Apply now for European Young Artists' Jazz Award 2018

Applications are now being accepted for the 10th Annual European Young Artists' Jazz Award, held each year as part of the Burghausen International Jazz Festival in Germany.

The prize was created to actively promote promising young jazz artists. The winning ensemble will be awarded 5,000euro as well as the opening slot at the festival the following day, with 2nd and 3rd prizes being 3,000 and 1,000 respectively.

All styles of jazz are welcomed and groups of three musicians or more (up to and including big bands) are eligible. Musicians must be aged 30 or under on March 6 2018.

Applications should include 6 identical CDs in a neutral cover, a 300 dpi photo of the band (on a separate CD) and a written description of the band and music, max 2 pages.

To find out more about the Award, visit the b-jazz website.

Sarah Vaughan Vocal Jazz Competition - Call for entries

The 6th Annual Sarah Vaughan Vocal Jazz Competition is now open for entries, with a 1st prize of $5,000 and an offer to record an album with the Concord Music Group.

Last year, London-based vocalist Deelee Dube (pictured above) scooped the top prize. Also offered are a second prize of $1500 and a third prize of $500.

The competition is open to solo vocalists of all nationalities who are not signed to a major record label and, for the first time this year, both men and women. Singers will be judged on vocal quality, musicality, technique, performance, individuality, artistic interpretation and ability to swing; winner will receive a Concord Record deal.

Now in its 6th year, The Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition, also known as the SASSY Awards, honors the talent and tradition of the competition’s namesake as the only international jazz competition of its kind, providing a platform for one outstanding jazz singer to launch a career within the music business.

Previous winners include Jazzmeia Horn (2013) who also was the 2015 winner of the Thelonious Monk Competition, and Cyrille Aimee (2012), the first-ever winner of the competition, whose major label debut in August 2014 was called “a bravura turn, presented with a smile” by The New York Times.

This year's judges are Gary Walker, Vanessa Rubin, T.S Monk, Will Downing and Ann Hampton Callaway.

Entries will be accepted until September 5th. For full information and to apply, visit the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Jazz Competition website. 

Apply Now for the 2nd International Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition

Applications are now being accepted for the 2nd International Jarek Smietana Guitar Competition. Held in memory of influential Polish guitarist Jarek Smietana, the competition is open to guitarists of all nationalities up to 35 years of age, performing jazz and musical genres related to improvised music.

There are three prizes up for grabs - 1st place is approx. £4000, 2nd place approx. £2000 and 3rd place approx. £1000.

Semi-finals take place in Kracow on 28th and 29th June and the finals on 30th June. The judging panel will include Mike Stern and John Abercrombie.

Requirements -

- Brief bio in English (max. 1500 words)

- Two high quality photographs

- 3 recordings - 2 audio and 1 video (not to exceed 10 minutes each)

For more information, , visit the Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition website.

Great North Big Band Jazz Festival, March 3-5

The annual Great North Big Band Festival is coming up next month, and this time they have a new home. In recent years, the event has been held in Sunderland but for the 2017 edition, nearby Chester le Street will house the 30 big bands.

Fans of big band music will be in their element as a weekend of performances and competition runs from 3rd - 5th March.

Friday - Concert Double Bill featuring Musicians Unlimited Big Band & Festival Big Band

Saturday - Big Band Jazz Competition (Open Section) - 11am until 7pm
                 Performance featuring the winner of the day's competition - 7pm

Sunday - Big Band Jazz Competition (School and Youth Section) - 11am until 7pm


For more information, visit the Great North Big Band Festival website.

Apply Now for B-Jazz 2017

Applications for the B-Jazz International Jazz Competition are open until 31st October 2016 so it's time to get that application!

This annual competition runs as part of the Leuven Jazz Festival in Belgium which this year runs on the 24th and 25th March 2017. Ensembles selected to participate in the final will perform in front of a panel of judges and the winner will be offered performances at Getxo Jazz Festival in Spain, Saint Louis College of Music in Rome, Ameersfoort Jazz Festival in the Netherlands and the Druivenfestival in Belgium.

There are also two other prizes available - one for the Best Bass Player and one for the best performance of the mandatory composition (the winner of the B-Jazz Composition Contest 2017).

Full details on how to apply and the eligibility criteria can be found on the B-Jazz website.

