Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Jazz St. Louis seeks student saxophonist
to perform with Greg Osby & Willie Akins

Jazz St. Louis is looking for a young saxophonist who may be "St. Louis’ next rising star of jazz" to perform with saxophonists Greg Osby (pictured) and Willie Akins on April 10 and 11 at Jazz at the Bistro.

The concert is dubbed "St. Louis Shoes," after Osby's CD of the same name; the competition is open to all saxophonists in high school or college in the St. Louis area, including both Missouri and Illinois. Applicants will be asked to download and complete a written application and submit a good quality recording of three musical selections, including “St. Louis Blues” (W.C. Handy), “Shaw’ Nuff" (Brown, Fuller, Gillespie) and a ballad of the applicant's choosing.

The recordings of musicians accepted into the second round will be posted on Jazz St. Louis' Web site and evaluated by a panel of professional musicians from around the country. Five finalists will be invited to Jazz at the Bistro in February, 2009 to record with a professional rhythm section. Those recordings will be sent to Osby, who will make the final decision.

Applications and materials for the first round will be due on Friday, January 2, 2009, with the final decision coming in March. For more details, see the Jazz St. Louis Web site, or you can get in touch with Jazz St. Louis' director of education Phil Dunlap by calling 314-289-4033 or sending an e-mail to phil@jazzstl.org.

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