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Jazz Audition Material

Specific requirements for each instrument follow:

 

Horns (saxophone, trumpet, trombone):

All horn players should come prepared to spend the full 2 hours (7 – 9 p.m.) playing. Rehearsals (intermediate and advanced) will be held concurrently with the horn auditions in order to give all players a good idea of the level of repertoire as well as too help keep players warmed up and feeling comfortable.

Instrument Technical Requirements Sight Reading Prepared Piece Improvisation (Optional)
Saxophone - Intermediate Concert C, Ab, E, and Db Major scales over the full range of the instrument. Concert F Blues scale. To be provided at the audition. "Oleo" or "Lazy Bird"

Go to Files
Twelve bar blues in F Concert
Saxophone - Advanced All Major Scales (full instrument range). Concert Bb, F and C Blues scales. Doubling on Flute or Clarinet is mandatory for placement in the Jazz Orchestra. Doubling is NOT mandatory at the Gold level, but does provide you with a distinct advantage. All technical requirements plus a piece of you choosing may be used for you "double" audition. To be provided at the audition. "Dexterity" or "In A Sentimental Mood"

Go to Files

Twelve bar blues in F Concert
Trumpet - Intermediate Concert C, Ab, E, and Db Major scales over the full range of the instrument. Concert F Blues scale. To be provided at the audition. "Oleo" or "Lazy Bird"

Go to Files

Twelve bar blues in F Concert
Trumpet - Advanced All Major Scales (full range of instrument). Concert Bb, F and C Blues scales. To be provided at the audition. "Dexterity" or "In A Sentimental Mood"

Go to Files

Twelve bar blues in F Concert
Trombone - Intermediate Concert C, Ab, E, and Db Major scales over the full range of the instrument. Concert F Blues scale. To be provided at the audition. "Oleo" or "Lazy Bird"

Go to Files

Twelve bar blues in F Concert
Trombone - Advanced All Major Scales (full range of instrument). Concert Bb, F and C Blues scales. To be provided at the audition. "Dexterity" or "In A Sentimental Mood"

Go to Files

Twelve bar blues in F Concert

Rhythm Sections (drums, bass, piano, guitar):

 

Rhythm section players will be auditioned in two phases.  Phase 1 will be an individual audition utilizing the materials below.  Phase 2 will be a group session where players will be organized into rhythm section combos in order to assess the ability of players to interact with other rhythm section players, think on their feet and demonstrate intangible “rhythm section skills”.  For Phase 2, three tunes from the “Real Book” will be used (“Blue Trane”, “Impressions” and “Joy Spring” – please see the link for these tunes).

Phase 2 Bass Materials

 

It is possible that not all players will be asked to attend Phase 2.  This should not be misinterpreted as either positive or negative as it likely means clarity was achieved during Phase 1.

 

Drums – The rudiments are to be played on the snare drum only, with the exception of the eighth note and triplet patterns, which may be either clapped and counted aloud, or played on the snare drum and counted aloud.  Please see the link pertinent to the appropriate level.

Drums - Intermediate

Drums - Advanced

 

Bass – Please see the link pertinent to the appropriate level. 

Bass - Intermediate

Bass - Advanced

 

Piano – Prepare 3 Jazz oriented selections based on Swing, Ballad, and Latin styles. These pieces may be fairly short and should be within your current ability range.  If you have experience using the “Real book” or similar fake book, this would be encouraged, otherwise use any other source of written piano jazz music.  Using one or more of these pieces, be prepared to demonstrate your understanding of the role of the big band piano player in the following ways:

  • Right-hand melody, left hand accompaniment
  • Improvise a melody with the right hand while playing left hand chord changes
  • Comping, using the chordal structures of each tune as it pertains to performing with a big band
  • A selection from the “Real Book” will be presented to you for sight-reading

 

Each function will be scored out of 4 (0 = not being able to perform the function yet and 4 = mastery of the function).

 

Guitar – Please see the link pertinent to the appropriate level. 

Guitar - Intermediate

Guitar - Advanced

 

FILE DOWNLOADS

Intermediate Level

Oleo - C
Oleo - Bb
Oleo - Eb
Oleo - Bass

Lazy Bird - C
Lazy Bird - Bb
Lazy Bird - Eb
Lazy Bird - Bass

Advanced Level

Dexterity - C
Dexterity - Bb
Dexterity - Eb
Dexterity - Bass

In A Sentimental Mood -  C
In A Sentimental Mood - Bb
In A Sentimental Mood - Eb
In A Sentimental Mood - Bass

 

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