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Win two tickets to see Antonio Sanchez's Migration at Band on the Wall, July 26th

Last week, we reported on the very exciting gig happening at Band on the Wall on July 26th featuring Antonio Sanchez and his band Migration (Seamus Blake, John Escreet, Matt Brewer).  Read full article here.

Well, Band on The Wall have very kindly given us a pair of tickets to the gig and we're offering them toone lucky reader!

All you have to do is give us the answer to the following question:

Which 2014 film starring Michael Keaton did Antonio Sanchez create the film score for?

To enter, use the contact form on this website to submit your answer and give your full name. We will be accepting entries until Sunday July 24th at 7pm and announcing the winner of the two tickets at Midday on Monday 25th July. 

Good luck!

Visit the Band on the Wall website for full information on the Antonio Sanchez & Migration gig, plus all other upcoming shows.

 

Submissions welcomed for the First International Jazz Competition

Jazz musicians of all ages and styles to apply for the 1st International Jazz Competition run by Seven Virtual Jazz Club.

A panel of musicians, festival directors and critics from around the world will judge videos submissions to select a short list of entries which will then be opened for a public vote. The entries will the highest votes will then be used to decide on winners. The prizes being offered are -

1st Prize - 4000 euros + advertising
2nd Prize - 2000 euros + advertising
3rd Prize - 1000 euros + advertising

Musicians interested in applying are asked to submit a video which lasts no more than 7 minutes and is no larger than 2gb. The quality of the video can be anything from a video shot on a smartphone to a professionally made video. There is a cost of 35 euros to submit an application and applicants are able to submit mutliple entries for consideration (the entry fee must be paid for each one).

Submissions will be accepted until September 15th 2016.

For full information on the contest as well as a list of the judges on the panel, visit the Seven Virtual Jazz Club website.

Tremplin Jazz Avignon Contest 2016 - Submissions open until Saturday

Submissions for the Tremplin Jazz Avignon Contest are open until Saturday of this week (30th) for ensembles from across Europe.

Since 1992, this French outdoor jazz festival has run a contest open to emerging ensembles across Europe. The winners are given a gig supporting the headline act of the next festival as well as three days of recording in a studio in France. This year, the judging panel is led by Kyle Eastwood.

The eligibility criteria states -


- Bands of between 2 and 6 people and all based in the EU
- No age limits
- No overlapping (musicians cannot compete in more than one band)
-Winners from previous years cannot apply
- Bands can be represented by an indie record label (preferably their own)

The application must include bios of each member, at least 3 high quality recordings with at least one original work and hi-res photographs.

You can find the full list of rules & regulations here and the registration form here.

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Great North Big Band Jazz Festival, March 4-6

Big bands from across the North are soon to descend on Sunderland for the 13th Annual Great North Big Band Jazz Festival on March 4-6, held at the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at Sunderland University.

Over the course of the weekend, there will be two competitions - an Open Section competition on Saturday 5th and a Youth & School Group Section on Sunday 6th. The winners of the Open Section on Saturday will then remain at the venue to perform in a Winner's concert.

The festival kicks off with the performance by the Musicians Unlimited Big Band and Festival Big Band on Friday 4th March.

Festival tickets cost £10 and there is food and licensed bar available throughout.

For more information, visit the festival's website.

B-Jazz Composition Contest - Applications now open!

B-Jazz is a Belgium jazz competition aimed at international musicians under 30. They have launched their Jazz Composition Contest and are calling for composers to submit their work to be in with a chance of winning a 2,000 euro cash prize.

The winning composition will then be interpreted and performed by the finalists in the B-Jazz Contest (finalists announced 21st January) on 18-19 March in OPEK Leuven, Belgium.

Criteria:

- Contest is open to composers of all nationalities born on or after 1st January 1986.

- Each applicant should only submit one piece

- Compositions should be submitted as a score (max. 3 pages) and a demo (mp3 quality or better)

- Compositions are judged blindfold so no links to websites or names should be included on the score, just the title of the piece.


The deadline for submissions is February 15th 2016 and full information can be found on the B-Jazz website.

Yamaha/Jazz FM's Replay Project seeks musicians

Yamaha and Jazz FM have launched a new project, designed to offer a unique performance opportunity at the Love Supreme festival to people who used to play instruments and want to start up again.

