The Jazz Composers Alliance has announced that it will begin accepting entries for the eighth annual Julius Hemphill Composition Awards. Composers who enter the contest will be judged in one of two categories: either Jazz orchestra or small group. The prestigious awards carry with them cash prizes totaling $2,500 and music software worth $3,000. The winning composition in the Jazz orchestra category will be performed by the JCA Orchestra. Last year's recipients of the small group award were Gebhard Ullman, Jamie Baum, and Julian Arguelles; the award for orchestral composition was given to Ernesto Klar, David Slusser, and Florian Ross. For contest guidelines, get in touch with the Jazz Composers Alliance at Box 491, Allston, Massachusetts 02134, or via e-mail at <JCAComp@aol.com>; entries must be postmarked no later than August 1, 2000.
The Alliance is proud to honor Julius Hemphill through the administration of the award in his name. Hemphill, who died in April 1995, was the soulful, forward-thinking composer (and alto saxophonist) who distinguished the World Saxophone Quartet in the late seventies. His compositions can be heard on the WSQ's 1978 Steppin' With, 1981's Live in Zurich, and with his own group, on the fine (and underrated) Dogon A.D. (1972) and on Fat Man and the Hard Blues (1991), as well as many others.
by Haybert K. Houston
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