Monterey Jazz Festival Announces 2015 Next Generation Jazz Festival Winners

Monterey Jazz Festival is proud to announce the results of the annual Next Generation Jazz Festival. A full list of top groups, scholarship and award winners can be found on the Festival's website at montereyjazzfestival.org.

Results by Category

In the High School Big Band Division, top honors went to Northgate High School (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Greg Brown, director, winning for the second year in a row. There was a tie for second place, between the LA County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles, Calif.), Jason Goldman, director, and the Folsom High School Jazz Band I (Folsom, Calif.), Curtis Gaesser, director. All three bands will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the High School Combo Division, top honors went to Berkeley High School Combo A (Berkeley, Calif.), Sarah Cline, director. Berkeley has won the combo division 17 times since 1975. The runner-up was El Cerrito High School Jazz Quintet (El Cerrito, Calif.), Keith Johnson, director. Third place went to the LA County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles, Calif.), Jason Goldman, director. The Berkeley High School Combo A will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the High School Conglomerate Combo Division, top honors went to the American Music Program Pacific Crest Jazz Combo (Portland, Ore.), Thara Memory, director, winning for the first time in the division. The runner-up was the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Jazz Combo (San Francisco, Calif.), Dann Zinn, director. Third place went to Vibe6 (Davis, Calif.), Celia Cottle, director. The American Music Program Pacific Crest Jazz Combo will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the High School Vocal Ensemble Division, top honors went to the LA County High School for the Arts Vocal Ensemble (Los Angeles, Calif.), Pat Bass, director. LACHSA has won the High School Vocal Division five times 1997. The runner-up was Folsom High School Jazz Choir I (Folsom, Calif.) Curtis Gaesser, director. Third place went to Valencia High School "Two 'N' Four" (Valencia, Calif.), Christine Tavares-Mocha, director. The LA County High School for the Arts Vocal Ensemble and Folsom High School Jazz Choir I will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the College Big Band Division, top honors went to the Central Washington University Big Band (Ellensburg, Wash.), Chris Bruya, director, winning in their first performance since 2010. The runner-up went to University of Nevada Las Vegas Jazz Ensemble I, (Las Vegas, Nev.), Dave Loeb and Nathan Tanouye, directors. Third place went to University of North Florida Big Band (Jacksonville, Fla.), J.B. Scott, director. The Central Washington University Big Band will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the College Vocal Ensemble Division, the University of Miami Frost School of Music (Coral Gables, Fla.) won both top honors and second place -- with the Jazz Vocal Ensemble "Extensions" winning first, and the group Jazz Vocal I as the runner-up. Both ensembles are directed by Kate Reid. Third place went to Mt. San Antonio College "Singcopation" (Walnut, Calif.), Bruce Rogers, director. The University of Miami Frost School of Music Jazz Vocal Ensemble "Extensions" will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the Conglomerate Big Band Division, top honors went to the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra (San Francisco, Calif.), Paul Contos, director, for the third year in a row. The runner-up was the American Music Program's Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra (Portland, Ore.), Thara Memory, director. Third place was the Jazzschool Studio Band (Berkeley, Calif.), Dave Eshelman, director. The SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

In the College Combo Division, top honors went to University of the Pacific Combo (Stockton, Calif.), Patrick Langham, director, winning for the first time in the division. The runner-up was University of Miami Frost School of Music Stamps Quintet (Coral Gables, Fla.), Chuck Bergeron, director. Third place went to the Stanford University Jazz Combo (Palo Alto, Calif.), Jim Nadel, director. The University of the Pacific Combo will perform at the 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

For a complete list of top ensembles, outstanding soloists and scholarship recipients, visit www.montereyjazzfestival.org/jazz-education/2015-next-generation-jazz-festival-results.

Day-by-Day Review

The Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival got off to a spectacular start on Friday, March 27 with a standing room-only crowd of nearly 2000 jazz fans for the highly-anticipated Kick-Off Concert, in celebration of the late Clark Terry. Performances and memories about Clark's impact on jazz education came from Berklee College of Music's Marika Galea Quartet and pianists Helen Sung and Reggie Thomas; saxophonists Mary Fettig, Joel Frahm and Adam Schroeder, drummer Matt Wilson; trombonist Luis Bonilla; trumpeter Terell Stafford; bassist Ray Drummond; guitarist Bruce Forman; and vocalist Mardra Thomas. After the conclusion of the concert, a large number of students remained to participate in the traditional student jam session, hosted by The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Ensemble.

Saturday's activities included more than 90 back-to-back performances on five stages in downtown Monterey. In addition, clinics were held by Marika Galea Quartet from Berklee College of Music, drummer Matt Wilson, and educator and pianist, Reggie Thomas.

After nine hours of performances, students packed the Serra Ballroom to hear the announcement of the top High School Big Bands, Vocal Ensembles and Combos, and soloist and scholarship award winners.

The Showcase Concert later that evening was a preview of the 2015 Monterey Jazz Festival, which included performances from the Northgate High School Big Band, the Berkeley High School Combo A, the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Vocal Ensemble, and the University of the Pacific Combo, with special guest performances from the UNLV Jazz Ensemble I and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Ensemble.

On Sunday morning, the final divisions of the Next Generation Jazz Festival took place, with a special vocalist clinic from Mardra Thomas. The non-competing Middle School Division bands received best section awards after performing the Steinbeck Forum. The Sutter Middle School Big Band, from Folsom, Calif. and their director, John Zimny, participated the first-ever NGJF middle school clinic with their adjudicators, Dave Gregoric, Mike Galisatus and Jason Goldman.

Downstairs in the Serra Ballroom, the Conglomerate Big Band Division represented the best-of-the-best high school musicians. Winning the top award for the third year in a row was the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra.

The College Big Band Division featured some of the most advanced groups in the nation and the Central Washington University Big Band took top honors on their first appearance at the Next Generation Jazz Festival since 2010.

The High School Conglomerate Combo Division was won by the American Music Program Pacific Crest Jazz Combo I. It was their first win in the division.

Sunday afternoon featured the College Vocal Ensemble Division in the Steinbeck Forum, with each of the six top schools showing their sophisticated and daring harmonic sounds. The University of Miami Frost School of Music Jazz Vocal Ensemble "Extensions" took top honors in their debut at the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

Also on Sunday, behind closed doors, live auditions for the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra were taking place. The Orchestra, one of the premier high school big bands in the United States, is Monterey Jazz Festival's national high school showcase band, filled with all-star musicians from around the country.

Technology and Jazz

The Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival provided free webcasts from the Serra Ballroom Stage and Steinbeck Forum on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with more than 3200 fans from 100 countries tuning in to watch over 7400 streams. Performances from both locations were available on local TV and online, supported by Access Monterey Peninsula and KUSP.org.

Jazz Expo Highlights Educational Opportunities

The Next Generation Jazz Festival Jazz Expo hosted some of the top schools and jazz programs in the country, including the Brubeck Institute, California Jazz Conservatory, Stanford Jazz Workshop, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, University of Miami Frost School of Music, University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In addition, longtime Monterey Jazz Festival partner Yamaha provided instruments for Next Generation Jazz Festival stages, and DownBeat magazine provided the latest issue for all participants.

The 2016 Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival is slated for April 1-3, 2016, and will continue to draw the country's superior level student bands, vocalists, and individual musicians. The Next Generation Jazz Festival presented by Monterey Jazz Festival congratulates all the participants, fans, volunteers, parents, supporters, and donors who have helped make this special event possible every year.

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