2012 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition by Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz

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THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

ELEBRATION OF WOMEN, MUSIC & DIPLOMACY

greetings

onight we are pleased to welcome you to the 2012 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition and All-Star Gala Concert. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Cadillac for its major sponsorship and longtime support. In 2012, the Institute embarked on its second quarter century of offering jazz education programs for young people across the United States and around the world. We were proud to partner with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to establish and promote a major new initiative – the first annual International Jazz Day on April 30. Each year, International Jazz Day will be celebrated in UNESCO’s 195 member states on all continents. Remarkably, the 2012 event reached more than one billion people through live programming and media coverage. Tonight you will enjoy performances from some of the world’s most gifted young jazz drummers. The finalists were selected yesterday from a group of 12 incredibly talented artists who traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Competition. Since 1987, the Competition has offered hundreds of musicians from more than 30 countries the opportunity to interact with jazz masters, develop working relationships with other aspiring artists, and launch successful careers in jazz performance and education. The Institute’s tremendous success over the past 25 years is due to the support from the jazz community and our extraordinary family of dedicated sponsors. They recognize the importance of the Institute’s mission to preserve, expand and perpetuate America’s legacy of jazz. Musicians, jazz educators, corporations, foundations, government agencies, business leaders and individuals have provided their financial support, along with their creative genius, time and inspiration. They have enabled the Institute to become a world-class education organization. On behalf of the entire Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz organization, we thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to continuing our work to serve countless public school students and people of all ages, as well as identify and train the next generation of jazz musicians.

HERBIE HANCOCK

BILL COSBY

CHAIRMAN

HONORARY CHAIRMAN

THELONIOUS MONK, JR.

THOMAS R. CARTER

CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

PRESIDENT

BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

HONORARY CHAIRMAN

CLARK TERRY

CHAIRMAN, ACADEMIC COUNCIL

thelonious monk institute of jazz BY BOB BLUMENTHAL

he Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz was created in memory of pianist/composer Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) through the efforts of the Monk family and the late Maria Fisher, a musical philanthropist and moving force behind the Beethoven Society of America, who felt that jazz deserved nothing less than its own organization dedicated to nurturing and acknowledging musical greatness. From its base in Washington, D.C., the Institute has grown from a good idea to an essential forum for identifying the musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new voices, honoring its present and past masters, and making the jazz aesthetic available and comprehensible in concert halls and classrooms around the world. This achievement bespeaks an organization that both understands its mission and has generated an array of effective initiatives that work together, with the ongoing health of the music as the overriding goal. The Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-known and most longstanding initiative has been its International Jazz Competition, an annual event that bestows laurels among a field of talented young artists. With its shifting focus among instruments and voice, the Competition has in the course of its history brought important new creators including pianists Marcus Roberts, Jacky Terrasson and Eric Lewis (ELEW), tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and vocalists Jane Monheit and Gretchen Parlato to the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention, while simultaneously revealing dozens of other promising performers. The Competition itself is one of the most intriguing 4

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE: • Arturo Sandoval leads a class discussion about jazz history • Ron Carter works with a young Ben Williams (2009 Competition winner) at Institute masterclass • BeBop to Hip-Hop horn section blasts a hot phrase during a performance THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE: • Los Angeles Beyond the Bell All-Stars perform with Joshua Redman and Peter Erskine • Bobby Watson conducts jazz band during Peer-to-Peer tour • Institute of Jazz Performance alumnus Johnaye Kendrick performs with George Benson

and widely covered events on the annual jazz calendar; it would be far less effective had the Institute not also realized that these young players require training and performing opportunities in order to maximize their potential. As a result, in 1995 the Institute created a two-year program in Jazz Performance that allows an ensemble of gifted young players to study and interact with an array of visiting artists on a tuition-free basis. These students have served as ambassadors, often under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of State and the United Nations, through their participation in the Institute’s international tours to more than 30 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. As an essential complement to its efforts in expanding the community of jazz performers, the Institute has given similar attention to the needs of the jazz audience and public school education. Jazz in the Classroom brings the architects of the music – the jazz masters themselves – together with young musicians to share their vast experiences and serve as mentors. These free programs have had a tremendous impact upon the students’ grade point averages and graduation rates. Of even greater potential significance is Jazz in America, a national jazz curriculum that the Institute created as an adjunct to American history and social studies curricula at the 5th, 8th and 11th grade levels. Available

free of charge at www.jazzinamerica.org, this curriculum offers eight 50-minute lesson plans at each grade level that integrate jazz, its history, and major figures into the social, political and economic context of American history. The Institute’s Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics curriculum traces the development of the blues and its influence on jazz. Most recently, the Institute partnered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to establish and promote an annual International Jazz Day in UNESCO’s 195 member states, reaching more than one billion people around the world as part of the 2012 celebration through countless jazz performances and programs along with global media coverage. These and other Institute programs including multimedia instructional sessions, network television specials devoted exclusively to jazz, and peer-to-peer jazz education programs for high school students are the result of a dedicated Board of Trustees, Advisory Board, staff and the overwhelming support of the entire jazz community. Each deserves our praise for helping the Institute not only fulfill its initial mission, but also sustain and expand its efforts. As jazz continues to reflect the best in our creative life, expect the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to continue making the point known and ensuring that the music is heard. 5

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

thelonious monk international jazz competition

ince 1987, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has presented the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, which is widely regarded as the most prestigious jazz competition in the world. Each year, major scholarships and prizes are awarded to talented young musicians. The scholarships help pay tuition for college-level jazz education studies and provide funds for private, specialized instruction. Originally established as an annual piano competition to honor the legacy of Thelonious Monk, three years later the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition began to shine a spotlight on other instruments. A 1990 trumpet competition was soon followed by competitions for bass, drums, hand drums, saxophone, guitar, trombone and vocals. The Institute has assembled consistently outstanding all-star judging panels that have included Dave Brubeck, Roy Haynes, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, Marian McPartland, Pat Metheny, Dianne Reeves, John Scofield, Horace Silver, Billy Taylor, Clark Terry and Steve Turre, among many others. At last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s piano competition, the judging panel featured a number of distinguished jazz artists, including Herbie Hancock, Ellis Marsalis, Jason Moran, Danilo PĂŠrez and Renee Rosnes. The Competition is internationally recognized as the most significant event for identifying and launching the careers of young aspiring jazz artists. Kris Bowers, who took first place honors in the 2011 piano competition, received 6

a $25,000 scholarship and a Concord Music Group recording contract. During the past year, he has performed at festivals and venues around the world with Jose James and Marcus Miller, played a duet concert with Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans, and appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Dozens of other participants have forged successful careers as jazz performers and educators and are making a lasting impact on jazz. The Competition is one of the most highly respected events in the worldwide music community and the place to discover the rising stars of tomorrow. Prominent members of the business, entertainment and political communities are on hand to support the Institute’s mission and the future of jazz. Each year, the Competition receives an extraordinary amount of publicity and press coverage in a variety of publications from The New York Times and The Washington Post to Billboard and Variety magazines. The Competition is covered by the major networks, as well as radio and interactive media. In addition, National Public Radio has presented one-hour specials on past Competitions that have reached more than 20 million listeners. Hosts of these special programs have included Bill Cosby, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Branford Marsalis, Thelonious Monk Jr. and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Since 1999, Black Entertainment Television has produced and broadcast a documentary about the Competition, featuring performance clips and interviews with the contestants and judges. 7

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: • President Obama congratulates the 3 winners in the Oval Office • Competition winner Kris Bowers performs in the star-studded finale • Cadillac Vice President Don Butler and Thelonious Monk, Jr. congratulate all 12 competitors • 2nd Place Finalist, Joshua White • 1st Place Finalist, Kris Bowers • 3rd Place Finalist, Emmet Cohen • The judges of 2012 (l-r): Renee Rosnes, Jason Moran, Danilo Pérez, Ellis Marsalis & Herbie Hancock

ProudLy saLutes aLL entrants in the 2012 theLonious monK internationaL JaZZ drums ComPetition New FroM CoNCord….

Kurt eLLing

1619 Broadway - The Brill Building Project The Grammy-award winning vocalist solidifies his reputation for bold innovation and superb craftsmanship as he salutes the legendary location that’s “the most important generator of popular songs in the western world.”

Lee ritenour Rhythm Sessions

The legendary guitarist embarks on an innovative musical journey with all-star rhythm section including Chick Corea, George duke, Stanley Clarke, dave Grusin, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller & winners of his annual Six String Theory Int’l Competition

Coming in 2013… The debut release by the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition winner Kris Bowers 8

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

jazz in america:

the national jazz curriculum

azz is recognized around the world for its rich cultural heritage rooted in the African-American experience. Yet most Americans graduate from high school with little knowledge of the history or importance of jazz. In order to provide an ongoing education about jazz for our nation’s students, the Institute has developed Jazz in America: The National Jazz Curriculum (www. jazzinamerica.org) and made it available to every 5th, 8th and 11th grade public school social studies and American history classroom in the United States. The Curriculum represents the most significant and potentially wide-reaching jazz/ social studies education program ever undertaken by an arts organization. The curriculum for each grade level features lesson plans that present an historical overview, examine characteristics of various jazz styles, highlight contributions of important performers and composers, and explore the social, economic and political contexts within which jazz evolved. The Curriculum website includes student handouts, a teacher’s manual, assessments and a comprehensive Jazz Resource Library. Of particular importance, the Curriculum is aligned with national, state and district student learning standards in the areas of American History and Arts Education. The Institute is developing a series of interactive video lesson plans for the 5th grade curriculum featuring state-of-the-art animation. Now that all three grade levels of the Curriculum are available, students are able to receive instruction in jazz history three different times before graduating from high school. The Curriculum has the potential to reach as many as 12 million students annually. As a part of the program, the Institute presents assembly programs, master classes and teacher training workshops in public schools across the U.S. Each tour features a major jazz artist and educator accompanied by a jazz combo. In recent years, the Institute has served tens of thousands of public school students in Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Kansas City, Memphis, New Orleans, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Washington, D.C. and visited cities across Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina and Texas. 9

