2017 Next Generation Jazz Festival Now Accepting Applications

Monterey Jazz Festival, a leader in jazz education since its inception in 1958, is pleased to present its 47th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival, featuring the nation's most talented middle school, high school, conglomerate school, and college jazz musicians and vocalists.

The free Next Generation Jazz Festival will take place in historic downtown Monterey from March 31-April 2, 2017 and will feature bassist/composer John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and pianist/composer Gerald Clayton as the2017 Artists-In-Residence. It is the first time in the Festival's history that a father and son have been chosen in this role. Between the three of them, they have won or recorded on 12 GRAMMY-winning albums, with an additional 21 nominations.

An evolution from Monterey Jazz Festival's California High School Jazz Competition which began in 1971, applications are now being accepted from middle school big bands; high school big bands, combos, vocal jazz ensembles and composers; conglomerate high school big bands and combos; and college big bands, combos and vocal jazz ensembles through January 15, 2017. New for 2017 will be the high school vocal soloist category.

Application instructions are found at the Monterey Jazz Festival's website, montereyjazzfestival.org/NGJF.

Next Generation Jazz Festival finalists are selected through recorded auditions reviewed and ranked by a panel of nationally-renowned jazz educators. Finalists will include 12 big bands, six combos, and eight vocal jazz ensembles in the High School Division. Six college-level big bands, six college vocal jazz ensembles and six vocal soloists will also be selected, in addition to four high school conglomerate combos, four college combos, and six middle school big bands.

In addition, specially-invited groups will also perform. In 2016, nearly 90 groups from across the United States attended the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

The high school, conglomerate, and college divisions of the Next Generation Jazz Festival are open to superior rated big bands, combos, and vocal ensembles. The top groups will win cash awards and be invited to perform at the 60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 15-17, 2017.

Auditions for Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra will also be held during the Next Generation Jazz Festival. As Monterey Jazz Festival's premier touring student ensemble, this group performs at jazz venues and festivals, both domestically and internationally, and will be featured in a Sunday Arena performance at the 60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

The Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival also includes a big band composition competition, open to high school composers. Judged by college faculty from leading music schools across the country, the winning composer will receive the Gerald Wilson Award and a cash prize, with the winning composition to be performed by the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra on the final day of the 60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

All Next Generation Jazz Festival events and activities, from Friday night's Kick-Off Concert, featuring the Next Generation Jazz Festival Adjudicators, through Saturday and Sunday's High School Jazz Competition, are free of charge and open to the public. The Festival will also conduct clinics, workshops, jam sessions, and auditions in the heart of historic Monterey, with music to be performed at the Monterey Conference Center, as well as on spotlight stages at the Portola Hotel, Monterey Marriott, and Turn 12 Bar & Grill.

Interested schools and students should visit montereyjazzfestival.org/NGJF for instructions on how to apply to the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

About Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates the legacy of jazz, expands its boundaries, and provides opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs.

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