The Replay Project is on the look-out for lapsed saxophonists, trumpeters and trombonists and will give them the chance to coached by James Pearson, leader of the Ronnie Scott's All-Stars and Pete Long, MD of the Ronnie Scott's Big Band. The Replay Big Band will be then perform a set during the Love Supreme Festival in July.

Those interested in taking part are asked to download the parts on the Replay Project website (the two pieces offered are Count Bubba and The Chicken), and video themselves playing one of them. The deadline for these applications is April 3rd 2015.

BBC Introducing Showcase at Montreal Jazz Festival - apply to play!

As part of the 2015 Montreal Jazz Festival, Jamie Cullum will host the first BBC Introducing & PRS for Music Foundation showcase on July 1st.

Cullum, who hosts a jazz radio programme on BBC Radio 2, says he regularly finds music to play on his show through the BBC Introducing uploader, where unsigned groups and musicians can upload their music to heard. Following on from this, he will now be selecting groups to perform live at the Montreal showcase in the same way and is inviting groups to upload their tracks to be in with a chance.

It's expected that more information will be released soon, but for now this article on the BBC website contains links to the uploader and some information on the showcase.

International Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition

The first International Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition is being held in Krakow this year and applications are now being invited by guitarists across the world.

The competition is in celebration of the year of Jarek Smietana, a polish guitarist whose extensive career included performances with Art Farmer, Joe Zawinul, John Abercrombie and Nigel Kennedy. Smietana passed away in 2013.

The competition will be judged by a panel including Mike Stern, John Abercrombie and Ed Cherry. First prize is $10,000, second prize is $5,000 and third is $2,000. There will also be a special prize funded by Smietana's wife and daugther.

Guitarists who wish to enter the competition are asked to submit two audio files and one video file by March 31st with a 30euro entry fee. Those who are successful will take part in the semi finals and finals in Krakow on 1-4th July. Participants will be required to cover their own travel expenses.

Full details can be found on the Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition website.

B-Jazz International Jazz Contest 2015

B-Jazz International Jazz Contest is open for submissions to take part in their 2015 competition, with a deadline of November 30th 2014.

The competition is open to musicians aged 30 or under (band members must not exceed 40 years of old, band leader must be 30 or under). Bands submit an online application (HERE) and upload three recordings, one of which must be an interpretation of a standard and one must be an original composition. A panel selects 4 finalists from these submissions to take part in the finals to be held in Belgium in March 2015. B-Jazz provides contributions to travel for these finalists (1000euro per band) and all backline equipment is provided.

There are cash prizes attached to 1st to 6th place, plus extra awards given to best bassist, soloist etc. Winners are also invited to perform at part of the festival the following year.

Visit B-Jazz for more information.

Sam Healey wins International Jazz Competition

Beats & Pieces saxophonist Sam Healey has won first prize at the Johnny Raducanu International Jazz Competition in Romania.

Healey joined 13 other musicians to participate in the competition over two days and was selected by the panel of judges to receive the first prize of €5000.

From the Epfi press release...

“I'm feeling over the moon! It has been my first solo competition and so a real honour to not only win the grand prize but have the opportunity to meet like minded musicians  and  make connections all across Europe...it is very apparent how important music and sustaining performance are to the Romanian public.”   

As well as his work with Beats & Pieces, Sam has recently debuted a new quartet featuring Stuart McCallum, Richard Hammond and Luke Flowers. He plans to use the prize money to record his debut album with this group, his first as leader.

For more information, visit samhealey.com and epfirecords.com.

Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition, 3-5th October

The semi-finals and grand final of the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition take place this weekend featuring pianists from across Europe and the USA.

Semi-finals will take place on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th at the Arkwright Building (Nottingham Trent University) and the Grand Final will be held at the Nottingham Albert Hall on Sunday 5th October.

BBC Young Jazz Musician Finalists announced

                                          Finalist Jake Labazzi

The finalists for the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2014 have been announced and two out of the five come from the North's Chethams School of Music.

Alex Bone and Freddie Jensen will join the other finalists - Tom Smith, Sean Payne and Jake Labazzi (pictured above) - at the finals on March 8th.

Congratulations to all the finalists and we wish them the best of luck in March!