FROM TOP, L-R: • Bobby Watson coaches a master class for students at Barrow High School in Alaska • Antonio Hart conducts a Jazz Band workshop in Hawaii • Herbie Hancock discusses the Internet and the Institute’s National Jazz Curriculum at HialeahMiami Lakes High School • Jazz violinist Regina Carter and vocalist Lisa Henry join the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School big band on stage at a school assembly in Cleveland

dockery farms:

Known for cultivating cotton, as well as the blues

FROM TOP, L-R: • Photos of the historic Seed House • A plaque greets visitors to Dockery Farms

ockery Farms is considered by many, including blues legend B.B. King, to be the birthplace of the blues. This historic plantation community, located on the banks of the Sunflower River near Cleveland, Mississippi, was established by Will Dockery in 1895 to produce cotton – America’s most important export of the 19th and early 20th century. African Americans who came to Dockery Farms to cultivate cotton created a culture through their work in the fields that inspired the music we know as the blues. By the 1920s, Dockery Farms had grown to a community of several thousand workers and was home to a number of blues pioneers, among them Henry Sloan, Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, Roebuck “Pop” Staples and, most famous of all, Charley Patton, the acknowledged “father of the blues.” It was at Dockery that these musicians lived and learned from one another. They played with now-legendary blues figures such as Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf in the boarding houses and commissary at Dockery, and in the juke joints of neighboring towns. Ultimately, these artists left Dockery on the plantation’s Pea Vine Railroad and traveled north to record their new music. While no one would have imagined it at the time, their songs would influence the development of popular music around the world. Over the years, countless blues fans have made their way to Dockery Farms to see the property firsthand. Recently, Dockery Farms was added to the National Register of Historic Places. To honor its historic and musical legacy, the nonprofit Dockery Farms Foundation (www. dockeryfarms.org) has been established to preserve the property’s buildings and use them as a public educational resource. Remarkably, five of the six structures that made up the commercial center of the plantation still stand today, looking much like they did when built by Will Dockery. Time has taken its toll, however, and the Foundation is overseeing the restoration of the buildings to ensure their long-term structural integrity, and to prepare Dockery Farms for use as a year-round educational and tourism destination. 10

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

the blues and jazz:

two american classics

ith generous support from Bill and Carolyn Powers, the Institute has developed The Blues and Jazz: Two American Classics (www. thebluesandjazz.org), a free Internet-based blues and social studies curriculum for 5th, 8th and 11th grade public school students that traces the blues and its vital importance to American history and culture. The Blues and Jazz curriculum shows how the blues, perhaps more than any other music, is jazz’s greatest influence. From the creation of jazz a century ago to the modern jazz of today, the blues has been a benchmark for jazz musicians. As the blues and jazz continue to evolve, the connection remains unbroken. The Institute introduced the Blues and Jazz curriculum in 2007 with a two-week educational tour for more than 5,000 Mississippi public school students. Through visits to Cleveland, Jackson, Natchez, Oxford, Rosedale and Ruleville, the musicians presented schoolwide assembly programs along with instrumental and vocal jazz clinics for advanced high school musicians. Since then, the Institute has returned to Mississippi to present additional tours, and visited public schools throughout Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. These tours have featured internationally renowned saxophonists Antonio Hart and Bobby Watson, vocalist Lisa Henry, and guitarists Alvin “Youngblood” Hart, Chris Thomas King, Keb’ Mo’, Guitar Slim Jr. and Joe Louis Walker. Since 2007, the Institute has also offered daily instrument training sessions for public school students in Ruleville, Mississippi. In 2011, the Institute presented a Jazz Across America tour for thousands of public school students in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. that highlighted the connections between blues, jazz and hip-hop, and featured outstanding artists including Chris Thomas King, MC Supernatural and Bobby Watson.

FROM TOP, L-R: • Bill and Carolyn Powers and Kay Dockery Clark (front row, far left) welcome the Blues and Jazz ensemble and friends to Dockery Farms in the heart of the Mississippi Delta • James Stamps leads a class at Ruleville Middle School • Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Louis Walker, Keb’ Mo’, BB King, Robert Cray, Bono and Lee Ritenour celebrate The Blues and Jazz • MC Supernatural and vocalist Lisa Henry dig into the lyrics while Chris Thomas King solos on slide guitar • Keb’ Mo’ solos during a Blues and Jazz tour of Mississippi

O THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

ne of the Institute’s earliest goals was to create a unique college-level jazz education program where the masters of jazz could pass on their expertise to the next generation of jazz musicians the way Thelonious Monk had done in his Manhattan apartment throughout the 1940s and ’50s. In 1995, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance was launched and the first class of seven students began its intensive training with some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians. The Institute of Jazz Performance is a two-year, tuition-free program that accepts one ensemble of musicians for each class. The students study individually and as a group and are encouraged to experiment in expanding jazz in new directions through their compositions and performances. Since the program’s inception, the young musicians have studied with Kenny Barron, Brian Blade, Terence Blanchard, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Nnenna Freelon, Herbie Hancock, Barry Harris, Roy Haynes, Jimmy Heath, Dave Holland, Wynton Marsalis, Jason Moran, Lewis Nash, Danilo Pérez, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Rosenwinkel,

thelonious monk institute of jazz performance

John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver and Clark Terry, among many others. These jazz legends serve as Artists-in-Residence at the college program for one week out of every month. Each year, the students and their renowned instructors present concerts and community outreach programs throughout the United States and overseas. Over the years, the college students have led U.S. State Department-sponsored educational and performance tours of Argentina, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Italy, Japan, Peru, Thailand and Vietnam with major jazz artists. Most recently, in 2011 the students performed in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. This month, the Institute of Jazz Performance welcomed its new class of students to the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in Los Angeles. The students will be mentored by Distinguished Professors Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and study with many other outstanding jazz artists and educators while receiving a comprehensive education in music theory, composition and performance, as well as instruction in the business of music, marketing and outreach.

ACROSS SPREAD, FROM TOP, L-R: • Dave Holland directs the college ensemble during his residency • Current Institute students (l to r): Miro Sprague, Mike Cottone, Eric Miller, Dave Robaire, Jonathan Pinson, Joshua Johnson and Diego Urbano • Kenny Barron performs with Monk Institute alumni Massimo Biolcati and Ferenc Nemeth • Ron Carter speaks with students during his residency • John Scofield illustrates his chordal approach to Monk Institute alumnus Lionel Loueke

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

jazz in the classroom

he Institute has responded to drastic reductions in public funding for music education through Jazz in the Classroom, a series of innovative jazz education programs for public school students. The goal is to help young people develop imaginative thinking, creativity, curiosity, a positive self image and a respect for their own and others’ cultural heritage. Since 1989, Jazz in the Classroom programs have reached millions of students, teachers and families, many of whom are experiencing jazz for the first time. Jazz in the Classroom provides daily in-school and after-school instrument training sessions and ensemble coachings for thousands of middle and high school students across the country. The Institute’s teaching artists – professional musicians with strong instructional skills – work directly with public school students to help them learn their instruments better, improve their improvisational and teamwork skills, and understand jazz history as it relates to American history. In addition to daily instruction, Jazz in the Classroom offers master classes and assembly programs that reach tens of thousands of students and community members. Students are mentored by some of the world’s most accomplished jazz musicians, including Terence 14

Blanchard, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, George Duke, Nnenna Freelon, Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Stanley Jordan, Branford Marsalis, John Patitucci, Danilo Pérez, Dianne Reeves, John Scofield, McCoy Tyner and Bobby Watson. Jazz in the Classroom has been offered in public schools across America, ranging from Corliss High School in Chicago and Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C., to Roosevelt High School in Seattle and Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles. One of the most popular Jazz in the Classroom programs is BeBop to Hip-Hop. Begun in 2004 in Los Angeles, the program brings together jazz and hip-hop students under the direction of professional jazz musicians and hip-hop artists to create a new art form demonstrating the genius of both musical genres. The aspiring young artists use the latest music production software and recording technologies, and study composition, music theory, musical arrangement, improvisation, lyric writing, turntable scratching and sampling. The students have performed with Terence Blanchard, Ndugu Chancler, Billy Childs, DJ Spark, Doug E. Fresh, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Chris Thomas King, Kool Mo Dee, MC Supernatural, Chali 2na, Bobby Watson and YoYo. 15

ACROSS SPREAD, L-R: • Ellis Marsalis shares his knowledge with students • Drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts leads a group discussion on jazz improvisation • GRAMMY Award-winning rap artist Kool Moe Dee joins students at BeBop to HipHop culminating concert • Stanley Jordan takes questions from public school students at an Institute master class • Pat Metheny leads a master class for satellite broadcast television • Chick Corea leads a master class for DC public school students

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

performing arts high schools jazz program

he Institute brings jazz musicians and educators into 11 public performing arts high schools in nine cities across the country to provide intensive jazz training for exceptionally gifted and motivated student musicians. The Institute works with each school to develop the jazz curriculum, provides residencies with jazz masters and Institute staff, arranges high-profile performance opportunities, offers ongoing instruction with Institute teaching artists, educators and guest artists, and conducts private lessons. This specialized performancebased program enables students to participate in small combos and big bands, and receive instruction in theory, composition, improvisation, history and styles, preparing them to attend leading college, university and conservatory music programs.

The Performing Arts High Schools Jazz Program is offered at Chicago’s High School for the Arts (ChiArts) and Gallery 37 Center for the Arts; Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.; High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston; LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City; Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles; Arts High School in Newark; New Orleans Center for Creative Arts; New World School of the Arts in Miami; and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. The Institute invites combos from these performing arts high schools to participate in weeklong Peer-toPeer educational tours in which the students perform with renowned guest artists in underserved public high schools across the nation. The musicians present “informances” for each host school’s entire student body and perform for adult audiences at jazz clubs. During master classes with each high school’s jazz band, the visiting student performers play alongside their likeinstrument counterparts, providing hands-on tutelage peer-to-peer. In 2012, students from performing arts high schools in Los Angeles and Miami traveled to Albuquerque/Santa Fe and Boston, respectively, with jazz greats Antonio Hart, Lisa Henry and Bobby Watson. Also in 2012, an all-star student ensemble selected from public performing arts high schools across the nation accompanied Christian McBride and Henry on a tour of the Philadelphia public schools. This group had the opportunity to record a CD with legendary jazz recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at his New Jersey studio.

