MJF Artist-In-Residence Terence Blanchard

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.  

The 3rd Annual Next Generation Festival will welcome new partners M-Audio, Sibelius Software, and Borders. 

M-Audio and Sibelius will offer demonstrations of their innovative, industry-leading products throughout the weekend in the heart of the Conference Center lobby. Both pioneering companies share the Monterey Jazz Festival's dedication to music education, with M-Audio and Sibelius products enabling student and professional musicians alike the ability to create, record, mix, and publish music.

Borders will also be front and center in the Conference Center lobby, the hub of NGF activities. Like the Monterey Jazz Festival, Borders is dedicated to enriching lives through knowledge and entertainment. Participants and attendees are invited to visit Borders at the Next Generation Festival to learn more about their Educator Savings program and special coupon for Next Generation Festival attendee's only, redeemable at all Borders locations.

M-Audio, Sibelius, and Borders join long standing Next Generation Festival partners JazzTimes Magazine, distributing free copies of their prestigious publication at the Next Generation Festival; J. D'Addario & Company, offering reeds, strings, and other complimentary products to participants; and longtime MJF partner Yamaha, providing instruments for Next Generation Festival stages. Support for Next Generation Festival comes from the Community Foundation for Monterey County's Communities Advocating the Arts Fund; from The D'Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts with support from J. D'Addario & Company, Inc., D’Addario Strings, Evans Drumheads, Planet Waves Accessories, and Rico Reeds; and from contributors Frank & Kathleen Geisler, Renée Mayne and JRB Insurance Services.

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.

• Agoura High School, Agoura Hills, CA. Chad Bloom, Director
• Beaverton Arts and Communications High School, Beaverton, OR. Robert Crowell, Director
• Buchanan High School, Clovis, CA. Paul Lucckesi, Director
• Champaign Central High School, Champaign, IL. John Currey, Director
• Folsom High School Jazz Band - A, Folsom, CA. Curtis Gaesser, Director
• Foothill High School, Pleasanton, CA. Bob Moorefield, Director
• Gunn High School, Palo Alto, CA. Mark Dungan, Director
• Lone Peak High School, Highland, UT. Curtis McKendrick, Director
• Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA. Jason Goldman, Director
• Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo, CA. Doug Meeuwsen, Director
• Pennsbury High School East Concert Jazz Band, Fairless Hills, PA. Frank Mazzeo, Director
• Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA. Josh Murray, Director

• Beaverton Arts and Communications High School, Beaverton, OR. Robert Crowell, Director
• Berkeley High School Quintet, Berkeley, CA. Charles Hamilton, Director
• Berkeley High School Sextet, Berkeley, CA. Charles Hamilton, Director
• Buchanan High School, Clovis, CA. Paul Lucckesi, Director
• Liverpool High School, Liverpool, NY. James Spadafore, Director
• Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA. Jason Goldman, Director

• Dos Pueblos High School, Goleta, CA. Brian Slotnick-Lastrico, Director
• Downey High School, Downey, CA. Cory Olariu, Director
• Folsom High School Jazz Choir - A, Folsom, CA. Curtis Gaesser, Director
• Folsom High School Jazz Choir - B, Folsom, CA. Julia Dollison, Director
• Hamilton High School, Los Angeles, CA. John Hamilton, Director
• Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA. Pat Bass, Director
• Shorewood High School, Shoreline, WA. John Hendrix, Director
• Soquel High School, Soquel, CA. Mark Bidelman, Director

• Eagle Rock Junior High School, Los Angeles, CA. Greg Samuel, Director
• Folsom Middle School, Folsom, CA. John Zimny, Director
• La Paz Intermediate, Mission Viejo, CA. Dan Robbins, Director
• Stanley Middle School, Lafayette, CA. Bob Athayde, Director
• Sutter Middle School, Folsom, CA. John Zimny, Director
• Valley Christian Jr. High School, San Jose, CA. Dave Gregoric, Director

• Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA. David Beatty, Director
• California State University/Fullerton, Fullerton, CA. Chuck Tumlinson, Director
• California State University/Long Beach, Long Beach, CA. Jeff Jarvis, Director
• California State University/Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Jeff Benedict, Director
• UCLA Contemporary Jazz Large Ensemble, Los Angeles, CA. Charley Harrison, Director
• University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA. Patrick Langham, Director

• Alaska Jazz Workshop Advanced Combo, Anchorage, AK. John Damberg, Director
• Bolton High School Jazz Singers, Arlington, TN. Janice Williams, Director
• Dos Pueblos High School Big Band, Goleta, CA. Les Rose, Director
• Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Vocal Ensemble, Hartford, CT. Dianne Mower, Director
• Pacific Crest American Music Program Jazz Orchestra and Combo I, Portland, OR. Thara Memory, Director
• Westside High School Big Band, Omaha, NE. Roger Groth, Director

 
About The Next Generation Festival and MJF Jazz Education Programs

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.