Moods Carte Blanche: Auf diese Künstler*innen freuen wir uns

The "Moods Carte Blanche" is a free pass for musicians. Six selected artists are given the opportunity to realise their projects. We now know who will be surprising us in the upcoming season.

Receiving a "Moods Carte Blanche" is considered an accolade within the Zurich jazz scene. Each year, the Musicians' Council selects six artists who are given the opportunity to realise their own projects according to their own ideas, from the choice of location and timing to the artistic concept.In the upcoming season, Moods will continue this approach, aiming to strengthen and develop the local jazz scene. Elmar Frey, Luca Koch, Marina Mello, Aio Frei, Matthieu Mazué and Arthur Hnatek have been awarded carte blanche for the 2026/27 season. We introduce them to you through brief portraits.

Elmar Frey

The drummer from Zug is a familiar face on the Zurich jazz scene. He performs here regularly alongside Jochen Baldes, Daniel Schenker, Raphael Jost, Nicole Johänntgen, Victoria Mozalevskaya, Christoph Grab and Chris Wiesendanger. He has also shared the stage with Horace Parlan and George Gruntz. Which of his long-standing collaborators will he invite on stage for his Carte Blanche? We'll reveal that soon.

Luca Koch

Luca Koch is a singer, poet and performer. They are a lecturer in jazz and pop voice, songwriting, and sight-reading at the Winterthur Institute for Contemporary Music, and they strive to provide holistic, gender-neutral singing lessons and artist education. Since April 2023, Luca has also been part of the music editorial team at SRF 2 Kultur.

Marina Mello

Although the harpist is originally from Brazil, she has lived in Zurich since completing her master's degree at ZHdK. A permanent fixture in the independent scene, she has already composed music for a Theater Neumarkt production and toured South America with the IOIC.We are particularly pleased when Carte Blanche artists collaborate with each other. Something seems to be developing between Luca Koch and Marina Mello. We are excited!

Aio Free

Aio Frei demonstrates just how far music can go as a living artistic practice. Aio is a non-binary sound artist and experimental DJ who organises concerts and co-founded the now-closed record store OOR Records. However, with OOR Saloon, the collective continues to organise the occasional experimental concert and listening event. Aio's primary focus is on listening habits and the "ethics of listening". Whether there is anything to hear — or indeed if there is anything at all — remains to be seen.

Matthieu Mazué

Matthieu is actually from France, but fortunately now lives in Zurich. In 2019, he founded the Matthieu Mazué Trio with Xaver Rüegg and Michael Cina. The trio won the ZKB Jazz Prize in 2021. Much has happened since then, including a six-month stay in New York in 2024. The Big Apple has shaped him and his music. His latest album, Turn of Events, which he recorded with his new trio featuring Francisco Mela and Diego Hedez, is a good example of this. The musicians met there.

Arthur Hnatek

Last but not least is Arthur Hnatek. The drummer loves jazz and electronic music, and prefers to combine the two genres. Having studied at the New School for Jazz in New York, Hnatek has won several awards. These include the ZB Jazz Prize in 2019 and the Swiss Music Prize in 2022. As a soloist, he puts on incredibly captivating shows that fuse drums and electronics. He has also collaborated with numerous Swiss artists, including Tillmann Ostendarp, Andrina Bollinger, Jules Martinet, Noémi Büchi, and Erik Truffaz. It's no surprise that you often see his name in cultural agendas or the Moods programme, as recently at Tillmann's Carte Blanche.