Hank Marr High School Jazz Award
Columbus musical legend Hank Marr was one of the world’s masters of the Hammond B-3 organ. Along with Hank’s celebrity status as a member of the jazz elite, he was a dedicated and gifted educator. In recognition of over fifty years as a performer, teacher, arranger and conductor, the Jazz Arts Group has established the Hank Marr High School Jazz Award as a tribute to this special individual. This award will recognize an outstanding high school musician and their dedication to jazz performance.
Grand Prize winner will be awarded:
- The opportunity to perform as a guest soloist with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra
- A $500 cash prize
- A Jamey Aebersold gift certificate redeemable for the purchase of eight (8) Jamey Aebersold books
Runners-Up:
- The two runners-up will Jamey Aebersold gift certificates to purchase eight (8) Jamey Aebersold books: four (4) to keep and four (4) to give to their school music program.
Important Dates:
- Audition submission deadline: April 18, 2025
- First round audition notification: April 25, 2025
- Finals: May 7, 2025, 6pm – Jazz Academy (769 E. Long St. Columbus, Ohio)
Audition Submissions:
Note: Your audition must be AUDIO ONLY. No video submissions will be accepted. Please reach out if you are in need of assistance in creating an audio recording, as there are many ways to do so (see below for tips!).
Vocalists: Record two selections of your choice from Aebersold Play-a-Long Volume 107, Volume 113, or Volume 117. Selections should demonstrate contrasting styles. Entire audition recording should not exceed 10 minutes.
Brass/Woodwinds: submit two selections from the Jamey Aebersold collection of play-alongs (see below for tips on selecting tunes):
- jazz standard or 12-bar blues in a swing style demonstrating melody and soloing
- A contrasting selection of your choice. Entire audition recording should not exceed 10 minutes.
Guitar/Piano: submit two selections from the Jamey Aebersold collection of play-alongs (see below for tips on selecting tunes):
- jazz standard or 12-bar blues in a swing style demonstrating melody, comping, and soloing.
- A contrasting selection of your choice. Entire audition recording should not exceed 10 minutes.
Bassists: submit the following selections with play-along tracks of your choosing. Please use tracks without bass.
- A jazz standard or 12-bar blues in a swing style demonstrating melody, timekeeping, and soloing.
- A contrasting selection of your choice. Entire audition recording should not exceed 10 minutes.
Drummers: submit the following selections with play-along tracks of your choosing. Please use tracks without drums.
- A jazz standard or 12-bar blues in a swing style demonstrating timekeeping, comping, and soloing. Trading 4s and/or extended solo is recommended.
- A contrasting selection demonstrating timekeeping and soloing: Afro-Cuban/Brazilian, Funk/Rock/Hip-Hop, Jazz Shuffle, or other jazz-related style. Entire audition recording should not exceed 10 minutes.
Audition Tips:
- When choosing selections from the Jamey Aebersold collection of play-alongs, consider selecting from Volume 54, “Maiden Voyage”, which contains many good examples of common jazz standards. Click HERE to purchase.
- Jamey Aebersold’s list of songs for beginners contains many titles suitable for your audition. Download HERE.
- For the complete “Rapid Reference” sheet of all Aebersold selections, including song titles, tempos and song types (Blues, Standard, etc.), click HERE.
- There are many ways to record your audition, from an iPhone recording to a portable recorder such as a Zoom or similar device, or even a recording in a full studio. Please ensure that your sound is as accurately demonstrated on the recording as possible. For questions on how to record your audition selections, please ask your band director/private teacher, or don’t hesitate to contact Zach Compston, Jazz Arts Group VP of Education and Community Engagement at zcompston@jazzartsgroup.org.
