Jazz Adjudication

TECHNICAL JAZZ EXCERPT REQUIREMENT FOR
ALL JAZZ AUDITIONS EXCEPT DRUMMERS

JAZZ ADJUDICATION PROCESS

Taken from pages 31,32 & 58 of the All State Music Festival Handbook

AUDITION TIMES
Jazz audition time slots (except for drums) will be 10 minutes in length with the sight-reading aspect of the audition conducted in a separate room by a separate adjudicator on a first-come, first-served basis. Jazz drum audition time slots will be 15 minutes in length with the sight-reading aspect of the audition conducted in the same room at the same time.

ADJUDICATION
Students who audition under the Jazz Audition format are applying for acceptance into the Festival Jazz Ensemble. A separate audition is required to be considered for acceptance into other groups.

Students will be auditioned by a team of adjudicators, several of whom will serve as the house rhythm section for the audition to perform with the student. One adjudicator will serve as the primary evaluator and will fill out the student's adjudication sheet and provide comments. The entire team of adjudicators will jointly rate the student. As scheduling requires it, there will be two separate jazz adjudication panels of four adjudicators each. All of the students auditioning on a particular instrument will be heard by the same adjudication panel.

Students auditioning on drums will perform two big band selections and their sight-reading with a "Little" Big Band made up of the house rhythm section plus additional horn players. One of those selections will be to evaluate the drummer's ability to drive a big band while the other will be to evaluate their ability to backup a soloist and solo themselves.

The sight-reading aspect of the audition for all others will be heard in a separate room by a separate adjudicator.

Students may audition on different jazz instruments as long as they were correctly listed on their school's computer application for Jazz Ensemble Auditions once for each audition and the appropriate number of fees were paid. Students may not audition on a different instrument than the one(s) listed for them on their school's computer application for Jazz Ensemble Auditions.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS - MELODIC INSTRUMENTS
To complete their audition, students must:

Perform (with or without the music) the appropriate audition piece, with the house rhythm section, at approximately the same tempo as the record / CD and in the correct style (see AUDITION SELECTIONS for the appropriate piece). Piano players will play the melody in the right hand while the left hand is playing the chords. The head should be played in the tradition of the jazz masters (not a strict interpretation of the melody, not just improvising over the changes, but using the melody in a musically accurate manner).

During the playing of the appropriate audition piece, improvise one full chorus of the changes to the solo with the adjudicator house rhythm section, then return to the melody without stopping

Perform (with or without the music) the required Technical Jazz Excerpt alone at the tempo and in the style indicated on the music.

Improvise over a set of unfamiliar changes that are given to the student during the audition. The student will have two minutes to review the changes and prepare for the improvisation. They will be able to view the changes while performing the improv with the house rhythm section.

Sight-read the appropriate part of a jazz ensemble selection. The adjudicator will establish the tempo and give the student one minute to look over the sight-reading. The student cannot play any part of the sight-reading during the minute, but may "air play" through it as part of their preparation

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS - DRUM SET
To complete their audition, students must:

Perform the drum part for the selected ‘Backup Big Band’ chart (see SECTION XI: APPENDICES,
subsection F: Jazz Ensemble Audition Requirements on page 53 for this year’s big band selection)
with the house “Little Big Band” (the house rhythm section plus other horn players) to highlight the
student’s ability to support a big band.

Be able to play 4 bar fills with the adjudicator house rhythm section.

Demonstrate various styles of music such as swing, Latin, funk, rock.

Perform the drum part for the selected ‘Backup Soloist & Solo’ chart (see SECTION XI:
APPENDICES, subsection F: Jazz Ensemble Audition Requirements on page 53 for this year’s big
band selection) with the house “Little Big Band” (the house rhythm section plus other horn players)
to highlight the student’s ability to backup a soloist and perform solos themselves on the drums.

Sight-read the appropriate part of a jazz ensemble selection with the house "Little Big Band"

NO PHOTOCOPIES OF THE AUDITION SELECTION WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE AUDITION ROOM.