ACROSS SPREAD, L-R: • Antonio Hart gives pointers to public school students • Students from the Institute’s Peer-to-Peer program record a song at the legendary studio of Rudy Van Gelder • Christian McBride shows students from Northeast High School in Philadelphia the importance of a specific moment in the music • Jimmy Heath leads the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts senior jazz band • Herbie Hancock and vocalist Lisa Henry join students from the Gallery 37 Center for the Arts jazz sextet in Chicago • Terence Blanchard performs with students from New Orleans Center for Creative Arts

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ PROGRAMS

international programs

he Institute’s goal of preserving and promoting jazz includes introducing people around the world to this truly American music. In the Institute’s early years, Clark Terry and Paul Jeffrey led an Institute summer program in Dolo, Italy. Since then, education programs have been conducted in more than 30 countries. The Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Ambassadors, an ensemble of previous Competition winners, was organized in 1995 for a six-week State Department tour of seven African nations. A second State Department tour was assembled a year later, featuring the Institute’s first class of college students along with Herbie Hancock, T.S. Monk and Wayne Shorter. The group traveled to India and Thailand, conducting education programs and performing at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the coronation of the King of Thailand. Since then, students from the Institute’s college program have toured with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nnenna Freelon, Herbie Hancock, T.S. Monk, Dianne Reeves, Vanessa Rubin, Wayne Shorter, and other renowned musicians to Argentina, Chile, China, Egypt, France, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Peru, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. Highlights include a performance for 34 Heads of State at the 1998 Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, and a performance at the 2001 rededication of Egypt’s Alexandria Library, the most significant library of the ancient world. For three years beginning in 2002, Institute students and renowned jazz musicians performed and participated in panel discussions at the United Nations’ annual International Philosophy Day in Paris. In 2004, the Institute’s college students and major jazz musicians performed at the Tokyo Jazz Festival. The following year, they participated in a State Department-sponsored tour of Vietnam marking the 10th anniversary of the United States and Vietnam resuming diplomatic relations. A two-week cultural exchange in New York City with eight Russian delegates hosted by the Institute and the Open World Leadership Center of the Library of Congress in 2005 enabled the Institute’s college students to meet and perform with their musical peers from Russia. From 2006 through 2009, the Institute partnered with the U.S. Department of State to present cultural and educational tours of India. The 2009 tour brought a delegation of world-renowned artists to 18

perform and conduct education programs marking the 50th anniversary of the historic trip Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King took to India to study Gandhi’s nonviolence movement. In 2010, Hancock, Bridgewater and the Institute’s college students presented a U.S. State Department tour of China, performing at the Shanghai 2010 Expo and Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, and leading a master class at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts. In 2011, the Institute’s college students performed and conducted jazz education programs in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. The Institute partnered with the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the U.S. Department of State in 2012 to launch the first annual International Jazz Day, co-producing a daylong series of jazz master classes, roundtable discussions, film screenings and concerts at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. In May 2012, Herbie Hancock and Dee Dee Bridgewater accompanied alumni from the Institute’s competitions and college programs on a U.S. State Department-sponsored tour of Russia. The group performed at the Moscow International House of Music and the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, and led master classes for young, aspiring music students in both cities. In the coming years, the Institute will continue bringing jazz to all parts of the world.

LEFT PAGE, FROM TOP: • Students from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance along with Herbie Hancock and Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Great Wall of China • Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock conclude their tour of India with a former class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance • Ravi Shankar leads a master class with the Institute in New Delhi • Herbie Hancock and Nnenna Freelon work with students in Vietnam RIGHT PAGE, FROM TOP: • Students from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance along with Herbie Hancock, vocalist Vanessa Rubin and Tom Carter on a State Department tour of Egypt • Herbie Hancock and Dee Dee Bridgewater accompanied by Monk Institute alumni and competition winners on a State Department tour of Russia

international jazz day

n November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day is chaired and led by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, and legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, who serves as a UNESCO Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. The Institute is the lead nonprofit organization charged with planning, promoting and producing this annual celebration, which began in 2012. UNESCO and United Nations missions, U.S. embassies and government outposts around the world hosted special events for the first annual International Jazz Day on April 30, 2012 to honor this revered musical art form. Universities, libraries, schools, community centers, performing arts venues and arts organizations of all disciplines around the world marked the day through concerts, education programs, seminars, lectures, book readings, public jam sessions, master classes, photo exhibitions, dance recitals, film and documentary screenings, theater presentations and spoken word performances. More than one billion people around the world

Artists from around the world assembled at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Congo Square in New Orleans, and the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day on April 30. were reached through 2012 International Jazz Day programs and media coverage. The Thelonious Monk Institute presented three high-profile programs: a daylong celebration in Paris coordinated with UNESCO; a sunrise concert in New Orleans’ Congo Square, the birthplace of jazz; and a sunset concert at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City. Among the world-renowned artists that participated were John Beasley, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Terence Blanchard, Richard Bona (Cameroon), Dee Dee Bridgewater, Candido, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ron Carter, Robert Cray, Jack DeJohnette, George Duke, Sheila E., Herbie Hancock, Antonio Hart, Jimmy Heath, Hiromi (Japan), Zakir Hussain (India), Manu Katché (France), Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Lang Lang (China), Joe Lovano, Romero Lubambo (Brazil), Shankar Mahadevan (India), Tania Maria (Brazil), Ellis Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela (South Africa), Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Danilo Pérez (Panama), Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Treme Brass Band and Stevie Wonder. Hosts included Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Quincy Jones. In subsequent years, a daylong series of jazz events and a major evening performance will take place on International Jazz Day, alternating between UNESCO headquarters in Paris and other cities of international significance on different continents. In addition to this centerpiece event broadcast worldwide, the Institute and UNESCO will continue their partnership to encourage UNESCO’s 195 member states to host jazz concerts and educational programs reaching people of all ages and backgrounds.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock kick off the International Jazz Day celebration at UNESCO’s Paris world headquarters

A proud supporter of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Congratulations to this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drum competition finalists. Thanks for maintaining the heartbeat of jazz!

Member-supported KJazz 88.1 broadcasts full-time jazz live on-air in Southern California and live online around the world. Membership information and free streaming at www.jazzandblues.org. 22

W omen , Music

AND

DIPLOMACY

here may be no better example of cultural diplomacy

than Ella Fitzgerald’s iconic 1960 performance of “Mack the Knife” at the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin. Before 12,000 fans, in an auditorium that once hosted some of Nazism’s most virulent diatribes, she transformed a centerpiece of contemporary German music in an off-the-cuff concerto of rhythmic energy, lyric invention and uninhibited joy. Never was her moniker “First Lady of Song” more appropriate, for she had bridged cultures with the openhearted spirit of the most inspiring head of state. Fitzgerald’s presence in Berlin as a headliner was also a rare instance of a woman leading an international jazz tour. As in all other areas of culture, jazz women were too often relegated to background and incidental roles. That is no longer the case, thanks to the efforts of numerous pioneers who have altered the music’s profile in the same manner that Madeleine Albright and Irina Bokova have transformed the diplomatic sphere. Simply being the best at your primary task is often not enough, which is why the greatest jazz women have been among the music’s leading multi-taskers. Mary Lou Williams was not content to be one of the 1930s’ most innovative and influential pianists, composers and arrangers; she also became a mentor to Thelonious Monk and others in subsequent jazz generations, one of the first artists to establish her own recording company, and a distinguished educator at Duke University. Betty Carter, equal parts genius as singer and bandleader, created her own record label as well, and founded the Jazz Ahead program that continues to spotlight young musicians playing original music annually at the Kennedy Center. Marian McPartland and Dee Dee Bridgewater have made marks as performers as well as spokespersons through their popular radio programs, with Bridgewater also fighting world hunger in her role as Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. For these women and others, the cause of jazz is served both on and off the bandstand. Female instrumentalists, while initially most likely to appear in all-girl ensembles such as Ina Ray Hutton’s Melodears and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, have also by their example sought to realize a time in which the quality of their creativity would trump the content of their chromosomes. Pioneers including Williams, McPartland, Valaida Snow, Marjorie Hyams, Melba Liston, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Vi Redd, Carla Bley, Carol Kaye and Mary Osborne opened doors for Geri Allen, Teri Lyne Carrington, Anat Cohen, Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Jensen, Maria Schneider and others who are indeed too numerous to mention. Then there are female non-performers who have furthered the jazz cause. Wives and mothers such as Nellie Monk and Dolores Marsalis, sources of stability and support for multiple generations of their jazz families. Managers including Martha Glaser, who fought for Errol Garner to be presented internationally as a concert artist. Publicist Helen Oakley Dance, who persuaded Benny Goodman that the integrated small group he featured on record should also be presented in public. Benefactors who cross cultural lines to embrace jazz with their support, including two – Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter and Maria Fisher – who have respectively played essential roles in sustaining the career and legacy of Thelonious Monk. Another jazz woman of many hats, Iola Brubeck put it best in her lyrics for the title song of the musical The Real Ambassadors, where Louis Armstrong notes that jazz musicians “represent the human race” and stand for a future in which “our only differences will be in personality.” We can thank jazz women, past and present, for bringing that future closer to hand. — Bob Blumenthal 23

