Yamaha Education News
Yamaha Jazz Experience 2010 competition winners take Cheltenham by storm!
Pictured here: Tomorrow's Warriors Biggish Band receiving their award from Jazz Experience judges, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, 1 May 2010. Photo: Nigel Burrows
The nine finalists in the 2010 Yamaha Jazz Experience competition played to a packed Playhouse Theatre at Barclays Cheltenham Jazz Festival on 1 May 2010. The jubilant winners each win Yamaha vouchers worth £3,000 and prestigious London jazz club gigs at either Ronnie Scott's, the 606 or the Bull's Head jazz club in Barnes. Jazz Experience patron, Peter Ind, also generously added a copy of his improvisation practice CD, 'Time for Improvisation' to each of the winners.
The winners of the three age categories were announced at the end of the event by the judges, as follows:
- Under-15: Blue Shift, from the junior department, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, who win a gig at The 606 Club
- Under-17: Dumfries Youth Jazz Group, Dumfries, who win a gig at the The Bull's Head Jazz Club, Barnes
- Under-19: Tomorrow's Warriors Biggish Band, Harrow, who win a gig at Ronnie Scott's
Jazz Experience judges, L-R: Liane Carroll, Julian Joseph, Richard Michael, Andrea Vicari and Peter Ind, with compere and Jazz Experience designer, Bill C Martin. Photo: Nigel Burrows
The judges were: Julian Joseph (internationally acclaimed jazz pianist and Jazz Experience workshop leader), Andrea Vicari (jazz professor at Trinity College of Music, professional jazz musician with Andrea Vicari Trio, director of Dordogne Jazz Summer School and Jazz Experience workshop leader), Liane Carroll (inspirational jazz singer, winner of 2008 Parliamentary Jazz 'Musician of the Year' award winner), Peter Ind (Jazz Experience patron and legendary jazz double bass player) and inspirational jazz educator Richard Michael. In late January Jazz FM broadcaster Helen Mayhew had joined leading jazz educator Richard Michael and Yamaha's education liaison manager, Bill C Martin, at Yamaha's UK headquarters in to select the nine finalists from entries as far north as Shetland down to the south-west of England.
Each of the nine ensembles - three in each eage category - gave a masterful performance of real quality, which had the audience shouting for more and the judges visibly moved at the passion, commitment and prowess demonstrated by all these young ensembles. Before the winners were announced the judges commended several musicians from different ensembles for outstanding personal performances, even if their own ensemble hadn't won.
The final stage of this round of Jazz Experience will be the winning gigs, which will be arranged between each of the winners and the host venue during the summer, and which will be annunced here in due course.
Yamaha's Bill C Martin, who compered the event, congratulated all the ensembles and their teachers and told the audience: "I would have paid to see all of the ensembles who performed today. They were all outstanding and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of them in the future. Yamaha's vision for music education is to encourage more people to engage with music making and to help teachers make it an inspiring and a life-changing process. I feel Yamaha Jazz Experience has achieved that this weekend."
Julian Joseph stated, "The Yamaha experience at Cheltenham was an absolute feast of young talent, with groups in all age categories revealing musicians of great quality and commitment, many of whom I and my colleagues on the panel would love to work with, workshop or teach. The future of jazz continues to thrive on the evidence of these young musicians."
Yamaha Jazz Experience 2010 finalists
- Under-15: Blue Shift (category winner, Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Blue Lizard (Manchester Music Service), Pimlico Junior Jazz (Pimlico Academy)
- Under-17: Dumfries Youth Jazz Group (category winner, Dumfries), St Ignatius Jazz (St Ignatius College, Enfield), Time Team (Northampton Music & Performing Arts Service)
- Under-19: Tomorrow's Warriors Biggish Band (category winner, Harrow), Friendly Bacteria (GSMD Junior Department, London), Chetham's Jazz Sextet (Chetham's School of Music, Manchester)
Yamaha would like to thank the Yamaha Jazz Experience venue partners, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott's, the 606 Club and the Bull's Head Jazz Club in London and congratulate all the ensembles who submitted entries, the finalists and especially the three winning ensembles.
(posted: May 2010)