Nominations for the Swiss Jazz Award 2015
Radio Swiss Jazz and Jazz Ascona have named the five bands nominated for the Swiss Jazz Award 2015. The public can vote online to decide which three bands make it to the final.
In addition to established members of the Swiss scene such as Zurich drummer Charly Antolini or the masters of classical jazz Beat Baumli and Jürg Morgenthaler, the nominees include representatives of a new generation, Bernese singer Myria Poffet, who brilliantly celebrates jazz standards with her trio, and 25-year-old Raphael Jost from Thurgau, a singer, pianist and songwriter who moves between swing, pop and hip-hop. Also nominated is the Lucerne band Piri Piri, which has dedicated itself to gipsy swing, a style of music that is also very popular in Switzerland today.
Members of the expert jury are Sai Nobel, music editor at Radio Swiss Jazz, Andrea Engi, president of the Jazz Club Chur and member of Swiss Jazzorama, Mirko Vaiz, Migros Culture Percentage Jazz, Stewy von Wattenwyl, director of the Swiss Jazz School Bern and winner of the Swiss Jazz Award 2014, Beat Blaser, music editor at Radio SRF 2 Kultur/Jazz, bandleader and musician Pepe Lienhard, Markus Hauser from the St. Moritz Jazz Festival and Jazz Ascona director Nicolas Gilliet.
The Swiss Jazz Award has been presented by Radio Swiss Jazz and Jazz Ascona with the support of Migros Culture Percentage since 2007. Last year's winners: Nicole Herzog and Stewy von Wattenwyl (2014), Chris Conz Trio (2013), Christine Jaccard & Dave Ruosch (2012), Alexia Gardner (2011) and the Dani Felber Big Band (2010). Hazy Osterwald (2009) and Pepe Lienhard (2006) received a Swiss Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award.
The prize will be awarded at the closing evening of the Jazz Ascona summer festival on Sunday, June 28, 2015. The online voting runs until April 12, 2015 on www.swissjazzaward.ch.
