{"id":2198048,"date":"2026-10-14T14:52:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2198048"},"modified":"2026-10-14T14:52:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:52:58","slug":"herbie-hancock-institute-of-jazz-fondation-louis-vuitton-team-for-2026-vocal-competition-the-future-of-jazz-is-very-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2198048","title":{"rendered":"Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz & Fondation Louis Vuitton Team for 2026 Vocal Competition: The Future of Jazz \u2018Is Very Safe\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Herbie-Hancock-Malou-Oheix-Jean-Paul-Claveri-2026-press-Steve-Mundinger-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhen the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz \u2014 in partnership and with the support of Fondation Louis Vuitton \u2014 announced the winners of its International Jazz Vocals Competition in Paris, the event (which took place on Oct. 11) not only further underscored the genre\u2019s enduring legacy. It also provided additional insight into its growing popularity among next-gen vocalists across the globe in a revitalizing climate that includes young, award-winning visionaries such as Samara Joy and the Ezra Collective.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Hancock declared to Billboard<\/em> after the ceremony when asked about the future of jazz: \u201cIt\u2019s very safe. Don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBerklee College of Music Presents Inaugural Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole\u00a0Scholarship\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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    Gail Mitchell<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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    \n\tMalou Oheix won the first place $50,000 scholarship award for her two-song set featuring the Jimmy Dorsey classic \u201cI\u2019m Glad There Is You\u201d and an innovative scat-filled reinterpretation of Michael Brecker\u2019s \u201cMadame Toulouse.\u201d Also performing before the packed audience inside the Fondation Louis Vuitton auditorium were fellow finalists Georgia Heers and Lucy-Anne Daniels. Heers was presented with the second place $25,000 scholarship for her stirring performance of Patty Waters\u2019 \u201cMoon, Don\u2019t Come Up Tonight\u201d and the Rodgers & Hart jazz standard \u201cThou Swell.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n\tDrawing rapt attention for a riveting Afro-Cuban take on \u201cNature Boy,\u201d first made famous by Nat King Cole, followed by a contemporary spin on the gem \u201cOld Devil Moon,\u201d Daniels claimed the $10,000 third-place scholarship. These scholarships assist in paying tuition for college-level jazz education studies and provide funds for private, specialized instruction.<\/p>\n

    \n\tMore than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes was awarded by the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute and Fondation Louis Vuitton. The latter is headed by president Bernard Arnault<\/strong> with advisor to the president and administrator Jean-Paul Claverie. Coinciding with the 2026 centennial celebrations honoring jazz icons Miles Davis and John Coltrane, this year\u2019s weekend event (Oct. 10-11) marked the first time the institute brought its 39-year-old international competition outside the U.S. to Paris, one of the genre\u2019s most important cultural centers. Prior vocal and musician winners include Jazzmeia Horn, Cecile McLorin Salvant, pianist Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.<\/p>\n

    \n\tHosted by Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons, the finals competition and gala concert \u2014 livestreamed worldwide \u2014 also honored renowned jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval with the Maria Fisher Founder\u2019s Award. Rounding out the evening was the institute\u2019s traditional All-Star Gala Concert showcasing star musicians such as Akinmusire, Monty Alexander, Terri Lyne Carrington, John Patitucci and Hancock with John Beasley serving as musical director.<\/p>\n

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    Arturo Sandoval and Herbie Hancock. Credit: Steve Mundinger.<\/span>Steve Mundinger<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    \n\tAlso saluted was the late architect and former institute board member Frank Gehry, who designed the futuristic building that houses the Fondation Louis Vuitton. The institute commissioned a special composition by musician Danilo P\u00e9rez, whose \u201cThe Ever-Changing World\u201d made its world premiere that evening with an introduction by conductor Gustavo Dudamel. The Herbie Hancock Institute Ensemble of young musicians opened the evening with a special arrangement of the jazz classic \u201cAutumn Leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n\tServing as jurors for the competition were Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roberta Gambarini, Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo, Gretchen Parlato (also a previous vocal winner) and Gregory Porter (who also performed in the all-star concert). The submission window for the 2026 International Jazz Vocals Competition opened for singers aged 30 and under in March. From more than 200 applications, 11 semi-finalists were chosen with six hailing from outside the U.S., including France, the U.K., South Australia and China. Those 11 were then winnowed down on Oct. 10 to the aforementioned three finalists: Daniels, Heers and Oheix.<\/p>\n

    \n\tAs for what inspired the choice of jazz as their medium, the finalists\u2019 responses centered around genre\u2019s border-free environs. For someone who\u2019s never been into \u201cformatted things,\u201d Daniels says she was attracted by the genre\u2019s \u201cplayground\u201d feel and \u201cspontaneity; I like freedom and jazz gives the perfect freedom for that.\u201d Oheix \u201cloves the ability to explore different possibilities and improvisations; then communicating that in creative interplays with musicians.\u201d Moving away from opera and musical theater, Heers explains that \u201cjazz chose me. It was like some instinctual yearning for this thing that felt super familiar and foreign at the same time, which brought me to just doing it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n\tThe field of 11 semi-finalists was a tough one, with each of the contenders delivering a diverse range of creative vision, innovative arrangements and forward-moving vocal interpretations to their performances. Backing them at the daytime session and then the three finalists the next evening was the trio of pianist Carmen Staaf, drummer Kendrick Scott and bassist Ben Williams.<\/p>\n

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    Georgia Heers, Herbie Hancock, Lucy-Anne Daniels and Malou Oheix. Credit: Steve Mundinger.<\/span>Steve Mundinger<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    \n\tAsked what helped inform the jurors\u2019 decisions, Porter cited \u201cthat magic \u2018it\u2019 factor; something compelling that makes you stand up. And there were many performers that did that. Nobody was slacking as they\u2019d already accomplished something just being here. A bunch of them made me say, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re in good hands.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n\tPointing to other elements such as storytelling ability and vocal risk-taking, Bridgewater also talked about contestants\u2019 use of another foundational jazz staple: scatting. \u201cWe don\u2019t hear a lot of that anymore. So it was really encouraging and refreshing to hear so many singers from different cultures embracing jazz and scatting. Greg and I both said, \u2018They can scat better than me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n\t\u201cThis was like a kaleidoscope,\u201d concluded Gambarini. \u201cEverybody had their own thing to say from different cultures. It really was just a matter of receiving the message these performers were giving us, then trying to find a way to represent different worlds: a panorama of things that are new and where these possibilities will lead us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/herbie-hancock-institute-louis-vuitton-jazz-competition\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Herbie-Hancock-Malou-Oheix-Jean-Paul-Claveri-2026-press-Steve-Mundinger-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard When the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz \u2014 in partnership and with the support of Fondation Louis Vuitton \u2014 announced the winners of its International Jazz Vocals Competition in Paris, the event (which took place on Oct. 11) not only further underscored the genre\u2019s enduring legacy. It also provided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2198048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2198048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198048\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2198048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2198048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2198048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}