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Congratulations to the two finalists of the ZKB Jazzpreis Festival 2024: Chloé Marsigny Sextet and Lea Gasser 5tet. On Thursday, September 26th from 8:30 pm, the two bands will play for the victory at Moods.We wish both bands good luck and thank all participants for the great music! Chloé Marsigny Sextet, Polarbaeren, Meraki Sextett, Lea Gasser 5tet, Maud Paquis Quintet und LELE GORRI, thank you very much!More information at: www.jazzpreis.ch
After three years as director of Moods, Isabelle Tschäppeler is moving on to take on new challenges. After her departure, the booking department will be managed by a trio consisting of Adrian Hofer, Yunus Durrer and Brigitta Grimm. Isabelle Tschäppeler is leaving Moods after three years as General Manager. After starting in November 2021, she has led Moods back to normality after the difficult years of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the beginning of 2024, Isabelle Tschäppeler reorganized the booking department to make room for new impulses and ideas. Under her leadership, the 30th anniversary was celebrated, a new website was successfully launched, various new party series were created and the Schiffbau-Fest was held. The Board of Directors and the Moods team would like to thank Isabelle Tschäppeler for her commitment and wish her all the best for the future. The booking will be continued by Adrian Hofer and Yunus Durrer, who have already worked under Isabelle Tschäppeler, and supplemented by Brigitta Grimm. On the one hand, this constellation will ensure continuity, while on the other, the expansion of the team will give us more capacity to think about new formats and collaborations. After the pandemic made it difficult to promote lesser-known bands for a while, the Moods program will now have more room for new discoveries. Each member of the booking team brings valuable expertise to optimally cover the wide-ranging Moods program: Adrian Hofer will continue to oversee the Global Sounds section, Yunus Durrer will curate national and international jazz and will be supported by Brigitta Grimm, who is also dedicated to the ZKB Jazz Prize and Moods Carte Blanche sponsorship projects. Daniel Niedermann will manage operations as Managing Director, focusing on finances and commercial tasks. He has been at Moods since 2019.
The 22nd edition of the ZKB Jazz Prize Festival will take place at Moods from 22 to 27 September 2024. Six bands representing the versatility and quality of the young Swiss jazz scene have been selected from over 40 entries.Six bands from all over Switzerland have been nominated, each of which is characterised by a unique sound language and an original approach to jazz: Chloé Marsigny Sextet, Polarbæren, Meraki Sextet, Lea Gasser 5tet, Maud Paquis Quintet and LELE GORRI.They will be judged by an international jury, which this year consists of Yilian Cañizares, Mira Lu Kovacs, Andrew Read, Christof Thurnherr and Simon Steiner.We are excited and look forward to a variety of concerts and to seeing you at the ZKB Jazz Prize Festival 2024.More information at: www.jazzpreis.ch
Our annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday, 25 June 2024. In addition to the presentation of the annual report, the annual financial statements and balance sheet will be presented, the first names for the autumn programme will be introduced, voted on and elected, and then there will also be an aperitif. All persons who have purchased a subscription for 2023 are entitled to vote and be elected. We look forward to seeing you!
The most important info:
Date: Tuesday, 25 June 2024
Door opening: 18:00
Start: 18:30
Where: Moods
Registration: Please register by 21 June via info@moods.ch so that we know approximately how many people will be attending the aperitif.

Apply now for the Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize 2024!Moods has been awarding the "Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize" annually in collaboration with the Aïda Alliman Foundation since 2016. This year, the prize will be awarded for the second last time, after which the Aïda Alliman Foundation will be dissolved.The "Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize" supports musicians from Switzerland or Liechtenstein with an annual financial contribution worth 20,000 Swiss francs. This contribution is intended to enable them to work freely for a certain period of time. In addition, the selected musicians are given the opportunity to perform at Jazzclub Moods within six months of being awarded the prize.Musicians can apply for the "Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize 2024" until 31 May 2024. All information and the application form can be found here
Apply now for the ZKB Jazz Prize 2024!For 22 years, Zürcher Kantonalbank has been supporting young Swiss bands with the ZKB Jazz Prize Festival at the Moods. Six Swiss bands have the opportunity to compete for the most lucrative prize for young jazz musicians in Switzerland: 15,000 francs for first place and 5,000 francs for second place. The ZKB Jazz Prize Festival 2024 will take place from 22 to 27 September at Moods. Registrations will be accepted until 31 May 2024 via the online form You can find more information about taking part at jazzpreis.ch
A competition between masterclass and sponsorship award for young jazz musicians on the threshold of a professional career: The Festival da Jazz St. Moritz has announced the call for entries for the New Generation #JazzLab 2024.At the heart of the New Generation #JazzLab is the collaboration of the winning acts with various jazz greats. These are internationally renowned professionals with extensive teaching experience who will support the up-and-coming talent in many ways. The Festival da Jazz deliberately selects musicians who are characterized by their multifaceted work and curiosity.Young musicians and bands from Switzerland and around the world can register for the five-day master class with internationally renowned mentors until April 5, 2024. Board and lodging are included, as well as a concert at the Dracula Club, which will be professionally filmed. The icing on the cake is prize money in the amount of CHF 5,000.The winning acts will be invited to the Festival da Jazz in the week from July 15 to 19, 2024. So make sure you keep these dates free if you want to take part! Further information and the conditions of participation can be found at https://www.jazzlab.ch/We keep our fingers crossed and wish you every success
We warmly congratulate Irina Ungureanu on winning the Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize 2023. The jury was impressed by her continuous work on her own projects as well as her exploration of her Romanian roots and the topic of home. A clear idea of how the prize money will be used was another decisive criterion. The prize money will enable her to reorient herself musically in the coming year and to go in search of her own musical language beyond contemporary music, improvising more. In addition, she will be allowed to perform at Moods with a project of her choice during the 23/24 season.The Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize is awarded on the basis of the submitted motivation letter and artistic plans - the emerging takes precedence over the completed. The continuity of the previous work and the development potential of the musicians* are also important criteria.