Photo courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution

MARIA FISHER FOUNDER’S AWARD

Madeleine K. Albright

on Foreign Relations, the Aspen Institute and the Center for American Progress. In 2009, NATO’s Secretary General asked Dr. Albright to chair the Group of Experts, which focused on developing NATO’s New Strategic Concept. She is the author of five New York Times Bestsellers: Madam Secretary, The Mighty and the Almighty, Memo to the President-Elect, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box, and Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948. Dr. Albright developed an interest in jazz in the 1980s when, as a university professor, she visited her native Czechoslovakia and met clandestinely with members of the Jazz Section of the Czech Musicians’ Union. She explained, “They started literally as a group of musicians playing jazz because that was a way to oppose the system, and then they actually became a political force. I visibly saw the role of American music, jazz specifically, in terms of revolting against the regime. It was a way of expressing support and wanting to be part of the West without going out there and marching.” As her country’s top diplomat, Dr. Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated for democracy and human rights, and

ne of the world’s most respected and admired women, Madeleine K. Albright has enjoyed an illustrious career. In 1997, she was named by President William J. Clinton as the first female Secretary of State and became, at that time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the United States government. She also served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a member of the President’s Cabinet, president of the Center for National Policy, and a member of President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Council staff. In May 2012, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Dr. Albright is chair of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the Pew Global Attitudes Project, president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, and is the Mortara Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She is co-founder and chair of Albright Stonebridge Group and Albright Capital Management LLC. She serves on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Policy Board, and on the boards of the Council 24

Jim Bourg/Reuters

promoted American trade, business, labor and environmental standards abroad. She also promoted cultural diplomacy and frequently shared her love of jazz with world leaders. Most notably, she arranged for Czech President Vaclav Havel to present a saxophone to President Clinton at a jazz club in Prague. President Clinton played “My Funny Valentine” accompanied by President Havel on maracas. During her time as Secretary of State, Dr. Albright became deeply involved with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. She hosted receptions for the jazz community as part of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, and made possible State Department diplomatic, educational and cultural tours in which world-renowned jazz artists and the Institute’s young, aspiring jazz musicians shared America’s music with the world. In 1998, a tour of Argentina, Chile, and Peru with Herbie Hancock and the Institute’s college students included a performance at the Summit of the Americas attended by heads of state from 34 countries. A subsequent tour of Egypt with the Institute’s college students, Herbie Hancock and Vanessa Rubin featured performances and master classes in Cairo as well as a performance at the rededication of the Alexandria Library, the most significant library of the ancient world. In recent years, Dr. Albright has continued to champion the Institute’s work. She presented the Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award to Stevie Wonder in 2006, and to Aretha Franklin in 2011. She has showcased the Institute’s accomplished high school jazz musicians in Miami, New Orleans, New York, Santa Ana and Washington, D.C. by inviting them to perform at museums displaying her Read My Pins exhibition, which includes an Institute photo and jazz pins. The Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award honors the late Maria Fisher, whose vision of creating an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting jazz resulted in the establishment of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Dr. Albright’s support for the Institute truly exemplifies Fisher’s vision that the Institute’s work would touch the lives of people around the world. In recognition of her longtime support of the Institute, jazz education, and the crucial role jazz plays in diplomatic efforts worldwide, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is honored to present Madeleine K. Albright with the Maria Fisher Founder’s Award.

From top: • Madeleine Albright joins Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock and Colin Powell in presenting Stevie Wonder with the Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award • Madeleine Albright with world leaders President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, President Bill Clinton, and President Barack Obama • Madeleine Albright takes the drums with Herbie Hancock and students from Miami’s New World School of the Arts who participate in the Institute’s Performing Arts High Schools Jazz Program. 25

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Above: • Danilo Pérez, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, Christian McBride and Herbie Hancock following the Institute’s Capitol Hill reception • Top to bottom: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, Chaka Khan and Jane Monheit pay tribute to Aretha Franklin • Rep. Dan Benishek, Rep. Fred Upton, Sen. Joe Manchin, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. John Conyers and Rep. Gwen Moore make remarks at a Capitol Hill reception honoring the Institute • Aretha Franklin performs “Moody’s Mood for Love”

he Thelonious Monk Institute marked its 25th Anniversary with a yearlong celebration in 2011, culminating in a weekend of festivities surrounding its Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. The weekend kicked off with the Competition semifinalists at the Smithsonian Institution, featuring 12 outstanding pianists from around the world. The following day, a 25th Anniversary Gala Concert featured the three piano competition finalists performing for a packed house at The Kennedy Center. After the finalists performed, the evening shifted to an All-Star concert with world-renowned musicians joining dozens of past winners of the Institute’s annual competitions and a group of young artists 26

Above, top to bottom: • Dee Dee Bridgewater performs a blues tune with Kevin Eubanks • Aretha Franklin is congratulated by Herbie Hancock, Jennifer Hudson, Colin Powell, Dianne Reeves and Madeleine Albright upon receiving the Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award • Terence Blanchard, Kurt Elling and Lionel Loueke perform the opening tune at the Gala • Institute alumni Ambrose Akinmusire, Gretchen Parlato and Walter Smith perform • Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter play a duet • Joshua Redman jams with Joe Lovano • Surprise guest Jennifer Hudson pays tribute to Aretha Franklin • President Obama welcomes Herbie Hancock; Piano Competition winners Emmet Cohen, Joshua White and Kris Bowers; and Tom Carter to the Oval Office.

who have emerged from the Institute’s public school and college education programs. Former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell presented the Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award to the legendary Aretha Franklin for her longtime support of the Institute and jazz education. Franklin then surprised the crowd with a stunning performance of “Moody’s Mood for Love.” The next morning, the three piano competition winners visited the White House and received congratulations from President Obama in the Oval Office. The weekend ended on a high note with a reception at the U.S. Capitol hosted by Members of Congress from all regions of the country. 27

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

judges

Brian Blade

Carl Allen Carl Allen is one of the most accomplished drummers in jazz. His dedication to upholding and furthering the jazz drum tradition of Art Blakey, Elvin Jones and Billy Higgins is apparent in everything he plays. As a teenager in Milwaukee, Allen performed with Sonny Stitt and James Moody. After graduating from William Paterson University, he achieved a lifelong goal – to play drums for Freddie Hubbard. Allen played with Hubbard for eight years, also serving as the trumpeter’s musical director and road manager. During the same period, Allen toured and recorded with the Terence Blanchard/ Donald Harrison Quintet. In 1988, he co-founded Big Apple Productions, which produced several albums for labels in Japan, introducing rising stars Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton and Cyrus Chestnut. Allen is the leader of his own groups, Carl Allen & New Spirit and Carl Allen & the Art of Elvin, and is active as a sideman. He has released seven albums under his own name and played on more than 200 others. The Artistic Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, Allen’s most recent release is Work To Do, his second co-led recording with bassist Rodney Whitaker.

Brian Blade plays with a breathtaking originality and vitality that has earned him a place as one of the defining drummers of his generation. A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Blade attended Loyola University in New Orleans, where he studied with Ellis Marsalis, Steve Masakowski and dozens of others. He established himself as a versatile, accomplished drummer early in his career, appearing on albums with Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett and Bob Dylan. Blade released his first album, Brian Blade Fellowship, at the age of 27 and two years later released Perceptual. His music with the Fellowship group had a profound influence on the upand-coming jazz musicians of the era. Blade has since worked with countless artists, including Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell, Daniel Lanois and Seal. Mama Rosa, his first recording as a singer, guitarist and songwriter, demonstrates his wide-ranging abilities as an artist. Since 2000, Blade has been part of the groundbreaking Wayne Shorter Quartet, which also includes Danilo Pérez and John Patitucci.

Terri Lyne Carrington Dynamic and endlessly creative, Terri Lyne Carrington is the drummer of choice for many of the most important figures in jazz. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, Carrington received her first set of drums at age 3. At 10, she had her first major performance with trumpet legend Clark Terry, and a year later received a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. As a teenager, Carrington performed and recorded with Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Stan Getz and James Moody. In 1988, an invitation to become the drummer for “The Arsenio Hall Show” brought her to Los Angeles. Throughout the ’90s, she performed with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, and played alongside Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder on Hancock’s GRAMMY Awardwinning Gershwin’s World. Carrington teaches at Berklee, continues to record and tour, and serves as Artistic Director of the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival. Her latest release is her Concord debut, The Mosaic Project, featuring some of the most prominent female jazz artists of the last few decades including Geri Allen, Esperanza Spalding, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra Wilson and Dianne Reeves.

Jimmy Cobb

Ben Riley

Jimmy Cobb is a living legend of jazz drums. Born in Washington, D.C., this mostly self-taught musician worked with Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie before joining Miles Davis’ group in 1957. Cobb’s inspirational work with Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and other legends included Kind of Blue, the most popular jazz recording in history. He also played on Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come, Porgy and Bess, and other landmark Davis recordings. In 1963, Cobb left Davis’ band to work with Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers. He later performed and recorded with Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, Hank Jones, Nancy Wilson and Dave Holland. Cobb has performed for Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, the Shah of Iran, and many other dignitaries. In 2002, he completed a Four Generations of Miles album with Mike Stern, Ron Carter and George Coleman. In 2008, Cobb was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. The following year, he and his So What Band celebrated the 50th anniversary of Kind of Blue with a world tour of more than 25 countries. Cobb currently leads Jimmy Cobb’s Mob and teaches at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Ben Riley is an elegantly swinging master of the drums whose creative playing has landed him in the company of jazz legends for 50 years. Riley began playing drums in high school and then served as a paratrooper in the Army. He later headed for New York, where his brilliant skills as a rhythmic accompanist established him as a top drummer. In his early years, he played with Randy Weston, Stan Getz, Kenny Burrell and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and recorded with Sonny Rollins on his now classic The Bridge. In 1964, Riley joined the Thelonious Monk Quartet, touring the world and recording some of Monk’s most heralded albums including Monk and Underground. Throughout the ’70s, Riley appeared regularly with Alice Coltrane, Ron Carter and Abdullah Ibrahim. On the day Monk passed away, Riley formed the group Sphere, along with longtime Monk tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Buster Williams. Originally a tribute band to Monk, the group became a critically lauded quartet, performing not only Monk’s compositions but also originals and other classic jazz repertoire. Most recently, Riley has led the pianoless Monk Legacy Septet, which plays Monk’s music.

