in 2025, during a carte blanche at Bee-flat Bern, she unlocked new sonic horizons as a soloist with effects pedals and simultaneously brought the atmospheric formation Low Drift to life.
Clélya Abraham (piano/voice)
France
Clélya Abraham – Padjenbel & Takout – New Morning 2025
Born in 1994, French jazz pianist, composer, and singer Clélya Abraham blends her classical training and Paris jazz education with her Caribbean roots, nu-soul, and world music. Following her 2020 family project “Abraham Réunion”, she achieved widespread acclaim at major festivals with her solo debut “La Source” (2022) and won the UNAC composition prize in 2023. With the release of her second album “Atacama” in February 2025 and a nomination at the Victoires du Jazz, she has firmly established herself on the international jazz scene.
Ping-En Hung (bass)
Taiwan/Netherlands
Ping-En Hung live at Theater de Roode Bioscoop
Born in Taipei, Taiwanese bassist, composer, and live-electronics artist Ping-En Hung (*1993) blends jazz, contemporary classical music, and noise with complex electronic soundscapes. Based in the Netherlands since 2016, she completed her studies in jazz performance and live electronics at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Performing as a “one-woman band”, she designs her multimedia solo shows entirely by herself, manipulating the electric bass alongside her own live visual projections. Heavily influenced by East Asian philosophy and Chinese literature, she integrates cultural storytelling with modern technology. Through her debut album “Gaze” and her collaborations with ensembles like de_ereprijs, she performs across Europe and at international platforms such as the Asian-Canadian Jade Music Fest.
Lucyann Ceballos (bass)
Puerto Rico/Switzerland
Modo Avión – Alain Pérez (Bass Cover)
Puerto Rican bassist and singer Lucyann Ceballos began her musical journey in choirs and the Antilles Jazz Ensemble before graduating with a music education degree from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico in 2018. During these studies, she discovered her passion for the bass, leading her to complete a second degree in Jazz and Caribbean Music at the same conservatory in 2022. Following two years as a versatile professional musician in her homeland—performing genres from salsa to funk alongside renowned artists like William Cepeda—she moved to Basel, Switzerland, in September 2024 to continue her jazz education at the FHNW Musik Akademie. Since then, she has been performing across Swiss stages and has recorded her debut album, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2026.