ADJUDICATION

One of the many purposes of the BIG BAND JAM! is to provide non-competitively applied jazz education instruction for young and old alike. One component of this instruction is adjudication by musicians in accordance with the National Music Education Association (“MENC”) guidelines and utilizing recognized instructors within the jazz community as competent adjudicators. Our intent in achieving this corollary is to complement performance with critique. Our objective is to provide free Alfred Music Publishing charts for performing ensembles and then permit public performances with clinicians for performance critique.

This approach is unique in that it is not a competitively driven process nor does it necessarily generate awards recipients. All participating ensembles must register by submitting an audio example to the postal address below or provide the festival administrators with a qualifying Weblink.

In exchange for this registration each qualified ensemble will receive an Alfred Music Publishing chart for their future BIG BAND JAM! performance appearance. Each inquiry shall occur on a “first come, first served” basis with a deadline of no later than December 31st of the year prior to the festival. All audio sampling submissions will be retained by the festival organizers who reserve the right to use these recordings to promote the festival. Any addition inquiries shall be further directed as follows: Contact US.

As a component of the 8th Annual BIG BAND JAM! we proudly announce the free availability of complementary big band musical charts from our distinguished jazz programming partner Alfred Music Publishing. In the theme of the next BIG BAND JAM! will be the “Great American Songbook” and will feature the first annual “Jazz Music Educators Academy” in cooperation with the National Association for Music Education (formerly “MENC”) and Howard University in Washington, DC. Classes will be comprised of the “Future of the American Songbook”, “Art of Arranging”, “Jazz Music Education 101”, the “Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Workshop” and the “Brubeck Jazz Diplomacy Panel”.

Our guest clinician will be world renowned jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis with a non-competitive adjudication by a panel of expert educators. Alfred Publishing will make available one complementary arrangement to each performing band for this purpose if you are a participant in our 8th Annual BIG BAND JAM!. Any middle school band will receive a chart selection for their difficulty level and high school bands will receive a different chart suitable for their difficulty level selected by an Alfred Publishing representative. All the middle and high school bands will perform the Alfred/Belwin Jazz arrangement at the adjudication performance. The dates of the performance and adjudication will be April 24th-27th, 2012. Performances will run every hour on the hour from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm with the exception of our midday clinician above. All of the performances, clinics and adjudication will occur on the National Mall, and the Sylvan Amphitheater stage which is located on the south side of the Washington Monument. Access to all is via 15th Street and Independence Avenue, SW or the Smithsonian Institution subway stop.

Harry Schnipper, Executive Director
Blues Alley Jazz Society
1426 A Street, NE Washington, DC 20002