51st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival presented by Verizon - September 19

March 10, 2008; Monterey, CA; The Monterey Jazz Festival, a leader in jazz education since its inception in 1958 and JazzTimes Readers’ Poll winner for Best Festival for the last three years, is proud to announce the 4th Annual Next Generation Festival, April 3-6, 2008 in downtown Monterey. The weekend event, devoted to the future of jazz, includes the Festival's 38th Annual National High School Jazz Competition, with Big Bands, Combos, Vocal Ensembles, and Individual Musicians vying for a spot on the stages of the 51st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival presented by Verizon.

All Next Generation Festival competition events - from the Kick-Off Concert on Friday, April 4 to the exuberant and electric Big Band Finals on Saturday, April 5 and the College Big Band finals on Sunday, April 6 - 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, in the recently renovated historic Golden State Theatre, at Fisherman’s Wharf, 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. Over fifty groups from nine states, from Alaska to Florida, will participate in the prestigious event. In addition, for the first time in its history, The Next Generation Festival will present special guest groups from Australia, Japan, and the Czech Republic throughout the weekend.

A special pre-festival Opening Concert with A Christian McBride Situation will be presented on Thursday, April 3 at 8 p.m. also in the Golden State Theatre. Tickets for the April 3rd Situation are on sale now by phone (925-275-9255) and at www.montereyjazzfestival.org. Christian McBride, the internationally-renowned bassist, will be the 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival Artist-In-Residence.

The Next Generation Festival will officially start with the annual Kick-Off Concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 4 at the Golden State Theatre. The opening night's activities will feature the Festival's annual Salute to Jazz Education, along with performances by the competition judges, Christian McBride, the MJF County All-Star High School Band, the MJF Middle School Honor Band, and the MJF Honor Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Some of the performing judges will include pianist George Duke, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, trombonist Ron Westray, saxophonists Billy Harper, Lauren Sevian and Paul Contos, trumpeter Sal Cracciolo, and bassist Dave Carpenter. The Salute to Jazz Education concert is free of charge.

Continuing the evening’s Kick-Off celebration, the Berklee College Latin Jazz All-Stars will perform starting at 10 p.m. at Monterey Live, across the street from the Golden State Theatre in a free performance.

MJF's 38th Annual National High School Jazz Competition starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 5 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 winners and finalists. The winners of the Vocal and Combo divisions and the finalists for the Big Band division will be announced early Saturday evening from the Conference Center's Serra Ballroom stage. At 8 p.m. Saturday night, the three Big Band finalists will take the stage, competing for the top prize -- a spot on the Arena/Lyons Stage at MJF/51 in September. The top award winners will be announced at 9:45 p.m.

The Next Generation Festival will also host a variety of educational clinics on Saturday, April 5, including clinics with Christian McBride, vocalist Rosana Eckert, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.

The Next Generation Festival continues through Sunday, April 6 with the country's top middle school, college, and conglomerate big bands performing in the Conference Center's Steinbeck Forum. The winning college big band and conglomerate big band (to be announced during the day) will also earn a performance slot at MJF/51.

New for 2008 will be the Conglomerate Division, open to all conglomerate big bands consisting of members who are enrolled in high school grades 9-12 or younger. Based on the talent these schools attract, the new Conglomerate category will up the ante for high school performances, an exciting development for the Next Generation Festival.

Auditions will also 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, MJF’s national all-star high school band, which now includes a vocalist spot. To date, over sixty individual musicians from seventeen states, Bermuda and Canada have applied for a chair position in the Festival’s international touring band.

All Next Generation Festival competition activities from April 4-6 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.

Borders will 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 Borders Educator Savings Week program, and for a special coupon for Next Generation Festival attendees only, redeemable at all Borders locations.

Long standing Next Generation Festival partner JazzTimes Magazine will distribute free copies of their prestigious publication at the Next Generation Festival. Other partners and Festival supporters include the 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. Additional support for Next Generation Festival comes from the City of Monterey, the Colton Hall Museum and the Cultural Arts Commission, the Community Foundation for Monterey County's Communities Advocating the Arts Fund, the D'Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts with support from J. D'Addario & Company, Inc., D’Addario Strings, Evans Drumheads, Remo Drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, Planet Waves Accessories, and Rico Reeds. Individual contributors who provide support to the Next Generation Festival include Howard & Rosalind Fisher, Frank & Kathleen Geisler, Renée Mayne & Alan Bilinsky, and Jackson Booth.

