47th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival Comes to Monterey This Spring

The 47th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival takes place March 31- April 2, 2017 in downtown Monterey. The weekend-long event includes big bands, combos, vocal ensembles, and individual musicians vying for a spot on the stages of the 60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Sponsored by the City of Monterey and the California Jazz Conservatory, all competition events are open to the public, free of charge.

With more than 1200 students participating in the Next Generation Jazz Festival, the public can enjoy the largest gathering of young jazz talent in Northern California, outside of the Monterey Jazz Festival itself. In 2017, 68 groups from nine states are finalists in the adjudicated categories. Click here for a list of finalists and special guests.

Finalists from California are represented by 59 ensembles from 15 counties-including Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Los Angeles, Marin, Merced, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Ventura counties.

Eight other American states for the finalists include Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington State.

In addition, 22 special guest groups are from Arizona, California, Quebec, Canada; Kansas, Nevada, Texas, and Washington State. Altogether, 90 bands are scheduled to perform at the 47th Next Generation Jazz Festival.

The Next Generation Jazz Festival officially starts with the annual Opening Night Judges Concert Presented by the California Jazz Conservatory at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 31 at the Golden State Theatre in downtown Monterey. The show features performances by the Festival's team of internationally-renowned artists and competition judges, including the festival's 2017 Artists-in-Residence, bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, and pianist Gerald Clayton. Also featured will be trumpeters Gilbert Castellanos and Jeff Jarvis; saxophonists Joel Frahm, Tia Fuller and Gary Smulyan; trombonist John Fedchock; guitarist Dan Balmer, and vocalist Carla Cook. Opening the concert at 7 p.m. is the Danae Greenfield Quartet from Berklee College of Music.

A limited number of reserved Gold Circle Tickets are available for $35, and are available online by visiting montereyjazzfestival.org. Gold Circle tickets include reserved seating in the front rows of the Golden State Theatre. Seating in the Golden State Theatre is limited.

The Next Generation Jazz Festival will also continue its College Fair, allowing students an opportunity to visit with colleges and organizations offering jazz and other music programs. For a complete schedule of activities and competition times, visit montereyjazzfestival.org/NGJF.

The High School Competition begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 1, in the De Anza Ballroom and Portola Room at the Portola Hotel, and the Golden State Theatre, with additional spotlight performances throughout the day at Dali 17, Turn 12 Bar and Grill, and Bay of Pines Restaurant in downtown Monterey and educational clinics from Danae Greenfield Quartet and the Artists-in-Residence. College Combos will also compete from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

The top groups from the High School Vocal, Combo, Big Band, and Vocal Soloist divisions will be announced at 6:15 p.m. Saturday evening at the Golden State Theatre, with a Showcase concert at 8:30 p.m. The final rankings of the High School and College Combo Divisions will be announced at the end of the evening. In addition, the University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band will perform a special exhibition set.

The Next Generation Jazz Festival continues on Sunday, April 2, at 9 a.m. with Middle School, College Big Band, High School Conglomerate Big Band, Combos, Vocal Soloists, and College Vocal Ensemble Divisions. The top selected competition ensembles will also earn a performance slot at the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival.

Introduced in 1971 as the California High School Jazz Band Competition by Monterey Jazz Festival Founder Jimmy Lyons, the competition was conceived as a way to bring talented student groups to Monterey, and to cultivate musicians for the future. Renamed the Next Generation Jazz Festival in 2004, notable participants of the competition and Next Generation Jazz Orchestra include saxophonists Joshua Redman, Dave Koz, Ted Nash, Mark Turner, and Donny McCaslin; pianists Benny Green, Gerald Clayton, and Patrice Rushen; trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, flutist Elena Pinderhughes, multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum; bassist Larry Grenadier, and many others.

The 2017 Next Generation Jazz Festival is sponsored by the City of Monterey, and the California Jazz Conservatory. Partners include Inns of Monterey, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Dali 17, Remo Drumheads, Scheid Family Wines, Yamaha Drums, and Yamaha Pianos.

Supporters include York School, ACTION Council of Monterey County, Arts Council for Monterey County, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, D'Addario Music Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, William H. Donner Foundation, Joseph Drown Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Volunteer Services, Pacific Grove Rotary Club, Carmel Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Monterey, S.T.A.R. Foundation, Sally Hughes Church Foundation, Yellow Brick Road Foundation, and the Upjohn California Fund.

Sponsorship opportunities, program advertising information, and more details on the 2017 Next Generation Jazz Festival can be seen by visiting www.montereyjazzfestival.org/NGJF or by calling 831.373.3366.

About Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival, a leader in the jazz world since 1958, celebrates the legacy of jazz, expands its boundaries, and provides opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs.

About the California Jazz Conservatory
Founded in 1997 in Berkeley, California, as the Jazzschool--a community music school with jazz classes, workshops and concerts, which continue to be a focus to this day--the institution introduced a new four-year degree program in 2009, offering a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies. At that time, the Jazzschool was incorporated into the newly renamed California Jazz Conservatory.

The institution was fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music in December of 2013, making the California Jazz Conservatory the only fully accredited, completely independent music conservatory in America totally devoted to the study and performance of jazz.

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