*Please note that this page is for semesterly ensemble auditions. If you are looking for School of Music admission auditions, please visit this webpage.*

Jazz Audition Information
Trombone player performing with jazz ensemble
Jazz Chamber Ensemble (Combo) Audition Information

JMU Jazz Chamber Ens. (Combo) Auditions, Fall 2024:

All students interested in playing in a spring semester combo must audition (in person).

Thursday, August 22

Music Building Room 108

7:00-8:00pm

  • Bass and guitar amps will be provided (bring a cable); a vocal amp and mic will be provided 
  • Combos perform at Clementine Thursday nights between 7:00-9:00 pm. You must be available, in general, at this time (occasional conflicts with performances by other JMU ensembles are okay). If you have an ongoing Thursday evening schedule conflict, you cannot participate in combos. 
  • Do not register for the class (MUAP 355) until combo rosters have been posted. Everyone placed into a combo must be registered. 

Contact Prof. Dotas (chuckdotas@mac.com) with questions. 

Audition Registration:

YOU MUST REGISTER BEFORE the auditions begin. Visit Jazz Chamber Ensemble (combo) Fall 2024 Audition Registration Form to register for an audition. 

You will need access to your class schedule when you fill out the registration form. You will be indicating the meeting time and name of each class you have during the week (M-F). This information will be used to determine each combo’s faculty coaching day/time. 

Audition Process:

  1. Have your instrument assembled and ready to play by 7:00 pm.  
    1. Guitar/bass amps provided; bring your own cable.  
    2. Drum set provided (bring sticks; use the cymbals already set up). 
    3. Vocal amp and mic provided (bring your own mic if you prefer). 
  2. Students will be called up from the audience in small groups (complete combos).  The group will play the head for, and improvise/comp on, one of the five blues standards listed below (students will agree on the piece once they are called up from the audience). There are many recordings of each piece easily accessible on Youtube; auditionees should learn the head and chord progression for each piece. 
    1. Now’s the Time (F maj) [Charlie Parker] 
    2. Mr. PC (C min) [John Coltrane—your tempo can be a bit slower!] 
    3. Bags’ Groove (F maj) [Milt Jackson] NOTE: head sounds like minor, but this is a major key blues—guitarists/pianists: check out the sparse comping by Thelonious Monk on the head for these 2 recs:) 
      1. Miles Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUHUjqJ9-RQ 
      2. Milt Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3TMe98FJDw 
      3. Blues by Five (F maj) [Red Garland] 
      4. Blues in the Closet (F maj) [Oscar Pettiford] NOTE: Oscar’s original recording is in G; for the purposes of this audition, we’ll do it in F, like Stanley Turrentine’s recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9vNUao-Cww 
  3. Each student will perform two choruses of improvisation (drummers: two choruses of trading 4’s with the horns).  Singers should scat sing the head and your improvised solo. 
  4. JMU Jazz Faculty will assign students to combos; results will be communicated via email by Monday, August 26.  AT THAT TIME, STUDENTS WHO HAVE AUDITIONED INTO A COMBO SHOULD REGISTER FOR THE CLASS (MUAP 355, register for your faculty coach’s section #). 
Ensemble Audition Information

Fall 2024 Jazz Ensemble/Jazz Band Audition Information

NOTE: Do not register for either ensemble until rosters have been determined and posted.

Below are the audition excerpts and other essential information for the auditions:

Audition Sign-up Information

  • Please sign up for your audition via this link: JMU Jury System
  • User accounts are created automatically by clicking the Login link in the main menu and logging in through the JMU portal and Duo two-factor authentication system. Enter your JMU credentials.
  • Once logged in, proceed to the Booking Tab.
  • Follow the listed instructions to reserve an audition time.
  • If you need to change your audition time, please follow the instructions accordingly. You will receive a cancellation code when you register, just in case.

Written Audition Excerpt/Improvisation Information (Hard copies will be available at the audition):

Instrumentalists (Wind/Piano/Vibes/Guitar/Bass):

  • This audition's required excerpt is the second 32 bars of the introduction to Gerald Wilson's arrangement of Perdido (as recorded by the Duke Ellington Orchestra). THIS IS NOT THE SAME EXCERPT AS THE SPRING 2024 AUDITIONS, which was the first 32 bars of that arrangement. Drums and & voice will prepare a different excerpt (see below).
  • ALL WIND INSTRUMENTS: prepare the Perdido written excerpts with iReal Pro backing track (linked below & will be provided at the audition). The Duke Ellington Orchestra source is also linked below.
    • 1st chorus: written excerpt
    • 2nd chorus: optional improvistation
  • PIANO/VIBES/GUITAR/BASS: prepare the Perdido excerpt with Drum Genius back track (will be provided at the audition). The Duke Ellington Orchestra source recording is linked below.
    • 1st chorus: written excerpt
    • 2nd chorus: improvisation
    • 3rd chorus: comping/walking

Drummers:

  • Please prepare the Sonor written excerpt (no backing track).
  • Play the written excerpt from the beginning of the piece until rehearsal letter D.
  • We will also ask that you demonstrated medium swing, jazz waltz, brushes, samba, bossa nova, Afro-Cuban grooves, time keeping/soloing (trading 4's or 8's, your choice).
  • The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band source recording is linked below.