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

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.

HIGH SCHOOL BIG BAND DIVISION
School	City	State	Director
Beaverton Arts & Communications Magnet Academy	Beaverton	OR	Robert Crowell
Buchanan High School	Clovis	CA	Paul Lucckesi
Davis Senior High School	Davis	CA	Fredrick Lange
Folsom High School "A"	Folsom	CA	Curtis Gaesser
Folsom High School "B"	Folsom	CA	Curtis Gaesser
Foothill High School	Pleasanton	CA	Bob Moorefield
Hamilton Academy of Music	Los Angeles	CA	Dan Taguchi
Las Vegas Academy	Las Vegas	NV	Patrick Bowen
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	Los Angeles	CA	Jason Goldman
Mission Viejo High School	Mission Viejo	CA	Doug Meeuwsen
Rio Americano High School	Sacramento	CA	Josh Murray
Valley Christian High School	San Jose	CA	Dave Gregoric

HIGH SCHOOL COMBO DIVISION
School	City	State	Director
Acalanes High School	Lafayette	CA	Rick Meyer
Berkeley High School “A”	Berkeley	CA	Charles Hamilton
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts	Dallas	TX	Bart Marantz
Interlochen Arts Academy	Interlochen	MI	Bill Sears
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	Los Angeles	CA	Jason Goldman
Valley Christian High School	San Jose	CA	Dave Gregoric

HIGH SCHOOL VOCAL DIVISION
School	City	State	Director
Aptos High School	Aptos	CA	Meri Pezzoni
Dos Pueblos High School	Goleta	CA	Brian Slotnick-Lastrico
Downey High School	Downey	CA	Cory Olariu
Folsom High School "A"	Folsom	CA	Curtis Gaesser
Fullerton Union High School Academy of the Arts	Fullerton	CA	Jill DeWeese
Georgiana Bruce Kirby Prep School	Santa Cruz	CA	Drew Lewis
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	Los Angeles	CA	Pat Bass
Valley Christian High School	San Jose	CA	David Hook

MIDDLE SCHOOL BIG BAND DIVISION
School	City	State	Director
Folsom Middle School	Folsom	CA	John Zimny
La Paz Intermediate	Mission Viejo	CA	Dan Robbins
Sinaloa Middle School	Novato	CA	Jason Eckl
Sutter Middle School	Folsom	CA	John Zimny
Valley Christian Jr. High School	San Jose	CA	Dave Gregoric
Woodlands Middle School	Hartsdale	NY	Iantheia Calhoun

COLLEGE BIG BAND DIVISION
School	City	State	Director
California State University Long Beach	Long Beach	CA	Jeff Jarvis
California State University Northridge	Northridge	CA	Matt Harris
Central Washington University	Ellensburg	WA	Chris Bruya
Florida International University	Miami	FL	Sam Lussier
Sacramento State University	Sacramento	CA	Steve Roach
University of Michigan	Ann Arbor	MI	Ellen Rowe

CONGLOMERATE BIG BAND DIVISION
Ensemble	City	State	Director
Central Florida Youth Big Band	Apopka	FL	Douglas “Skip” Perry
Jazzschool Studio Band	Berkeley	CA	Keith Johnson
Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra	Portland	OR	Thara Memory
Sacramento Youth Symphony Big Band	Sacramento	CA	Jeff Alkire
SFJAZZ High School All-Stars	San Francisco	CA	Dee Spencer
The Jazz Ensemble	Poway	CA	Vincent Greco

SPECIAL GUEST GROUPS
Ensemble	City	State	Director
Alaska Jazz Workshop	Anchorage	AK	John Damberg
Blackburn High School Big Band	Blackburn, Victoria	Australia	Andy O'Connell
California State University Northridge Vocal Jazz Ensemble “Epicenter”	Northridge	CA	Matt Falker
Prague Conservatory of Music	Prague	Czech Republic	Milan Svoboda
Sinaloa Middle School Jazz Choir	Novato	CA	Jason Eckl
Tomisato High School Big Band	Tomisato	Japan	Masaki Shinohara
Woodlands MS/HS Band	Hartsdale	NY	Iantheia Calhoun

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 fourth year, the NGF draws upon 38 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 $800,000 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 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.