Peter Erskine A brilliant pioneer of the fusion movement, Peter Erskine is one of the most versatile drummers on the contemporary jazz scene. Erskine’s career break came in 1972 when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra. He spent three years with Kenton and another two with Maynard Ferguson before joining Weather Report in 1978. Erskine recorded five albums with the influential band, including the GRAMMY Awardwinning 8:30. The music he created with Weather Report still influences musicians around the world. Since then, Erskine has appeared on hundreds of recordings and worked with a vast array of artists including Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan and Kate Bush. In recent years, Erskine has composed music for theatre, dance, film and television. He received an award for Best Original Music Score from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for his work on a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Erskine received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music and has earned the top spot in the Modern Drummer Reader’s Poll in the jazz drummer category 10 times. His most recent CD is Joy Luck, featuring Vardan Ovsepian and Damian Erskine. 29

Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Got Next? S

DownBeatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been covering the next big name since 1934 and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz since its inception in 1986. Good luck to the musicians! And congratulations to the Monk Institute for its continued dedication to jazz, jazz education and discovering the next generation of great jazz talent! Your friends at DownBeat doWNbeat.com 30

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

Semif ina lists

Dustin Kaufman Dor Herskovits

Justin Brown Justin Brown was born in Richmond, California and began playing drums at age 3. He participated in the Young Musicians Program at the University of California Berkeley and later attended Berkeley High School. After graduation, he was accepted into the Dave Brubeck Institute, where he performed with Brubeckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trio and studied with Christian McBride. He went on to attend the Manhattan School of Music. Since moving to New York, Brown has performed with Kenny Garrett, Terence Blanchard, Gretchen Parlato and Esperanza Spalding, and is a member of the Gerald Clayton Trio.

Dor Herskovits was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and began playing drums at age 14. He studied at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Israel before transferring to the Berklee College of Music. At Berklee, he had the opportunity to study with Hal Crook, Ralph Peterson, and Dave Santoro, and received the Ralph Pace Scholarship Award for Outstanding Achievement. Herskovits graduated from Berklee with honors and is currently performing with a variety of artists.

Noam Israeli Noam Israeli was born in Haifa, Israel and started playing piano at age 10 and drums at age 13. He attended the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, where he graduated with a Diploma of Excellence from the jazz department. Israeli later studied at both the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Israel and the New School in New York. He has performed with notable Israeli musicians including Ofer Ganor and Anat Cohen, and has also played with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner and Eddie Gomez. Israeli was recently awarded a major scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music.

Dustin Kaufman was born in Houston, Texas and began playing drums at age 9. After graduating from Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, he received an undergraduate degree from the New School and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Kaufman has studied with Justin DiCioccio, John Riley and Eric Harland, and has performed with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter and Jason Moran. He has appeared at venues around the world including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

Kristijan Krajncan Kristijan Krajncan was born in Kranj, Slovenia and began playing cello at age 5 and drums at age 10. He studied at the Prins Claus Conservatory in the Netherlands and spent half a year in an exchange program that brought him to New York to study with John Riley and Joey Baron. In addition to playing drums, Krajncan performs as a cellist and composes music for film. He is currently attending the Amsterdam Conservatory, where is studying film composition.

Semif ina lists

Julian Külpmann Julian Külpmann was born in Hanover, Germany and began playing drums at age 7. He studied at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jeff Ballard and Joey Baron. Since 2007, Külpmann has been a member of the Federal Jazz Orchestra of Germany. He has toured and recorded with dozens of European jazz artists, and received numerous awards including the Drummer of Tomorrow Award in Frankfurt and the Future Sounds Award from Leverkusener Jazztage.

Martin Krümmling Martin Krümmling was born in Gotha, Germany and began playing piano at age 5 and drums at age 11. He later moved to Berlin, where he joined the German Youth Jazz Orchestra. Krümmling attended the Jazz Institute in Berlin before moving to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music. He has studied with John Hollenbeck and John Riley, and has performed with Lage Lund and Jason Moran, among others. Krümmling tours and records with the New York-based collective Field Vision.

Abe Lagrimas, Jr. Abe Lagrimas, Jr. was born in Waipahu, Hawaii and began studying drums at age 4. While still in high school, he participated in the Drummer’s Collective program, the Berklee Summer Performance Program and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency Program. Lagrimas received a degree in music education from the Berklee College of Music, where he performed with the South Korean group Prelude. In 2011, he received the Na Hoku Harano Award from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts. Lagrimas has performed with Eric Marienthal, Eric Reed and Jon Irabagon, and is the music director for vocalist Charmaine Clamor.

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THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

Kyle Poole Kyle Poole was born in Los Angeles, California and began playing drums at age 14. In high school he participated in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Jazz in the Classroom and BeBop to Hip-Hop programs, performing with Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove and Bobby Watson. Poole graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and moved to New York to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music on a full scholarship. He has since performed with Mike LeDonne, Peter Bernstein, Frank Lacy and others.

Semif ina lists

Jamison Ross

Oscar Suchanek

Jamison Ross was born in Jacksonville, Florida and began playing drums at age 4. He attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where he received numerous awards including the Florida All-State Jazz Band Drummer Award for 4 consecutive years. Ross received a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Music from Florida State University. He has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, George Clinton and P-Funk, and is currently a member of the Wes Anderson Quartet and Carmen Lundy’s band.

Oscar Suchanek is from Belmont, Massachusetts. He began studying percussion at age 7. During his high school years, he studied drum set with Bob Gullotti and participated in the New England Conservatory Prep Program. In 2009, he attended the Berklee Summer Performance Program and was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to that institution. Suchanek is currently a junior at Berklee and has studied with Hal Crook, Neal Smith, Terri Lyne Carrington and Ralph Peterson. He performs with The Either Orchestra and many other Boston ensembles.

Colin Stranahan Colin Stranahan was born in Denver, Colorado and began playing piano at age 3, switching to drums at 8. He received a National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts Award in 2005. Stranahan attended the Dave Brubeck Institute before moving to New York to study at the New School. In 2007, he was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, where he studied with Terence Blanchard, Danilo Pérez, John Scofield and many others. Stranahan currently records and tours internationally, and performs with artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jonathan Kreisberg and Fred Hersch.

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

competition band

Jon Gordon

Geoffrey Keezer

Rodney Whitaker

Saxophonist Jon Gordon is one of the most skillful improvisers in jazz. Gordon grew up in New York and began playing saxophone at age 10. As a teenager, he studied with Phil Woods. While attending the Manhattan School of Music, he performed with Red Rodney, Roy Eldridge, Barney Kessel, Al Grey and Mel Lewis. After graduation, he toured and recorded with Maria Schneider, Clark Terry, Benny Carter, Phil Woods, T.S. Monk, Ray Barretto, Chico Hamilton, Jimmy Cobb, Ben Riley and Harry Connick, Jr., among others. In 1996, Gordon won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. He has since performed around the world, appeared on dozens of albums and released nine CDs. His album Within Worlds was selected by DownBeat as one of the top jazz releases of 2008 and the decade. In 2010, Gordon was voted a Rising Star for saxophone and composition in the DownBeat Critics Poll. Gordon is a Professor at Purchase University, where he teaches harmony and improvisation. His latest release is the critically acclaimed Evolution.

Pianist Geoffrey Keezer masterfully combines technical virtuosity with wit, intelligence and creativity. Keezer grew up in a musical family and played piano from the age of 3. At 18, he became the last pianist to join Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Keezer has toured and performed with such jazz luminaries as Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Art Farmer, Jim Hall, Scott Colley, Ray Brown and Tim Garland. He also has collaborated with musicians from other genres, including renowned classical artist Barbara Hendricks. In addition to his success as a pianist, Keezer is a sought-after composer. He has been commissioned to write pieces for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Saint Joseph Ballet and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Keezer currently tours and performs with the Christian McBride Band and Tim Garland’s Storms/ Nocturnes project. His 2009 release, Áurea, which mixes folkloric South American music with jazz, was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. Keezer is preparing to release a solo piano CD, Heart of the Piano, and is developing a teaching site with downloadable jazz piano lessons.

Rodney Whitaker is the latest in a long line of superlative bassists that hail from Detroit, and he carries the torch with style and grace. Whitaker began playing violin at age 8, switching to the bass five years later after hearing Paul Chambers on a John Coltrane album. After attending Wayne State University, he moved to New York and got his first break when Bob Hurst suggested Whitaker as his replacement in the Terence Blanchard-Donald Harrison Quintet. Whitaker later joined trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s band, and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. In 1996, Whitaker issued his solo debut Children of the Light, which featured Wallace Roney, Nicholas Payton, James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut and Geri Allen. He has since released four albums as a leader and has appeared on more than 100 recordings with other artists. An active jazz educator, Whitaker is the Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University and previously served on the faculty at the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies. Whitaker’s latest CD, Work To Do, is a co-led recording with drummer Carl Allen.

thelonious monk international

jazz composers competition Sponsored by BMI

Del Bryant President & CEO BMI

ncouragement and support for the composition of new jazz works has been high on the agenda at BMI, the performing rights organization, since its founding in 1940. BMI proudly represents the works of Thelonious Sphere Monk and more than 500,000 composers, songwriters and music publishers. The roster includes outstanding creators in every style of musical composition, ranging from John Lennon and Aretha Franklin to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Thelonious Monk. BMI currently represents more than 7.5 million compositions — a number that is constantly growing. This year, BMI will mark the 19th anniversary of its sponsorship of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composers Competition. Each year, the Composers Competition awards a $10,000 grand prize to the young composer who best demonstrates originality, creativity and excellence in jazz composition. BMI royalty payments provide financial support for the careers of many of America’s celebrated jazz composers, including Monk award-winners Seamus Blake, Kris Bowers, Joshua Redman and Jacky Terrasson. Its educational programs, including the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, play an important role in ensuring the vitality of the next generation of jazz composers. BMI’s underwriting of the Composers Competition forms an integral part of that ongoing tradition of support for the jazz community. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz would like to express its deep appreciation to Del Bryant, Bobby Avey, winner of the BMI’s President & CEO. Special thanks also to Robbin Ahrold and Shelby Fischer for establishing 2011 Composers Competition, this award in 1993. Their enthusiasm and continued support for this special award bring muchis congratulated by Institute Chairman Herbie Hancock needed encouragement and acknowledgment to the work of young jazz composers.

