Alexandra Hamburger, voice, flute
Song-Yi Jeon, voice
Santi de la Rubia, tenor sax
Vinicius Gomes, guitar
Marc Mezgolits, bass guitar
Chase Kuesel, drums
Iago Fernández, drums

Focusyear Basel is a one-year intensive course for exceptionally talented jazz musicians, selected by an expert jury, who will form an ensemble. The band will be coached and advised in a regular cycle by acknowledged masters of the international Jazz scene. The Jazzcampus in Basel provides an ideal setting, allowing the musicians to rediscover their musical world and to redefine their aesthetics, both individually on their respective instrument and collectively within the band.
International stars such as Dave Liebman, Ambrose Akinmusire, Julian Lage, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Seamus Blake, Marilyn Mazur, Jorge Rossy, John Hollenbeck, Norma Winston, work with the ensemble.
Over the course of the year, the ensemble will create several concert programmes, record an album and go on a tour around clubs and festivals in the spring and summer.

Priya Carlberg, voice
Alex Quinn, trumpet
Raef Sengupta, sax
Magdalena Abrego, guitar
Julian Weisman, bass

This group, although well practiced in jazz, strives to bring new genre combinations to the community through the performance of original compositions and reinterpretations of compositions by some of their musical heroes, such as Annette Peacock and Carla Bley. They strive to highlight all of their individual interests and strengths to form their unique voice. They are also excited to experiment with their chamber-like instrumentation and want to embrace the band’s lack of drums.

Anthony Pearlman, piano
Sergio Tabanico, tenor sax
Solomon Gotfried, bass
Jacob Patrone, drums

The Anthony Pearlman Quartet is a New York City based collective of like-minded musicians who have been playing together for the past three years. The Quartet met at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and, as a result, has had the privilege of receiving guidance by master musicians such as Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille, and Dave Douglass. With influences that range from Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet, and the Thelonious Monk Quartet, to classical composers such as Ravel and Messian, the music produced by the group aims to draw on their inspirations while simultaneously showcasing the individuality of each member in the band. 

Coren Sithers, saxophone
Alex Lockheart, guitar
Michael Blanchfield, piano
Ben Manning, double bass
Eddie Jones-West, drums/composition

Hivemind is a vehicle for exploring and developing, in real time, the music of drummer/ composer Eddie Jones-West. The quintet of musical companions was formed in late 2018 having played and studied together at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. All five members contribute a unique spark to the compositions, which itself pulls influences from across the musical spectrum. Elements of electronic, dance, cinematic, classical and progressive are all at home within the music. Distilled through the lens of jazz and improvisation, Hivemind seeks to balance the light and dark of these influences in a captivating sound world.

Aaron Bouwman, bass
Rafael Sinay, guitar
Kick Woudstra, drums
David van der Grinten, piano

The members of SMANDEM met because they share the same taste in music, which is probably also what sets them apart from other bands in Amsterdam. Their common musical background is more in present-day popular music, and so they like to combine this electronic sound with jazz. On stage, they really try to live up to their band name, which is very much about unity.

Federico Calcagno, clarinet
José Soares, saxophone
Adrien Moncada, piano
Pau Sola Masafrets, cello
Nick Thessalonikefs, drums

Liquid Identities was born at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2018 with the goal to explore fresh original compositions which reflect a research into the combination of different styles between contemporary jazz, Carnatic music, avant-garde jazz, free impro and chamber music. The adjective 'liquid' also refers to the vision of modernity analyzed by the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman in his book Liquid Modernity.