Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Festival March 22-25, 2007

The Monterey Jazz Festival, a leader in jazz education since its inception in 1958 and winner of the 2006 JazzTimes Readers' Poll for Best Festival, has announced the 3rd Annual Next Generation Festival, scheduled for March 22-25, 2007 in downtown Monterey. The weekend event, devoted to the future of jazz, includes the Festival's 37th Annual National High School Jazz Competition, with big bands, combos, vocal ensembles and individual musicians vying for a spot on the stages of the 50th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival presented by Verizon.

All Next Generation Festival competition activities are open to the public, free of charge. Complete schedule at www.montereyjazzfestival.org.

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. Over forty groups from ten states, from Alaska to Connecticut, will participate in the prestigious event.

The NGF weekend starts with a Kick-Off Concert in downtown Monterey's historic Golden State Theatre, featuring the judges from MJF's National High School Jazz Competition and Grammy Award winner/2007 MJF Artist-In-Residence Terence Blanchard.

Blanchard will also appear in a special pre-festival concert with his quintet on Thursday, March 22nd, also in the Golden State Theatre. Tickets for the March 22nd Terence Blanchard concert are now on sale by phone (925-275-9255) and at www.montereyjazzfestival.org.

The Next Generation Festival will officially start at 7:00 pm on Friday, March 23rd. The opening night's activities will feature the Festival's annual Salute to Jazz Education, along with performances by the Competition judges, Terence Blanchard, the MJF County All-Star High School Band, MJF Middle School Honor Band, and MJF Honor Vocal Jazz Ensemble.

The MJF's National High School Jazz Competition starts at 9:00 am on Saturday March 24th in downtown Monterey's Conference Center, with high-energy big bands, combos and vocal ensembles filling the air with musical fireworks. Throughout the day, participants in the High School Big Band, Vocal and Combo divisions will battle it out to determine the finalists, with the winners of the Vocal and Combo divisions announced in the early evening on the Conference Center's Serra Ballroom stage. Three Big Band finalists will take the stage starting at 8:00 pm, competing for the Competition's top prize, a spot on the Arena/Lyons Stage at the Monterey Jazz Festival's 50th celebration in September.

The Next Generation Festival continues through Sunday, March 25th, with the country's top middle school and college big bands performing in the Conference Center's Steinbeck Forum. The winning college big band will also earn a performance slot at the Festival.

The weekend will host a variety of clinics throughout Saturday, including sessions with Terence Blanchard ("Tips from Terence"), Ron Westray ("Brass Section Master Class"), and vocalist Randy Crenshaw ("How to Practice with Jazz Recordings").

Auditions will be held throughout the Next Generation Festival weekend for the Jimmy Lyons Scholarships to Berklee College of Music, and for the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, the Festival's national all-star high school band.

More information on all Next Generation Festival activities and events is available on the MJF websiteand by phone at 831-373-3366.

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 winners 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 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 Orchestra. Now in its third year, the NGF draws upon 37 years of educational experience, history and innovation to its expanding lineup and scope.

Starting with a modest $35,000 scholarship fund in 1970, the Monterey Jazz Festival now invests over $700,000 annually in jazz education through a variety of different 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 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.