Vocalists:

  • Please prepare Nature Boy melody/lyric with iReal Pro backing track (if singing in E minor); will be provided at audition.
  • The linked backing track (below) for Nature Boy is in E minor. You may transpose the excerpt to any key you wish; we will provide the appropriate iReal Pro backing track at the audition (create your own iReal Pro backing track for audition preparation).
  • You may sing the melody in any style (ballad, slow swing, straight eighths, etc)/tempo you feel best expresses your sense of jazz style. Refer to the source recording links below to examples.
    • 1st chorus (32 bars): melody/lyric, stylized as you see fit.
    • 2nd chorus (first 16 bars only): optional scat singing improvisation

Audition Excerpts

*Saxophonists may audition on alto, tenor, or bari sax. You may end up being placed on a different saxophone part, depending on the needs of the ensemble.

¹All trumpets prepare this excerpt; there is no separate lead trumpet excerpt.

²All tenor trombones prepare the trombone part; there is no separate lead trombone excerpt.

³Drummers: remember to sign up for two consecutive audition slots.

If you play an instrument other than what's listed above, email Chuck Dotas for audition materials: chuckdotas@mac.com.

If you would like to be considered for more than one spot (i.e.: voice and piano, two different wind instruments, etc), please prepare an audition for each part and sign up for two audition times (they can be back-to-back, or not, whichever you prefer). 

Audition Excerpt Backing Track/Reference Recording Links

PERDIDO (all instrumental auditions except drums):

  • Wind Instruments: iReal Pro backing track
    • Use this to prepare for the audition; you will play along with the backing track, which will be provided at the audition. You may play the excerpt at whatever tempo you feel best demonstrates your knowledge of jazz style (we will provide the appropriate tempo backing track at the audition; you should prepare your own iReal backing track for audition prep if you want a different tempo than this link.
  • Piano/guitar/vibes/bass: NO LINK.
    • Use one of the Drum Genius Swing excerpts (your choice) as your backing track. You may play the excerpt at whatever tempo you feel best demonstrates your knowledge of jazz style.
  • Perdido Reference Recording
    • Duke Ellington Orchestra: The Great Paris Concert
    • Excerpt is 0:47-1:18 elapsed time
    • FOR REFERENCE ONLY! Do not play along with this recording on the audition.

SONOR (drumset auditions):

  • Play the written excerpt (no backing track) at whatever tempo you feel best demonstrates your ability to incorporate appropriate fills and ensemble set ups/kicks.
  • Sonor Reference Recording
    • Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band: Handle With Care
    • Excerpt is 0:00-0:42 elapsed time
    • FOR REFERENCE ONLY! Do not play along with this recording on the audition.

NATURE BOY (voice auditions):

Fall 2024 Jazz Ensembles Information

Jazz Chamber Ensemble (MUAP 355): Membership is open to all JMU students by audition. Ensembles are student-run with weekly faculty coaching. Repertoire includes all styles of small-group jazz with an emphasis on creative improvisation. Performances are held at various local establishments.

Meeting Times:

TBD upon combo placement and availability

Jazz Combo Fall Performance Dates:

Thursdays, 7pm @ Clementine Cafe

Jazz Band (MUAP 348): The JMU Jazz Band, founded in 1979, is a select group of approximately 20 students per semester. Membership, determined by audition at the beginning of each semester, is open to all JMU students and typically includes students from majors across campus. Students study repertoire that includes all major styles of big band jazz, as well as student arrangements and compositions. The ensemble has performed with a variety of well-known jazz artists. Recent guests include NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, Joe Sullivan, Mike Titlebaum, Jim White, and Steve Wilson.

Meeting Times:

Tu/Th - 3:55-5:10pm

Forbes 1115

Jazz Band Fall Concert Dates:

  • October 3, 7:30pm
  • November 18, 7:30pm

Jazz Ensemble (MUAP 347): Membership is open to all JMU students by audition. The James Madison University Jazz Ensemble was founded in 1971 and is the premier jazz group in the School of Music at James Madison University. The ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC, the Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Virginia Music Educator's Association annual convention. The JMU Jazz Ensemble has been featured with the United States Navy Commodores Jazz Ensemble, the United States Air Force Airmen of Note Jazz Ensemble, and at the East Coast Jazz Festival in Rockville, Maryland.

The ensemble has performed with many well-known jazz artists, including Dick Oatts, John Clayton, Greg Gisbert, Nate Smith, Shelia Jordan, Mike Holober, Joseph Eckert, Clay Jenkins, John D’Earth, Chris Merz, Mike Titlebaum, and Jim White.

Meeting Times: 

Monday - 5:20-6:10pm, Forbes 1115

Tuesday/Thursday - 3:55-5:10pm, Music Building 108

Jazz Ensemble Fall Concert Dates:

  • October 3, 7:30pm
  • November 18, 7:30pm

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