Stepping Stone is a two-year residency programme initiated by JazzLab, Ha Concerts and Brosella/Jazz Middelheim, which supports upcoming musicians in building a sustainable international career. At a time when personal connections are more important than ever, the programme offers an artist-driven, bottom-up approach: we start from the musician's ambitions and use our extensive network to open doors to motivated partners, inspiring encounters and new collaborations abroad.
Together, the organising partners select two promising, enterprising musicians who are ready for the next step. They receive a tailor-made programme that strengthens their network, gives concrete form to their international goals and supports them in establishing lasting, meaningful contacts – a foundation on which future projects and opportunities can naturally grow. In 2026 and '27, these artists are Abel Ghekiere and Adia Vanheerentals.
Abel Ghekiere
Abel Ghekiere is a Belgian multi-instrumentalist with a unique soundscape in which minimalist jazz, traditional folk and field recordings merge. His intuitive, refined style of writing is inspired by artists such as Nils Økland, Sufjan Stevens and Caroline. His second album, In de verte, dit uitzicht, was released on Rotkat Records in February 2025.
His music has already found its way to BBC6, StuBru, Radio 1 and Klara, and has been picked up by HUMO, Knack Focus, Dansende Beren and BRUZZ, among others. He has played live support slots for Alabaster dePlume, Caroline and Merope, and has performed release shows at Botanique (Brussels), Rataplan (Antwerp) and nona (Mechelen). He has performed at BRDCST (AB), the Feeërieën and We Are Open. Future appearances include Gent Jazz (with Max Richter) and Valkhof Festival (NL).
On stage, Abel leads a quartet with Tobias Volckaert (saxophone), Orlan Ghekiere (drums) and Hendrike Scharmann (violin). Although he trained as a guitarist, he also plays the clarinet and banjo live, instruments that further expand his sound palette.
As part of Stepping Stone, Abel will focus on deepening his artistic language over the next two years: he will explore contemporary Irish and Norwegian folk music, alternative recording and writing methods, and actively seek collaboration with international creators who connect tradition, improvisation and ambient sound in new ways. These explorations form the basis for new work and new relationships, and mark the beginning of a new, more open and international phase in his musical journey
ADIA VANHEERENTALS
Adia Vanheerentals is a Belgian saxophonist with a distinctive voice, rooted in Scandinavian harmony, Chicago energy and a constant drive for innovation. With her trio Bodem, she released two remarkable albums on Mokuhi Sonorities and toured Flanders and Brussels in 2025 via JazzLab. As a solo musician, she explores the boundaries of the instrument: her releases on Ultra Eczema and New York's Relative Pitch Records showcase a radical, detailed approach to sound, breath and ambient noise.
Adia has previously played at venues such as La Casa del Jazz (Rome), BRDCST, Feeërieën and We Are Open and is part of projects such as Fire! Orchestra, Woolvs Large Ensemble, Klinck Trio and Anaïs. She was selected by Klara for De Twintigers and can be heard in 2025 in BXL x LDN Interplay II, a Belgian-British exchange project focusing on new work and international tours. She also composes for theatre and dance, where her sense of space, movement and texture takes centre stage.
In the coming years, Adia will focus on deepening her Scandinavian influences and researching instant composing - a practice she became familiar with through Fire! Orchestra, which fuels her fascination with alertness, collective design and live-driven composition. She wants to engage in dialogue with Scandinavian creators and ensembles, explore new methods and translate these into her own projects. This research forms the basis for the next adventurous phase in her work, in which improvisation, structure and intuition become even more closely intertwined.
