2018
Ellis
Marsalis
Internatiomal
Jazz Piano
Competition
June 22-23, 2018
2018 Competitors
Joshua Espinosa
Dave Meder
ArcoIris Sandoval
Oscar Rosignoli
Isaiah Thompson
Rina Yamazaki
Ben Paterson
2018 Side Personell
MiMi Jones (Bass)
Jerome Jennings (Drums)
Dezron Douglas (Bass)
Dayeon Seouk (Drums)
2018 Ellis Marsalis International
azz Piano Competition
Final Judges
Ellis Marsalis
Aturo O'Farrill
Branford Marsalis
Jon Batiste
2018 Ellis Marsalis International
azz Piano Competition
Preliminary Judges
Christian Sands ♦Ted Rosenthal
Monika Herzig ♦ Aaron Diehl
Orrin Evans ♦ Zaccai Curtis
Fabian Almazan
ABOUT
To fully understand the quality of the competitors in the competition, you must first understand the structure of the competition itself. The Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition was structured as (4) four individual competitive performance segments over a (2) two day period. Covering multiple styles in the jazz idiom the competitors were required to perform pieces from the bebop, modern jazz, Latin jazz, standards, blues, and New Orleans lexicon over the solo piano, trio, and quartet formats.
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As an additional layer of challenge in the quartet segment the competitors had the additional difficulty of not only accompanying an instrumentalist on one song and a vocalist on another song, but they were required to sight transpose for the vocalist on the spot. All of this was done without rehearsal and without knowing which songs were to be performed by them until they stepped on stage.
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Below is a brief description of the (4) Segments:
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Day One
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Segment One - Ellis Marsalis & the New Orleans Jazz Masters
In Segment One competitors had to choose one song written by Ellis Marsalis and one song written by one of a select few of modern New Orleans Jazz Masters and perform them with a trio.
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Segment Two – Plus One
In Segment Two competitors had to perform two songs which were randomly selected for each at the time of their performance with an instrumentalist & vocalist without any benefit of rehearsal while having to sight transpose for the vocalist to their key.
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Day Two
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Segment Three – Solo Piano
In Segment Three competitors had to perform a ballad and a latin jazz piece all in solo form.
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Segment Four – The Trio
In Segment Four competitors had to perform three songs a Blues, Bebop, and an Original) to not only show how each competitor dealt with the basic language that is the foundation of the jazz idiom but how they could continue the idioms growth.
our sponsors
The Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition could
not be carried out with support of the following key donors:
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​Alan and Catherine Morrison
The Marshall University Research Corporation
Adam Rose
Drs. William and Mayola Boykin
Art and Rebecca Samberg
Betsy Cohn
Charles and Karen Phillips
Clarence Otis & Jacqueline Taylor
The Ford Foundation
George Wein
John and Jody & Arnhold
Melanie Shorin & Greg Feldman
Mica Ertegun
Quincy Jones
Paul Simon
Barbra Streisand
Ronald Williams
Diane Reeves
The Frank Sinatra Foundation
The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation
Robert Karchmar
EMIJPC On Instagram
Media & Press Coverage
Below are links to key select media coverage:​
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Bem Paterson Wins 2018 EMIJPC (DownBeat)
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@HuntingtonJazzfest
Created & Produced By :
Jerald Miller (Executive Diredtoe; & Executive Producer); Ellis Marsalis; & Isaiah J. Thompson (2nd Place Winner)
The Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition was created by Jerald Miller of the Nu Jazz Agency for the purpose of re imagining what a jazz music competition could be. Since its launch it has redefined competitions as more than just shocases, but a true test of the competitors skills putting them in real life performance situations, and offering them career based prizes, rather than just cash awatrds.
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