Yusuke Nakamura

COMPOSITION WINNER

Yusuke Nakamura was born in Mikakonojo¯, Japan and began studying piano at age 5. He grew up in Japan, the United States and Malaysia, playing cello in his high school string ensemble. Nakamura received a bachelor’s degree in theory and composition from Azusa Pacific University in California. While living in California, he studied with pianist Tamir Hendleman. In 2004, he won the Silver Award at the Asakusa Jazz Competition. Nakamura currently resides in Tokyo, where he leads his own jazz quartet and performs as a member of a Japanese traditional string ensemble. Tonight, Nakamura will perform his winning composition, “Heavenly Seven.” A distinguished panel of judges that included Victor Lewis, Jim McNeely and Rich Shemaria selected Nakamura’s piece as it best exemplified the competition’s focus on featuring drums as a major aspect of the composition. Nakamura’s ballad for piano trio has several contrasting themes that are heard over the course of the composition. The primary role of the drums in his composition is not as the timekeeper but as a textural complement to the melody played by the piano. 39

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

ELEBRATION OF WOMEN, MUSIC & DIPLOMACY

Geri Allen Geri Allen has been a unique and original voice in jazz piano for the past two decades. Allen grew up in Detroit and received a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Allen then moved to New York, where she collaborated with Steve Coleman and released her own dynamic first album, The Printmakers. In the following years, she recorded a series of albums demonstrating her creative and flexible approach to piano and composition, often featuring stellar rhythm sections that included Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland, and Ron Carter and Jimmy Cobb. She also performed as a member of the Ornette Coleman Quartet for several years. Allen has received many honors, including the Distinguished Professor Award from Howard University, African Classical Music Award from Spelman College, Lady of Soul Award in Jazz, and a Guggenheim Fellowship for Musical Composition. She has taught at the New England Conservatory and the New School, and currently serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. Most recently, Allen can be heard on Terri Lyne Carrington’s GRAMMY Award-winning The Mosaic Project, which includes her composition, “Unconditional Love.”

Patti Austin Patti Austin is a consummate performer who has achieved some of the highest honors in jazz, pop and R&B. Born in Harlem, Austin began singing professionally at age 4 and by the time she was 10 had performed with Sammy Davis, Jr., Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington. As a session musician, she recorded with Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, Ron Carter and Blood, Sweat and Tears. Austin released her first album, End of a Rainbow, in 1976. A few years later, she signed to Quincy Jones’ Qwest Records and released Every Home Should Have One, which included the number one hits “Do You Love Me/The Genie” and “Baby, Come to Me” with James Ingram. Austin also was featured on the classic duet songs “It’s the Falling in Love” with Michael Jackson, “Moody’s Mood For Love” with George Benson, and “I’m Gonna Miss You in the Morning” with Luther Vandross. Throughout the ’90s, Austin had hits on both the jazz and R&B charts. In 2008, she received a GRAMMY Award for her Avant Gershwin album. Austin created the Over My Shoulder Foundation to promote mentoring programs. She continues to perform around the world and was featured in a “60 Minutes” profile that chronicled her amazing career.

Jane Ira Bloom Jane Ira Bloom is a saxophonist and composer whose originality shines through in all she does. Born in Boston, Bloom began as a pianist and drummer at age 12 before switching to saxophone. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and studied with woodwind virtuoso Joe Viola at the Berklee College of Music. Bloom has since recorded and produced 14 albums, and performed with Fred Hersch, Kenny Wheeler, Charlie Haden, Rufus Reid, Jay Clayton and many others. In the 1980s, Bloom began experimenting with electronic elements, both in recordings and live performances. She also sought out ways to incorporate her other interests such as dance, visual art and space travel into her work. In 1989, Bloom became the first musician commissioned by the NASA art program, and she had an asteroid named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union. Bloom received the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award for her lifetime service to jazz. She is the recipient of numerous grants, including an artist fellowship in jazz composition from the Chamber Music America/Doris Duke New Jazz Works Program for the creation of Chasing Paint, a series of compositions inspired by painter Jackson Pollock. 40

special guests

Chris Botti Chris Botti’s uniquely expressive sound, soaring musical imagination, and engaging stage presence have made him one of the world’s most popular artists in any genre. A native of Oregon, Botti attended Indiana University, where he studied with Bill Adam and David Baker. In 1987, Botti moved to New York and studied with trumpet master Woody Shaw. He quickly gained worldwide recognition when he joined Sting on his Brand New Day tour. Botti also has performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, Jill Scott, Paula Cole, Gladys Knight and Burt Bacharach, among others. When I Fall In Love, Botti’s 2004 album of traditional orchestral jazz, topped the jazz charts and was hailed as “an instant classic.” The following year, Botti recorded the critically acclaimed PBS special, “Chris Botti Live With Orchestra and Special Guests.” Botti maintains one of the busiest touring schedules in the industry. His tenth album, Impressions, features romantic melodies performed with stellar guest artists including Andrea Bocelli, Vince Gill, Herbie Hancock and Mark Knopfler.

Randy Brecker For more than four decades, trumpeter Randy Brecker has been a defining voice in jazz, R&B and rock. Brecker grew up in Philadelphia listening to his father’s hard bop albums and developing a love of jazz. He attended Indiana University before moving to New York, where he began playing with Clark Terry’s Big Band and the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat and Tears. Over the next few years, Brecker played with Horace Silver, joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and formed the fusion group Dreams, which featured his brother Michael on sax. In 1975, Brecker formed the Brecker Brothers, which became one of the most successful fusion groups of all time, receiving two GRAMMY Awards and seven GRAMMY nominations. Meanwhile, he continued to appear with a wide variety of artists including Parliament Funkadelic and Frank Zappa, and released his own award-winning albums. Brecker can be heard most recently on The Jazz Ballad Song Book with the Danish Radio Big Band and the Danish National Chamber Orchestra.

James Carter James Carter is one of the few saxophonists with a complete command of every style of jazz from the 1920s onward. Born in Detroit, Carter began playing saxophone at age 11. After winning a scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Camp, he attracted the attention of Lester Bowie, who invited him to make his New York City debut with the New York Organ Ensemble in 1988. After moving to New York in 1990, Carter quickly began to make a name for himself, performing with Bowie, Betty Carter, the Marsalis Big Band, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Carter made his way into the national spotlight as a solo artist in 1994 with his Atlantic debut, The Real Quiet Storm, a ballad-infused collection that earned him critical accolades. In addition to his own work, Carter has performed on albums with Cyrus Chestnut, Herbie Hancock, Rodney Whitaker, Regina Carter, Karrin Allyson, and Flip Phillips. Carter’s most recent release, Caribbean Rhapsody, features the “Concerto for Saxophones,” written specifically for him by composer Roberto Sierra, and includes a violin performance by Carter’s musical cousin, Regina Carter.

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

ELEBRATION OF WOMEN, MUSIC & DIPLOMACY

Vinnie Colaiuta Vinnie Colaiuta has been cited by Modern Drummer as the most important drummer of our time. Originally from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at age 14. After attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Colaiuta relocated to Los Angeles and in 1978 was chosen as Frank Zappa’s principal drummer for studio and live performances. Colaiuta’s performances on several of Zappa’s albums are considered by many drummers to be among the most astounding ever recorded. Colaiuta has gone on to work with a long list of notable rock and pop artists, including Jeff Beck, Clannad, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, Joni Mitchell, Sting and Barbra Streisand. He also has appeared with many notable jazz musicians, including Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Haslip, Quincy Jones, Christian McBride and Luciana Souza. Colaiuta remains one of the most in-demand studio musicians, playing on countless albums and film soundtracks.

Claire Daly Claire Daly has been called “THE baritone sax talent to watch.” Her love affair with jazz began when she attended a Buddy Rich Big Band concert as a child. Daly attended the Berklee College of Music before moving to New York. She then spent seven years with the Diva Big Band and collaborated with composer/pianist Joel Forrester, releasing five CDs with their co-led project “People Like Us.” Daly’s solo albums have earned her the winning spot six times in the DownBeat Critics Poll in the category of Talent Deserving Wider Recognition. Swing Low, Daly’s first CD, was selected to be included in the listening station at the William Jefferson Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. She later released The Mary Joyce Project: Nothing to Lose, a tribute to her cousin Mary Joyce, the first non-Alaskan to travel the 1,000 miles from Juneau to Fairbanks by dogsled. Baritone Monk, Daly’s most recent recording, will be available in October and is sponsored by North Coast Brewing Company, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Thelonious Monk Institute’s jazz education initiatives.

Akua Dixon Akua Dixon is an award-winning cellist, composer and conductor who has performed with an amazing array of musicians and entertainers. Dixon was born in New York City and attended the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. In 1973, she founded Quartette Indigo, which has been called “jazz’s leading string quartet.” She later formed the Akua Dixon String Ensemble, a group that became the first choice string section for artists like Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Carmen McRae, Woody Shaw and Jimmy Heath. As a cellist, Dixon has performed with Max Roach, Betty Carter, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Tony Bennett. She also arranged the strings for the five-time GRAMMY Award-winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Dixon is a committed educator who lectures at festivals and universities, and mentors students in New York and around the country. After years as a leader of quartets, Dixon has just released her debut solo CD, Moving On. 42

special guests George Duke

M USI C AL DI R EC TO R

Pianist and producer George Duke has had an astounding career, taking part in hundreds of musical projects and receiving numerous GRAMMY Awards and nominations. In the late ’60s, Duke formed a group with singer Al Jarreau that became the house band for San Francisco’s Half Note Club. He also performed with Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. While collaborating with jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Duke began creating the West Coast response to the fusion coming out of the East Coast. He then joined Frank Zappa’s band and performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Nancy Wilson as a member of Cannonball Adderley’s group. During this same period, Duke began working with Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, forming what would become his musical family for the next several decades. Throughout the ’70s, Duke released a series of dynamic fusion and funk albums, including the chart-topping Reach For It. In the decades that followed, Duke expanded his career as a recording artist, composer and producer, working with artists including Natalie Cole, Smokey Robinson, Dianne Reeves, The Pointer Sisters, Gladys Knight and Miles Davis. Duke continues to record in a wide variety of styles, tour with his own group, and perform with Stanley Clarke.

