Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz & Fondation Louis Vuitton Team for 2026 Vocal Competition: The Future of Jazz ‘Is Very Safe’

When the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz — in partnership and with the support of Fondation Louis Vuitton — 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’s 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.

As Hancock declared to Billboard after the ceremony when asked about the future of jazz: “It’s very safe. Don’t worry about it.”

Malou Oheix won the first place $50,000 scholarship award for her two-song set featuring the Jimmy Dorsey classic “I’m Glad There Is You” and an innovative scat-filled reinterpretation of Michael Brecker’s “Madame Toulouse.” 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’ “Moon, Don’t Come Up Tonight” and the Rodgers & Hart jazz standard “Thou Swell.”

Drawing rapt attention for a riveting Afro-Cuban take on “Nature Boy,” first made famous by Nat King Cole, followed by a contemporary spin on the gem “Old Devil Moon,” 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.

More 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 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’s 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’s 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.

Hosted by Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons, the finals competition and gala concert — livestreamed worldwide — also honored renowned jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval with the Maria Fisher Founder’s Award. Rounding out the evening was the institute’s 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.

Also 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 Pérez, whose “The Ever-Changing World” 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 “Autumn Leaves.”

Serving as jurors for the competition were Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roberta Gambarini, Angélique 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.

As for what inspired the choice of jazz as their medium, the finalists’ responses centered around genre’s border-free environs. For someone who’s never been into “formatted things,” Daniels says she was attracted by the genre’s “playground” feel and “spontaneity; I like freedom and jazz gives the perfect freedom for that.” Oheix “loves the ability to explore different possibilities and improvisations; then communicating that in creative interplays with musicians.” Moving away from opera and musical theater, Heers explains that “jazz 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.”

The 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.

Asked what helped inform the jurors’ decisions, Porter cited “that magic ‘it’ factor; something compelling that makes you stand up. And there were many performers that did that. Nobody was slacking as they’d already accomplished something just being here. A bunch of them made me say, ‘Oh, we’re in good hands.’”

Pointing to other elements such as storytelling ability and vocal risk-taking, Bridgewater also talked about contestants’ use of another foundational jazz staple: scatting. “We don’t 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, ‘They can scat better than me.’”

“This was like a kaleidoscope,” concluded Gambarini. “Everybody 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.”