Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Festival, April 3 5, 2009 in Downtown Monterey

57 Big Bands, Combos, And Vocal Ensembles From 6 States Compete For Spot On MJF Stages

47 Bands From 14 Counties In California Are Finalists
Special Appearances By Student Groups From Japan and England

Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra Members Saxophonist Sherman Irby And Trumpeter Sean Jones Are Artists-In-Residence During NGF

All Competition Events and Activities Open To The Public, Free Of Charge

March 11, 2009; Monterey, California;
The Monterey Jazz Festival, a nonprofit leader in jazz education since its inception in 1958 and JazzTimes Readers Poll multi-year winner for world's Best Jazz Festival, is proud to announce the 5th Annual Next Generation Festival, April 3 - 5, 2009 in downtown Monterey.

The weekend event, devoted to the future of jazz, includes the Next Generation Festival Jazz Competition with Big Bands, Combos, Vocal Ensembles, and individual musicians vying for a spot on the stages of the 52nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival presented by Verizon.

A three-year grant from the Surdna Foundation supports the Next Generation Festival and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra's international tours. The Surdna Foundations Arts Program is national in scope and supports the artistic advancement of teens, ages 12 - 18.

All Next Generation Festival competition events - from the Kick-Off Concert on Friday, April 3 to the exuberant and electric big band, vocal ensemble and combo competition on Saturday, April 4 and the College Big Band Vocal Jazz Ensemble finals on Sunday, April 5 - will be open to the public, free of charge.

The Festival will also conduct clinics, workshops, jam sessions, and auditions in the heart of the historic Monterey, with music to be performed at the Monterey Conference Center, the host Portola Plaza Hotel, at Fishermans Wharf, Cannery Row, and at Monterey Live.

Attracting musicians from some of the most prestigious educational programs in the country, MJF's Next Generation Festival represents the largest gathering of young jazz talent on the Monterey Peninsula, outside of the Monterey Jazz Festival itself.

Fifty-seven bands from six states, from Alaska to Texas, will participate in the prestigious event. California, one of the strongholds of music education, has schools from fourteen counties represented in the festival including Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Madera, Monterey, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara Counties.

In addition, the Next Generation Festival will present special guest groups from England and Japan throughout the weekend.

The Next Generation Festival will officially start with the annual Kick-Off Concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 3 at the Monterey Conference Center. The opening night's activities will feature the Festival's annual Salute to Jazz Education, along with performances by the competition judges, including pianist George Duke, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, trombonist Ron Westray, saxophonists Billy Harper and Paul Contos, bassist Ray Drummond, and vocalists Matt Falker, Jennifer Barnes, and Michele Weir. Entry to the Salute to Jazz Education and Kick-Off Concert is open to the public, free of charge.

Also featured during the evening concert will be the Monterey Jazz Festival Artists-In-Residence, members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra saxophonist Sherman Irby and trumpeter Sean Jones.

MJF's Next Generation Festival Jazz Competition starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 4 in downtown Monterey's Conference Center, with high- energy big bands, combos, and vocal ensembles creating an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement.

Throughout the day, participants in the High School Big Band, Vocal, and Combo divisions will put on their best performances before the judges, who will determine the top groups and outstanding soloists. The top groups of the day in the High School Vocal, Combo, and Big Band divisions will be announced at 6:15 p.m. Saturday evening from the Conference Center's Serra Ballroom stage. At 8 p.m. Saturday night, the top vocal ensembles, combo, and Big Band finalists will take the stage in the Next Generation Festival's Showcase Concert -- a preview of the bands to perform at MJF/52, a departure from the big band play-off in past years.

The Next Generation Festival will also host a variety of educational clinics on Saturday, April 4, including presentations by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members Sherman Irby and Sean Jones, as well as a vocal clinic with Matt Falker on Jazz Solo Singing & Melodic Styling.

The Next Generation Festival continues through Sunday, April 5 with the country's top middle school, college, conglomerate big bands, and college vocal ensembles performing in the Conference Center's Serra Ballroom and Steinbeck Forum. The top college big band, college vocal ensemble, and conglomerate big band (to be announced during the day) will also earn a performance slot at MJF/52. New for 2009 will be the College Vocal Ensemble Division, another expansion of performance opportunities at the Next Generation Festival.

Auditions will also be held throughout the Next Generation Festival weekend for the Jimmy Lyons Scholarship to Berklee College of Music, and for the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, MJFs national all-star high school band, which now includes a vocalist spot.

The Next Generation Festival is introducing two new partnership elements this year: an Instrument Showcase and College Fair. The Instrument Showcase will allow musicians an opportunity to play various instruments from participating partners. The College Fair will allow students an opportunity to visit with several colleges offering jazz and other music programs. Both activities will be offered throughout the Next Generation Festival weekend.

All Next Generation Festival competition activities from April 3 - 5 are open to the public, free of charge. More information on all Next Generation Festival activities and events is available on the MJF website, www.montereyjazzfestival.org and by phone at 831-373-3366.

The Monterey Jazz Festival is dedicated to perpetuating the uniquely American form of music known as jazz by producing performances that celebrate the legacy and expand the boundaries of jazz; and by presenting year-round local, regional, national, and international jazz education programs. The Monterey Jazz Festival is a nonprofit organization and has donated its proceeds to musical education since its inception in 1958.

The genesis of the Next Generation Festival started in 1971 when Jimmy Lyons, Founder and General Manager of the Monterey Jazz Festival, began presenting the top groups of the California High School Jazz Band Competition on the final day of the MJF. Over the years, some of the young musicians who have participated in what tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman describes as the Superbowl of California high school jazz competitions have gone on to become stars of their generation in their own right: saxophonists Joshua Redman, Dave Koz, and Dave Ellis; pianists Benny Green and Patrice Rushen; multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum, bassist Larry Grenadier, and many more. In 2005, the competition was expanded adding more educational components and renamed the Next Generation Festival, and the High School All-Star Band morphed into the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Now in its fifth year, the NGF draws upon 39 years of educational experience, history, and innovation to add to its expanding lineup and scope.

Starting with a modest $35,000 scholarship fund in 1970, the nonprofit Monterey Jazz Festival now budgets over $800,000 annually for jazz education through a variety of innovative programs which are a model of arts education for the entire nation. These hands-on, cutting-edge educational components include the Traveling Clinician and Latin Jazz Programs, with professional musicians visiting Monterey County schools to teach students how to play and improvise in jazz and Latin styles; the Artist-In-Residence Program, which brings a leading jazz performer to work with students throughout the year; the MJF Summer Jazz Camp, the MJF Instrument and Sheet Music Library, the Digital Education Music Project, the Next Generation Festival, the Monterey County High School All-Star-Band, the MJF Middle School Honor Band and MJF Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.