Aretha Franklin Known around the world as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’s musical legacy has made her a living legend. Franklin grew up in Memphis and was a self-taught piano prodigy. By her teens, she had become an extraordinary vocalist and was singing gospel music in the style of Mahalia Jackson. On her self-titled Columbia debut, Franklin recorded Billie Holiday’s “Who Needs You,” and later released several albums that included dozens of classic jazz tunes. In 1966, Franklin signed with Atlantic Records and the following year she had her first of 20 number one hits. Songs like “Respect,” “Baby, I Love You,” “Chain of Fools” and “Think” became a part of American music history. Her 1972 album Amazing Grace is the biggest selling gospel album of all time. Franklin captured the attention of a new generation of music fans in 1980 when she appeared in The Blues Brothers. All told, Franklin has scored 45 “Top 40” hits and received 18 GRAMMY Awards, a 1991 GRAMMY Legend Award, and a 1994 GRAMMY Lifetime Award. She was ranked “Greatest Singer of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine and was the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Nnenna Freelon Vocalist Nnenna Freelon possesses an elegant clarity and can swing, groove or summon the blues at a moment’s notice. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachussetts, Freelon developed a love for jazz listening to her father’s Count Basie records. Though she began singing as a child, it was not until years later as a married mother of three that she pursued a career in music. Freelon signed with Columbia in 1992 and released four albums, each receiving high critical praise. In 1995, Freelon signed to Concord and received her first GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for her album Shaking Free. She began to approach her music with a broader sensibility, including her interpretations of pop and folk songs. In 2000, Freelon made her acting debut in the film What Women Want and appeared on the film’s soundtrack. Throughout the decade, Freelon continued releasing adventurous recordings, including albums featuring her unique perspective on the music of Stevie Wonder and Billie Holiday. In recent years, Freelon has received numerous GRAMMY nominations and appeared at the White House. Her recent release, Homefree, was followed by sold-out concerts at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and London’s Ronnie Scott’s.

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

ELEBRATION OF WOMEN, MUSIC & DIPLOMACY

Roberta Gambarini Roberta Gambarini is a world-class vocalist who has become a favorite on the international jazz scene. Born in Turin, Italy, Gambarini began taking clarinet lessons at age 12. As a teen, she performed across Italy and was a featured vocalist on television and radio. In 1998, Gambarini received a scholarship to attend the New England Conservatory. Within two weeks of her arrival, she was named a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. Gambarini soon moved to New York, where she connected with musicians like Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove and Frank Wess, and toured with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. In 2006, her debut release Easy to Love was nominated for a GRAMMY. Gambarini later recorded a duet album with pianist Hank Jones, who called her “the best singer to emerge in the last 60 years.” So in Love, Gambarini’s latest album, shows off even more of this phenomenal singer’s talent and skill.

James Genus James Genus is one of the top bass players on the jazz scene and one of the rare few who can apply his masterful artistry to both the upright and the electric bass. Born in Hampton, Virginia, Genus began playing guitar at age 6 and switched to bass at age 13. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied with pianist Ellis Marsalis. After graduation, he moved to New York and became one of the most indemand musicians in the city. His first professional music experience was with the Blue Note band, Out of the Blue. Since then, Genus has performed and recorded with dozens of major jazz artists including Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, T.S. Monk, Chick Corea, Don Pullen, Horace Silver, Branford Marsalis, Bob James, Michel Camilo, Nat Adderley, Greg Osby, Benny Golson, Jon Faddis, Steps Ahead and the Brecker Brothers. He has also worked with renowned vocalists Anita Baker and Vanessa Williams, and the art-rock band Elysian Fields. Genus teaches at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, presents bass clinics around the world, and is a member of the Saturday Night Live Band.

Tipper Gore

HOST

Tipper Gore is an author, photographer, and former Second Lady of the United States. Named one of the Most Admired Women in the World, she has dedicated her life to public service, as an advocate on behalf of families, women, and children on issues of mental health and homelessness. As Mental Health Policy Advisor to President Clinton, Gore chaired the first ever White House Conference on Mental Health. She continues her work to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness and educate Americans about the need for quality, affordable mental health care. She has experienced great success with her efforts as co-founder and chair of Families for the Homeless, a nonpartisan partnership of families. Gore partnered with the National Alliance for the Homeless to co-author The Way Home: Ending Homelessness in America, a collection of images by prominent photographers focusing on solutions to end homelessness. A drummer herself, Gore served for many years as Honorary Chair of the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Jazz in the Classroom public school education programs. In this role, she visited schools across the nation to promote music education and the American art form of jazz. In 2000, Gore launched the Institute’s Jazz in America online curriculum for public school American history and social studies classes. She served as an Honorary Chair of the Institute’s annual jazz competition for seven years. 44

special guests Herbie Hancock

H O ST

Herbie Hancock, a 14-time GRAMMY Award winner, is a jazz icon who has been an integral part of every jazz movement since his arrival on the scene in the 1960s. The internationally renowned pianist and composer was born in Chicago and began playing piano at age 7. At age 20, Hancock was invited by Donald Byrd to join his band. Byrd later helped him secure a recording contract with Blue Note Records. Hancock’s debut album, Takin’ Off, included “Watermelon Man,” the first of many Top 10 hits. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, Hancock became one of the pioneers of modern jazz improvisation. His recordings during the ’70s combined electric jazz with funk and rock sounds in an innovative style that influenced a whole decade of music. In 1983, “Rockit,” from the platinum-selling Future Shock album, won Hancock a GRAMMY for Best R&B Instrumental. He received an Oscar Award in 1987 for Best Score, honoring his work on Round Midnight. In 2007, Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters won the GRAMMY for Album of the Year, making Hancock the first jazz musician to receive this honor in 44 years. His latest release is The Imagine Project, which was recorded all around the world with artists including India.Arie, Los Lobos and Seal. Hancock serves as Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In his role as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, he was instrumental in establishing an annual International Jazz Day celebrated in UNESCO’s 195 member states each April 30.

Jimmy Heath Jimmy Heath embodies the history of jazz. In his more than 60 years on the scene, the saxophone great has appeared on more than 125 records as both a composer and player. Heath grew up in Philadelphia alongside brothers Percy and Tootie, both renowned jazz players. At 21 he moved to New York to play with trumpeter Howard McGhee and later joined Dizzy Gillespie’s sextet and big band. Heath’s alto saxophone style, so reminiscent of Charlie Parker, earned him the nickname “Little Bird.” After a brief stint with the Miles Davis Quintet, Heath formed his own group with Art Farmer. In 1975, he formed the Heath Brothers with Percy, Tootie and pianist Stanley Cowell. Since then, Heath has performed and recorded with Slide Hampton, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and many others. He spent 11 years as Professor of Music at Queens College and continues to teach around the world. His most recent release is a Heath Brothers recording called Endurance.

Ingrid Jensen Ingrid Jensen is one of the most gifted trumpeters of her generation. Born and raised in British Columbia, she attended the Berklee College of Music and then toured Europe with the Vienna Art Orchestra. While living in Austria, she taught jazz trumpet at the Bruckner Conservatory and the Hochshule for Musik in Berlin. Jensen has released numerous acclaimed albums and has performed with such renowned artists as Bob Berg, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Garzone, Jeff Hamilton, Lionel Hampton, Billy Hart, Geoffrey Keezer, Victor Lewis, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Clark Terry and Jeff “Tain” Watts. She has been cited by DownBeat magazine as one of the “25 Most Important Improvising Musicians of the Future.” Jensen is a dedicated jazz educator, teaching at the University of Michigan and presenting master classes, clinics and workshops around the world. She recently appeared on Terri Lyne Carrington’s The Mosaic Project.

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

special guests

ELEBRATION OF WOMEN, MUSIC & DIPLOMACY

Helen Mirren

H O ST

Dame Helen Mirren is one of the world’s most respected actresses of stage, screen and television. With years of work on the London stage, an acclaimed television series, and dozens of films to her name, Mirren has proven herself an actress of unmatched talent, versatility and unforgettable presence. Mirren was born in London and at age 6 decided to become an actress. She later joined the National Youth Theatre, where she first made her mark playing Cleopatra. This led to other work, and she was soon a member of the vaunted Royal Shakespeare Company. Her stage career thriving, Mirren made her screen debut in 1968’s Herostratus. The same year, she appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and her screen career took off. She worked with Robert Altman on The Long Goodbye in 1973 and broadened her fan base in the ’80s with Excalibur, Cal and The Mosquito Coast. In the 1990s, Mirren starred in the British television series “Prime Suspect.” She earned a Cannes Best Actress Award for her work in The Madness of King George, and made her Broadway debut in “A Month in the Country.” In 2005, Mirren received rave reviews for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC miniseries “Elizabeth I.” The following year, she starred as Queen Elizabeth II in the critically acclaimed The Queen and received the Academy Award for Best Actress. In recent years, Mirren has starred in The Debt, the remake of Arthur and The Door.

Thelonious Monk, Jr.