Congratulations to the two finalists of the ZKB Jazzpreis Festival 2023: Knobil and ARBRE. On Thursday, September 28th from 8:30 pm, the two bands will play for the victory at Moods.We wish both bands good luck and thank all participants for the great music! OKWOK, Momotrope, Arthur Donnot Group, ARBRE, Filippo Valli Quartet and Knobil, thank you very much!
From September 24 to 29, 2023, the 21st edition of the ZKB Jazzpreis Festival will take place at Moods. Six formations representing the versatility and quality of the young Swiss jazz scene have been selected from over 40 entries.Nominated are six bands from all over Switzerland, each of which stands out for its own sound language and original approach to jazz: OKWOK, Momotrope, Arthur Donnot Group, ARBRE, Filippo Valli Quartet and Knobil.They will be judged by an international jury, this year composed of Jane Cornwell (journalist, UK/AU), Carlo Brühlhart (journalist, CH), Rabih Abou-Khalil (musician, LB/FR), Elina Duni (musician, CH) and Martina Berther (musician/audience representative, CH). We are excited and look forward to varied concerts and to numerous appearances at the ZKB Jazzpreis Festival 2023.
A competition between master class and promotion award for young jazz musicians who are on the threshold of a professional career: The Festival da Jazz St. Moritz has announced the call for entries for the New Generation #JazzLab 2023.Young musicians and bands from Switzerland and all over the world can register for the five-day master class with internationally renowned mentors until 31 March 2023. Accomodation and Board are included, as well as a concert at the Dracula Club, which will be professionally filmed. The icing on the cake is the prize money of CHF 5,000.Further information and the conditions of participation can be found at: https://www.jazzlab.ch/enGood luck!
Around 30 people from all over Switzerland and southern Germany applied for the advertised booking position at Moods. The 29-year-old Yunus Durrer has prevailed and will take up his position from March 2023. Yunus has been the booking manager of the Festival Da Jazz in St. Moritz for 5 years. He started there as a supervisor of the artists* and gradually developed into the booking manager. During this time he was able to gain valuable booking experience and build up a broad network in the international jazz scene.In his new position, Yunus is looking forward to immerse himself more in the local music scene, to sharpen the program's content and to push it forward together with the Moods team. Former director Carine Zuber will initially assist him in an advisory capacity to ensure a seamless continuation.
2022
24.10.2022
We show solidarity with the Tanzhaus Zürich
On Sunday, October 16, 2022, an event at the Tanzhaus Zurich was massively disrupted by a group from the radical right-wing camp. The event in question was Drag Story Time - an event for children from the age of three. The format conveys diversity, tolerance and inclusion and thrives on an open discourse about gender identities and role models. We stand in solidarity with Tanzhaus Zürich and welcome the charges filed by Tanzhaus. We stand side by side and condemn politically motivated disruptive actions of any kind. The fact that an event for families of all things was attacked appalls us even more. Together with our partners and friends from the cultural scene of Zurich, we hereby set a sign against hate, exclusion and right-wing propaganda. These have no place in our society, and we will not stop defending and communicating our values. We are convinced that art and culture can contribute to making this world a better place - this is what we stand up for together every day with our work.
We look forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary with you. From October 21 to 23, 2022, a colorful program awaits you here at Moods, LaSalle and Schiffbau Foyer with international stars and newcomers, established and younger representatives of the Swiss music scene, concerts with influences from Africa and the Balkans, a recumbent and a children's concert, a workshop together with Helvetiarockt and a musical walk through Kreis 5. With: Julie Campiche Solo feat. Claire Huguenin - Acid Amazonians x Taimashoe - Claudia Masika - Neue Grafik Ensemble - Afterparty with Rizzoknor & DJ Lexx - Music Production Workshop with Cégiu - Soundwalking - A walkable composition by TRIO - Stacey Kent - District Five - BalkanEkstra Afterparty with The Nozez & Rock Gitano - Children's Concert: Il lung Viadi - Osomo Liege Concert.
Congratulations to Bureau Bureau for winning the ZKB Jazzpreis 2022!The duo of Sonia Loenne and Michael Cina, who live in Bern, convinced the jury with their dedication, stage presence and cross-border performance. The second-placed Louis Matute Large Ensemble brought an infectious energy to the stage and knew how to inspire with a strong interplay. The musicians from French-speaking Switzerland also convinced the visitors and were also awarded the ZKB Audience Prize. This means that the sextet will be performing at Moods next year. We are already looking forward to it!In addition to the two finalists, the Shane Quartet, Tie Drei, Trois Imaginaires and the Dimitri Howald Trio were nominated for the Young Musicians Award. We would like to thank all participants for the 4 days of great music.
We warmly congratulate Marena Whitcher on winning the Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize 2022. The consistent pursuit of her visions and the constant reflection of her work convinced the jury just as much as her irrepressible creativity and her boundless joy of experimentation beyond all musical genres and rules. A clear idea of how the prize money will be used was another decisive criterion. The prize money should enable her to work freely for a certain period of time. In addition, she will be allowed to perform at Moods with a project of her choice during the 22/23 season.The Moods-Aïda Alliman Prize is awarded on the basis of the submitted motivation letter and artistic plans - the emerging takes precedence over the completed. The continuity of the previous work and the development potential of the musicians* are also important criteria.
The 2021 General Assembly was held on May 2 2022 at Moods. The minutes of the AGM are uploaded for viewing.