Herbie Hancock

For the first time ever the famed Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition will be held on the West Coast. On October 28th, the 2007 trumpet competition finals and an all-star concert tribute to Herbie Hancock will be the first major jazz event to be held at the renowned Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. With cosponsorship from the Recording Academy/Los Angeles chapter, bettern known as the Grammy organization, ten-time Grammy winner and legendary pianist Herbie Hancock will be honored with an all-star tribute produced by Ricky Minor and featuring Joni Mitchell, Sting, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Nancy Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Chris Botti, George Duke, George Benson, Terence Blanchard and Roy Hargrove. BET will broadcast the concert and competition. Sponsored by Cadillac and GMAC Financial Services, funds raised through the competition and tribute concert will go to support the Monk Institutes’ programs. 

Founded in 1986 to honor the iconic pianist and composer, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of jazz musicians through college and graduate level training with jazz masters, innovative public school initiatives such as Peer to Peer Jazz Education and the National Jazz Curriculum, and through other programs that promote jazz in our schools and communities. Recently, the elite graduate program moved from its base at the University of Southern California to Loyola University in New Orleans as part of the Institute’s “Commitment to New Orleans” initiative. In Los Angeles, the Institute continues to work with 19 public schools as well as its national projects. Held annually since 1987, the Monk International Jazz Competition attracts top talents from around the world to compete for scholarships. Initially a piano competition, since 1990 the program has focused each year on a different instrument (piano, bass, drums, hand drums, saxophone, trumpet, guitar, vocals and trombone). Each year since 1999, Black Entertainment Television and BET Jazz have produced and broadcast a documentary about the competition, featuring performance clips and interviews with the contestants and judges.  

Thelonious Monk

Among past winners are some of the biggest names in modern jazz—pianists Marcus Roberts and Jacky Terrason, saxophonist Joshua Redman, trumpeter Ryan Kisor, and vocalist Terri Thornton. Other finalists have gone on to distinguished careers as well, including Joey DeFrancesco, Jane Monheit, Tierney Sutton, Eric Alexander and Chris Potter. The 2006 Monk Competition (piano) and gala concert were held in Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center with first place honors going to Tiger Hamasyan of Armenia, with Gerald Clayton and Aaron Parks finishing second and third. Ten years ago, the most recent trumpet competition winner was Darren Barrett, followed by finalists Diego Urcola, Avishai Cohen and Matt Schulman.  

The Monk Institute also holds an annual composers competition. The 2007 winner is Petros Sakelliou of Greece. 

Tickets are available from www. ticketmaster.com or (213) 480-3232. The Kodak Theater is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles; VIP packages including orchestra seating and admission to the gala reception and dinner are available starting at $1000. BET broadcast date TBA. For more information about the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz, visit www.monkinstitute.com