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School of Music

Jazz Ensemble Auditions

Audition Information for Jazz Ensembles

All jazz ensembles (large and small) and non-major jazz lesson auditions will be held the first two days of classes in the Fall semester (August 21-22). Sign-up sheets for saxophone, trumpet, trombone (also French horn and tuba), piano, drums, and jazz voice will be posted near the professors’ offices (located in Smith Memorial Hall) a week prior to the start of the semester, August 14.

Online audition sign-up is available for jazz guitar and bass.

For questions regarding these auditions, please email the individual professor for more details.

(1) Jazz Saxophone Audition Information

Questions? Contact Chip McNeill

The audition will consist of sight-reading some jazz charts and improvising on a blues in the key of your choice and improvising on one of these jazz standards: All The Things You Are in A-flat, Just Friends in F or G, Stella By Starlight in B-flat.

NOTE: To select an audition time, a sign-up sheet will be posted next to Prof. McNeil’s office, located in the basement of Smith Memorial Hall, room 5E.

Please email Prof. McNeil if you have questions at chipmc@illinois.edu.

(2) Jazz Voice Audition Information

Questions? Contact Barrington Coleman

Auditions for the Jazz Vocal Ensemble and Combos, solo opportunities with other jazz ensembles, and non-major jazz voice lessons will take place on Monday, August 21 from 3:00-6:30 pm and Tuesday, August 22 from 8:00-10:00 pm in the studio of Prof. Coleman (Smith Memorial Hall, Room 203)

The audition will consist of:

  1. Two jazz standards in contrasting styles:
    • One medium or fast tempo swing piece such as All of Me by Seymour Simons/Gerald Marks or All the Things You Are by Jerome Kern
    • One ballad such as Someone to Watch over Me by George Gershwin or When I Fall in Love by Victor Young
  2. Aural skills & sight-singing review. Brief excerpts of songs and melodies will be extracted to evaluate your aural recall and ability to sing by rote.
  3. Optional – free improvisation on a blues progression

Material may be drawn from the Great American Standard Songbook tradition and can also be found in hard copy or online form in the Real Book collection of lead sheets. Please bring charts of your song selections in your preferred keys. Jamey Aebersold Play-A-Long audition tracks may also be used for your audition.

NOTE: To select an audition time, a sign-up sheet will be posted next to Prof. Coleman’s office, located on the 2nd floor of Smith Memorial Hall, room 203.

Please email Prof. Coleman if you have questions at coleman3@illinois.edu.

(3) Jazz Trumpet Audition Information

Questions? Contact Pat Harbison

The audition will consist of:

For Big Band Placement

  1. Select major scales and possibly other modes (two octaves when possible), and a two-octave C chromatic scale
  2. A prepared piece of your choice (a jazz etude, solo transcription, bebop head(s), big band chart excerpt, or a classical piece/etude)
  3. Sight-reading
  4. Improvisation (optional if only auditioning for large ensembles). You may improvise over a 12-bar blues in Bb or F (Now’s the Time, Billie’s Bounce, Tenor Madness, Sonnymoon for Two, etc.) or any standard jazz tune

For Jazz Combo Placement, you must improvise over the following:

  1. Select major scales and possibly other modes (two octaves when possible), and a two octave C chromatic scale
  2. A 12-bar blues
  3. A medium-tempo standard tune (ex. There Will Never Be Another You, Stella  by Starlight, All The Things You Are, etc.)
  4. A rhythm changes composition (ex. Oleo, Lester Leaps In, Anthropology, etc.)

NOTE: To select an audition time, a sign-up sheet will be posted next to Prof. Harbison’s office, located in the basement of Smith Memorial Hall, room 5C.

Please email Prof. Harbison if you have questions at jazzhangs@gmail.com.

