Honors Jazz Combo

In 2017, the South Carolina Band Directors Association approved a proposal to start the SCBDA Honors Jazz Combo that will perform as part of the Master Recital Concert at the SCMEA Conference in Columbia.

The audition procedures and play-along track downloads are available below. If you have any questions regarding the clinic or the auditions, please refer to the SCBDA Honors Jazz Combo section in the Jazz Committee portion of the handbook or contact Chris Mitchell.

HONORS JAZZ COMBO RESOURCES

Audition Requirements

Winds
  1. Prepared Selection: Fly Me To the Moon – Play through the tune one time, then 2 choruses of improvisation and back through the tune once again for a total of 4 choruses. Accompaniment may be live (preferred) or the recorded changes provided on Bandlink. We also encourage the use of an interactive computer accompaniment program if live accompaniment is not available.
  2. 2nd Selection (Jazz Standard): Your Choice – Play a jazz classic or standard song in any jazz style. Include the melody and a minimum of 2, max of 3 choruses of improvisation

Piano/Guitar/Vibes/Bass: You will choose two selected etudes in addition to the prescribed etude. Composers to consider are Theloneious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Tito Puente, Milton Nascimento, Antonio Carlos Jobim, David Sanborn, Kirk Whalum, as appropriate to the styles indicated.

Piano, Guitar, Vibes
  1. Prepared Selection: Fly Me To the Moon – Play through the melody, one chorus of comping, and 2 choruses of improvisation
  2. Straight 8th Selection: Your choice – Play the melody, 2 choruses of comping as appropriate to the style, minimum 2/ maximum 3 choruses of improvisation
  3. Ballad Selection: Play the melody, 2 choruses of comping as appropriate to the style, minimum 2/ maximum 3 choruses of improvisation

Bass
  1. Prepared Selection: Fly Me To the Moon – Play the melody, one chorus of walking, and 2 choruses of improvisation
  2. Straight 8th Selection: Your choice – Play the melody, 2 choruses of an appropriate bass line in the chosen style, minimum 2/maximum 3 choruses of improvisation
  3. Ballad Selection: Your Choice – Bass line as appropriate to the style for two choruses, optional improvisation – minimum 2 choruses. 

Drum Set
  1. Prepared Selection: Fly Me to the Moon – Using the track provided on Bandlink for Fly Me to the Moon, play: two choruses of time; one chorus of trading 4s, one solo chorus; and finish with one chorus of time. Accompaniment may be live (strongly preferred) or recorded.
  2. Demonstration of styles
    Demonstrate time in the following Styles: Latin, Ballad (brushes), Funk, Up-Tempo Swing. Play time for one chorus of a traditional song form and one chorus of improvisation for each style.

Registration Information

  1. Band directors will submit an online application and a recording of the student’s performance through bandlink. Please no video.
  2. A hard copy of the application and a non-refundable $20 application fee must be uploaded/completed online or mailed and postmarked by December 4th, 2026
  3. The application will include verification from the director that the student named in the application is the student performing on the recording.
  4. All submissions should not exceed 15 minutes which includes the selections in the order listed in the audition requirements.
  5. Since this is the only chase for the students to be heard, the quality of the recording should be of the utmost consideration. The quality of your recording will affect the evaluators’ ability to review and comment. A high-quality audio recording is expected.
      1. Review your recording(s) before you submit to check the sound level and ensure the best audio quality
      2. Be aware of the acoustic environment in which you record. Background noise and poor sound quality make your recording difficult to evaluate. 
      3. Only unedited recordings can be accepted and should be in high fidelity stereo

Selection Process

  1. A selection committee chosen and chaired by the Jazz Event Chairman will review submitted recordings and select participating students.
  2. Participating students will be notified by the chairman via the student’s band director. After student notification, a participating roster will be posted to Bandlink. 
  3. The number of participants will be determined by the quality of the submissions, but must include the following:
      1. One wind
      2. One chordal accompaniment instrument (piano, guitar, vibes)
      3. One bass
      4. One drummer
  4. If the performance level demonstrated on the recordings doesn’t allow for the minimum instrumentation listed above, there will not be a jazz comb performance at SCMEA convention that year.
  5. Mail Registration applications and fees to:
    Chris Mitchell
    Powdersville Middle School
    130 Roe Rd.
    Greenville, SC 29611

Clinic & Performance

  1. Selected students will meet on Friday, February 5th, 2027 for a rehearsal from 1-4pm
    1. The clinician for the day will be a college director with extensive performance and teaching background with jazz combos or the Yamaha performing artist
    2. The rehearsal will be approximately 3 hours in length
  2. The performance will take place on Friday evening
    1. The performance time will be approximately 30 minutes in length and the repertoire will consist of jazz standards
    2. A repertoire list will be determined by the clinician and forwarded to the students in advance
      1. One of the tunes will be the tunes used for the etude at the auditions.
  3. Students will be expected to be familiar with the tunes when they arrive for the rehearsal.

Accompaniment Track Downloads

Rubrics