BEGINNING IN 2020, all audition sets (scales, prepared selections, and audio tracks) have been re-numbered to align with the band and orchestra set rotation.
Any audition materials downloaded before 5/19/2020 MUST BE DISCARDED – the set numbers will be wrong.
Important Dates and Audition Location
Audition date and location will be set by each district. Check your district calendar.
All recorded auditions must be received by the Jazz Division Chair.
Fees
$15 per audition paid to the district.
District Director will submit a single district check for all audition entries to the Jazz Division Chair.
Form
All forms related to All-State auditions for jazz band can be found Louisiana Music Educators Association website.
Audition Process
There is a single audition for All-State Jazz Ensemble.
District level auditions will be audio recorded by the District Director or the district’s Jazz Chair.
These recordings will be submitted to the Jazz Division Chairperson for adjudication.
Prepared Materials/Scales
All audition material, and audition tracks, can be found following. Click the links to download materials.
There is a 4-year rotation of prepared selections:
Audio
OFFICIAL AUDITION RECORDING PLAY-ALONG
This contains all 4 audio tracks and space for scales and sight reading.
This is the same audio track you will use in your audition.
Recognized in both the jazz vocal and instrumental worlds, Darmon Meader is a distinguished vocalist, arranger and saxophonist. Darmon has achieved international recognition as the founder, musical director, chief arranger, composer, saxophonist, and tenor vocalist with New York Voices. As a member of NYV he has released numerous recordings, and has performed and recorded with a variety of artists including Ray Brown, Bobby McFerrin, Don Sebesky, Ivan Lins, Jon Hendricks, Jim Hall, Paquito D'Rivera, the Count Basie Orchestra and the Royal Bopsters. Touring in the U.S. and abroad, he has performed at such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall, Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Blue Note Jazz Clubs in New York and Japan. In addition to arranging and orchestrating the majority of the NYV songbook, Darmon has arranged music for various artists including Nancy Wilson, the Boston Pops, Ann Hampton Calloway, and Ilona Knopfler. Darmon is currently a member of the Indiana University vocal jazz faculty, and is actively involved in music education as a conductor and clinician at both the high school and university level. Many of his vocal jazz and choral works have been published by various publishers, including Carl Fischer Music, Shawnee Press, Hal Leonard and Alfred Music.
Raymond is a mainstay on the Southern California jazz and contemporary improvised music scene where she performs regularly on drum set with an array of artists including David Binney, The Rova Saxophone Quartet, Jeff Parker, Bobby Bradford, Vinny Golia, Rachel Eckroth, and Daniel Rosenboom. She can be heard on many recordings including Kuba Stankiewicz ’“Music of Roman Statkowski” (Warner Music Poland), Bobby Bradford’s “Stealin’Home” (NoBusiness Records), David Tranchina’s “The Ogre” (Joyful Noice & BIG EGO Records), Trio Subliminal (Orenda Records), Cathlene Pineda’s “Rainbow Baby” and “A Week’s Time” (Orenda Records), Jon Armstrong’s “Burnt Hibiscus” (Orenda Records), and her own highly praised debut album “Left Right Left” (Orenda Records) featuring Art Lande and Putter Smith. Raymond also performs worldwide at a diverse range of venues, festivals, and conferences including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Reno Jazz Festival, Jazz Education Network Conferences, Sweden Women in Jazz Festival, Bitonto Jazz Festival, Jazz de Ria, We Create Jazz, and more.
A metro-Detroit native, Raymond attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (B.M Double Performance - Classical Percussion and Jazz Studies) and California Institute of the Arts (M.F.A Jazz Studies). She studied African Ewe music with Ghanaian chief Alfred Ladzekpo, classical percussion with the members of Percussion Group Cincinnati, and jazz drum set with Joe LaBarbera, Jeff Hamilton, Art Gore, and the late John Von Ohlen.
Raymond taught at Los Angeles City College from 2014-2020. Her teaching credits include The Herbie Hancock Institute, Los Angeles All-City Jazz Band, Occidental College, and Musician’s Institute. She is on faculty at a variety of summer programs and is a guest artist and clinician at festivals globally. Raymond has also been featured as a prominent jazz educator in TomTom and Downbeat Magazines. She is an educational artist endorsed by Sabian, Regal Tip, and Remo. She is an active member of the Percussive Arts Society and Jazz Education Network.