(4) Jazz Trombone Audition Information – Updated 07/06/2023

Questions? Contact Jim Pugh

The audition will consist of:

  1. A prepared piece of your choice (any style – play something that you’re comfortable with)
  2. Sight reading (selected from traditional big band arrangements)
  3. A few scales (Major, 2 octaves when feasible; possibly church mode scales as well – dorian, phrygian, etc.)
  4. Improvisation – OPTIONAL –  if you have some improvisation experience and you’d like to have soloing opportunities.  For accompaniment tracks, just bring whatever device(s) you’ve been working with – we’re set up to easily play from phones or other devices.  If it’s a specific mp3 track, you could always email it to me before your audition time.

Email Prof. Pugh (jimpugh@illinois.edu) if you need play-along tracks.

NOTE: To select an audition time, a sign-up sheet will be posted next to Prof. Pugh’s office, located in the basement of Smith Memorial Hall, room 5D.

Please email Prof. Pugh if you have questions at jimpugh@illinois.edu.

(5) Jazz Piano / Vibraphone Audition Information

Questions? Contact John “Chip” Stephens

The audition will consist of:

  1. Sight-reading some jazz charts and improvising on one of these jazz standards: All The Things You Are in A-flat, Just Friends in F or G, and Stella By Starlight in B-flat
  2. Blues in the key of F – melody plus improvising and comping
  3. B-flat rhythm changes – melody plus improvising and comping. Pianists and vibraphonists must demonstrate their ability to comp effectively on the above material.
  4. A solo composition of your choice; jazz standard, ballad, original etc.
  5. Sight reading

NOTE: To select an audition time, a sign-up sheet will be posted next to Prof. Stephens’s office, located on the first floor of Smith Memorial Hall, room 102.

Please email Prof. Stephens if you have questions at chipster@illinois.edu.

(6) Jazz Guitar Audition Information – Updated 08/01/2023

Questions? Contact Larry Gray

Jazz guitar auditions will take place Tuesday August 22 from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm in Prof. Gray’s office, Smith Memorial Hall Room 101. Amp and cable are provided.

Sign-up for an audition time here.

The audition will consist of:

  1. Scales: Prepare positional major and melodic minor scales in 2 or more (depending on level) keys. Show more than one position for each key you choose.  
  2. Play the head (melody), solo, and play chord voicings on the following tunes: Out of Nowhere  |  Minority
    Click here for lead sheets for tunes.
  3. Sightreading as appropriate.

Please email Prof. Gray if you have questions at lwgray@illinois.edu.

(7) Jazz Bass Audition Information – Updated 08/01/2023

Questions? Larry Gray

Jazz bass auditions will take place Tuesday August 22 from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm in Prof. Gray’s office, Smith Memorial Hall Room 101. For electric bassists, amp and cable are provided.

Sign-up for an audition time here.

The audition will consist of:

  1. Scales: Prepare major and melodic minor scales in 2 or 3 octaves, depending on key.  Arco if possible.
  2. Play the head (melody), walk, and solo on the following tunes: Birk’s Works  |  Have You Met Miss Jones?
    Click here for lead sheets for tunes.
  3. Sightreading as appropriate.

Please email Prof. Gray if you have questions at lwgray@illinois.edu.

(8) Jazz Drumset Audition Information – Updated 08/03/2023

Questions? Contact Joel Spencer

The audition will require a demonstration of the following musical styles:

  1. Jazz (quarter-note = 185-200 bpm)
  2. Funk (quarter-note = 100-150 bpm)
  3. Samba (half-note = 100-125 bpm)
  4. Bossa Nova (quarter-note = 150 bpm)
  5. Afro-Cuban 6/8 (dotted-quarter-note = 135-145 bpm)

Note: A demonstration of trading 4-bar, 8-bar, and 12-bar improvised solo phrases will be required as well.

Additional skills

  1. Brush technique (Jazz and Samba)
  2. Waltz and odd meter performance (3/4, 5/4, 7/4)
  3. Repertoire knowledge
  4. Sight reading

NOTE: To select an audition time, a sign-up sheet will be posted next to Prof. Spencer’s office, located in the basement of Smith Memorial Hall, room 7.

Please email Prof. Spencer if you have questions at spence14@illinois.edu.

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