The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz has announced 11 gifted young singers as semifinalists in its International Jazz Vocals Competition, to be held next month in Paris. Six of these vocalists hail from outside the United States, making this cohort the most internationally diverse class of semifinalists in the nearly four-decade history of the event, formerly known as the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition.
In alphabetical order, the semifinalists are: Joie Bianco of Staten Island, New York; Anouk Chemla of Paris, France; Lucy-Anne Daniels of Leeds, United Kingdom; Georgia Heers from Greenville, South Carolina; Courteney Hooper of Adelaide, Australia; Kate Kortum from Houston, Texas; Kristin Lash of Bratislava, Slovakia; Zhenxuan “Jimmy” Lin of Guangzhou, China; Malou Oheix of Nantes, France; Ashley Pezzotti from Miami, Florida; and Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim from Las Cruces, New Mexico.
These vocalists, culled from hundreds of submissions, will compete in the Competition semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 10 (Monk’s birthday, coincidentally) at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, which is a presenting partner in the event. According to custom, each artist will perform three songs in a 15-minute set with an all-star rhythm section — composed of Carmen Staaf on piano, Ben Williams (a 2009 Monk Competition winner) on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums. Their crucial audience is an eminent jury of singers: Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roberta Gambarini, Gretchen Parlato, and Gregory Porter.
Parlato, who took first prize in the Monk Competition in 2004, is among the small circle of jazz singers who can attest to the power of its imprimatur. (A leading vocal improviser of her generation, she has a new album, The Wise Ones, arriving this Friday.) Because the Competition changes its instrumental focus from year to year, returning often to the piano, it has only featured vocalists two times since: in 2010, when the winner was Cécile McLorin Salvant, and in 2015, when it was Jazzmeia Horn.
So when this year’s winner is decided at the Competition Finals, on Sunday, Oct. 11, it will be more than prize money at stake. (First prize comes with $50,000, second prize brings $25,000, and third comes with $10,000.) Several of the semifinalists have established noted careers already, performing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and recording albums. But prevailing at the Hancock Competition means leveling up, in the public eye, in the industry, and within a close-knit artist community.
The Finals will culminate in an All-Star Gala Concert that literalizes that notion of community. Along with Herbie Hancock, the Institute’s namesake and chairman, it will feature Ambrose Akinmusire, who won the trumpet competition in 2007, and now serves as Artistic Director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA. Also performing are pianists Monty Alexander and Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and others. Pianist and arranger John Beasley will serve as Musical Director, and the Institute’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award will be presented to trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.
A similarly starry array convened several months ago in Chicago, Hancock’s hometown, for the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert, another marquee Institute initiative. The Competition’s move to Paris marks the first time it will take place outside the United States. WRTI will bring more coverage of the event. In the meantime, you’ll find more information at the Hancock Institute website.