H O ST

Thelonious Monk, Jr. had an extraordinary childhood. As the son of jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, his home was the gathering place for Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and other legendary jazz musicians. Monk began playing drums after receiving his first pair of drumsticks from Max Roach and his first drum set from Art Blakey. He played for two years with his father’s band and was a member of Atlantic Records’ fusion band Natural Essence. He then formed the group “T.S. Monk” with his sister Barbara Monk and vocalist Yvonne Fletcher. The group recorded three albums and charted a Top 20 hit with its single “Bon Bon Vie” followed by “Too Much Too Soon.” In 1992, Monk formed a straight-ahead septet, which released several albums including the critically acclaimed The Charm. Monk celebrated his father’s 80th birthday with the all-star recording Monk on Monk. His most recent release, Higher Ground, ventures into smooth jazz and funk. Monk serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

Mark O’Connor Mark O’Connor has melded folk fiddling traditions, classical and flamenco music, and jazz improvisation to create a new American classical music. Appalachia Waltz, O’Connor’s first recording for Sony Classical, was a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer that gained him worldwide recognition. The tremendously successful follow-up release, Appalachian Journey, received a 2001 GRAMMY Award. The Chicago Tribute called O’Connor’s Hot Swing!, a tribute to French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, “one of the greatest jazz violin albums ever.” With more than 200 performances, O’Connor’s first full-length orchestral score “Fiddle Concerto” has become the most-performed modern violin concerto. His subsequent violin concertos have been performed with Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, among others. O’Connor regularly leads workshops at prestigious music programs including The Juilliard School, Tanglewood and the Aspen Music Festival. He is the founder of the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp and the Mark O’Connor Summer String Program at the Berklee College of Music. His most recent recording, Jam Session, features stunning live acoustic recordings that combine bluegrass and gypsy jazz. 47

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION

ELEBRATION OF WOMEN, MUSIC & DIPLOMACY

Linda Oh Bassist Linda Oh is an exciting new artist on the jazz scene. Born in Malaysia and raised in Western Australia, she began playing piano at age 4, clarinet at 11 and bassoon at 13. In high school, she switched to electric bass and, upon being accepted to the West Australia Academy of Performing Arts, began studying double bass. In 2004, Oh won the IAJE Sisters in Jazz collegiate competition. She also participated in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program and the Banff Program for Creative Artists, and was a semifinalist in the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition. After graduating from the Manhattan School of Music with a master’s degree, she released her debut album Entry, which received critical praise. Oh has received an ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award and a Bell Award for Young Australian Artist of the Year. She has performed with Dave Douglas, Kenny Barron, Steve Wilson and Joe Lovano, and was commissioned by the Jazz Gallery to write music for a jazz quartet. Oh recently released Initial Here, which features Dayna Stephens, Fabian Almazan, Rudy Royston and Jen Shyu.

Gretchen Parlato Gretchen Parlato’s subtle approach, understated and full of nuance, is expanding the concept of jazz vocals. Parlato attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and received a bachelor’s degree from UCLA in Ethnomusicology. In 2001, she became the first vocalist accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance. After graduating from the program, Parlato moved to New York, where she received attention for her performances with her own group and her duets with Institute graduate Lionel Loueke. In 2004, Parlato won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition and the following year released her self-titled debut album, which received high critical praise. Parlato has collaborated with Terence Blanchard, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Sean Jones and many others. Her new release, The Lost and Found, reached Billboard’s Top 10 and was named the #1 Vocal Album of the Year by iTunes Jazz.

Lee Ritenour GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour is an eclectic musician who has appeared on more than 3,000 sessions in virtually all styles of music. Ritenour played one of his first sessions at age 16 for the group The Mamas and the Papas and has never looked back. While continuing to play with pop groups, he began to make an impact as a jazz guitarist strongly influenced by Wes Montgomery. Ritenour’s albums in the ’70s demonstrated his love of jazz, pop and Brazilian music and were met with chart-topping success. He scored a crossover hit with “Is It You?” from his 1981 album, Rit. In the ’90s, Ritenour was a founding member of the contemporary jazz group Fourplay, whose first album spent an unprecedented 22 weeks at number one on the Billboard contemporary jazz charts. Along the way, he has appeared on albums by Deniece Williams, Dizzy Gillespie and Pink Floyd, and has received the top spot in numerous guitar polls. Ritenour’s most recent release is 6 String Theory, a celebration of the guitar that includes B.B. King, George Benson, Slash, John Scofield, Pat Martino and Mike Stern.

special guests Ada Rovatti Ada Rovatti is a dynamic saxophonist who has performed around the world with some of the greatest names in jazz. Rovatti began playing the saxophone in her native Italy in high school after years of classical piano training. After winning a scholarship from the Berklee College of Music, she divided her time between Boston, where she studied with Joe Viola and George Garzone, and Italy, where she worked in big bands with artists including Phil Woods, Lee Konitz and Bob Mintzer. Rovatti later spent a year touring Europe and Africa, and then moved to New York. She has performed with a diverse array of artists including John McLaughlin, Joanne Brackeen, James Moody, Jon Faddis and Dave Weckl along with her husband and frequent collaborator Randy Brecker. Rovatti has released several critically acclaimed albums including Airbop, which All About Jazz selected as one of its Top 10 CDs of 2006. Rovatti’s most recent release is Green Factor, a melting pot of Irish, Celtic, jazz and fusion influences with strong harmonies and sophisticated arrangements.

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter is one of the greatest jazz artists of all time. Dozens of his more than 200 compositions are standards performed by artists around the world. Shorter grew up in Newark, New Jersey and graduated from Arts High School. He attended New York University and then served in the Army while playing saxophone in groups with Horace Silver and Maynard Ferguson. In 1959, Shorter joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he soon became musical director. In 1964, the same year Shorter recorded Speak No Evil – his first record as a leader for Blue Note – Miles Davis invited him to join a quartet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Shorter recorded 12 albums with Davis and provided much of the material for the group’s musical explorations. In 1970, Shorter and Joe Zawinul formed Weather Report, which became one of the most influential forces of the fusion era. In 2005, he won a GRAMMY Award for Beyond the Sound Barrier, taking his total to nine over the past 25 years. Shorter currently performs with his dynamic quartet, which includes Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade.

Billy Dee Williams

H O ST

Billy Dee Williams is a cultural icon who has portrayed compelling characters in theater, television and film for more than four decades. Williams grew up in Harlem and received the Hallgarten Award Scholarship to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design. He also studied acting with Paul Mann and Sidney Poitier. In 1971, Williams established himself as a major television star in the Emmy Award-winning production of “Brian’s Song.” In the mid-’70s, Williams starred opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues. He portrayed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Broadway production “I Have A Dream,” and starred in the made-for-television movie The Scott Joplin Story. Williams returned to the big screen in the ’80s as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He has also toured with national theater productions, appeared on “That ’70s Show” and “Scrubs,” and starred in the critically acclaimed film The Visit. Williams is a talented painter whose work can be seen in the National Portrait Gallery. For the past two decades, he has generously contributed the cover artwork for the Institute’s annual jazz competition souvenir program.

SPONSORS & CREDITS THE THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ IS MOST GRATEFUL TO THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR GENEROUS FINANCIAL SUPPORT

PRESENTING SPONSOR

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION & WOMEN, MUSIC AND DIPLOMACY ALL-STAR GALA CONCERT

THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Bill Cosby Billy Dee Williams

Thomas R. Carter PRODUCER

Michelle Day WOMEN, MUSIC AND DIPLOMACY ALL-STAR GALA CONCERT MUSICAL DIRECTOR

MAJOR BENEFACTOR R ay and Barbara Dalio Northrop Grumman Corporation Bill and Carolyn Powers Stuart and Anita Subotnick United Airlines BENEFACTOR The Herb Alpert Foundation North Coast Brewing Company The Prudential Foundation UNDERWRITER Black Entertainment Television and Centric National Endowment for the Arts U.S. Department of State PATRON Herbie and Gigi Hancock JPMorgan Chase Foundation Los Angeles Unified School District, Beyond the Bell Branch Lucasfilm Foundation Maddocks-Brown Foundation Surdna Foundation U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program SUSTAINER The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation BMI Concord Music Group, Inc. Doris Duke Charitable Foundation L a Palina Cigars Lear Family Foundation Loews New Orleans Hotel The Madison Hotel Bill and Alison Paley PARTNER K atherine J. Andrews Foundation The Boeing Company Capital One The Chubb Corporation

George Duke

Colgate-Palmolive ConocoPhillips Russia D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Aretha Franklin The Kennedy/Marshall Company KJAZZ 88.1 FM The MARPAT Foundation Pianoforte – Chicago Wayne and Carolina Shorter The Shubert Foundation

COORDINATING PRODUCER

Garry Hood

THELONIOUS MONK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DRUMS COMPETITION PRODUCERS

Leonard Brown Jeff Levenson ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

Daniel Seeff

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Don Sickler

CONTRIBUTOR A440 Violin Shop – Chicago Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc. The Norman and Rosalind Cutler Memorial Scholarship Fund DownBeat Magazine Frank and Berta Gehry Guitar Center – Chicago Corina Higginson Trust JazzTimes Magazine Jazziz Magazine The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation William S. Paley Foundation Stanton DJ Lynda Thomas

EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION

Bill Winn

STAGE MANAGERS

Jeff Glitter Arthur Lewis

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS

Jennifer Chen Patricia Corken Tammy Hunter Gloria Portis Kenya Smith

MEDIA RELATIONS

Muse Media

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Holly Wallace SCRIPT WRITER

Shelby Fischer

ASSOCIATE Clint and Dina Eastwood Milken Family Foundation Elaine Shocas

TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Jazz Alley TV

SOUVENIR PROGRAM

HONORARY CO-CHAIRMEN

CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Thelonious Monk, Jr. PRESIDENT

Thomas R. Carter ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, JAZZ IN THE CLASSROOM

Kevin Eubanks

DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS

Leonard Brown

VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS

Michelle Day

VICE PRESIDENT, EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

J.B. Dyas, PhD

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

Blake Jones

WEST COAST DIRECTOR

Daniel Seeff

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Holly Wallace

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is the official airline of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

Herbie Hancock

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If you would like to support the education programs of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to ensure that young people around the world have opportunities to learn about jazz — America’s most important musical contribution to the world — please call 202.364.7272. The Institute is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and all contributions are tax-deductible. 51

LIFE IS SIMPLY MORE VIBRANT IN

NEW ORLEANS

Jazz up your stay in the Crescent City at the official New Orleans hotel of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, where you’ll enjoy playful modern Creole cuisine at Café Adelaide, by the Commander's Palace Family of Restaurants, luxurious accommodations and fantastic Mississippi River views, all just steps from the French Quarter and Riverfront.

300 Poydras Street, New Orleans loewshotels.com 800.23.LOEWS (800.235.6397) or contact your travel agent 52

t r u e g e n i us i s a

blend of art and science.

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has spent more than 2 5 years recognizing brilliance through its annual competitions . As a presenting sponsor of this year’s competition, Cadillac is proud to pay homage to the ar tists creating the music that inspires and enlightens us all.