What's the best waterfront restaurant in Florida? 17 favorites for food, drinks and fun!
LIFE

Competition draws top young jazz pianists

Maria Sonnenberg
For FLORIDA TODAY

Filmmaker Ken Burns called jazz the “soundtrack of America,” and he is right.

Jazz has indeed served as the unique background music for this country for many decades, but as a nation, we may be taking jazz for granted. The funny thing is that these days, the most jazz-adoring city isn’t even on this continent.

“The No. 1 jazz city in the world is not New Orleans or Chicago, but Paris,” said Brian Gatchell, owner of of Atlantic Music Center in Melbourne.

The two major jazz piano competitions for young musicians aren’t in the United States, either, but rather in Montreux, Switzerland, and Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Gatchell thinks the United States needs to do a better job of encouraging emerging jazz talent, and he decided to do something about it.

A classical pianist by training, Gatchell also appreciates the deep cultural heritage found in jazz, and he wants the United States to regain its supremacy as the jazz nation. In fact, if Gatchell has his way, he will put Melbourne straight in the center of the jazz map.

With Gatchell’s efforts and the support of major piano manufacturers Steingraeber, Bosendorfer and Yamaha, a venue at Florida Institute of Technology and a very special piano, the nonprofit American Jazz Pianist Competition was born.

“The competition is the face of the organization, but it’s only part of the story,” said Gatchell.

“The competition is intended to increase exposure of jazz to a wide range of people in all age groups, and especially with a focus on younger people. In addition, we hope to motivate students to study jazz piano and pursue full- or part-time careers in jazz related entertainment. It is expected that the competition will demonstrate the inherent artistic qualities of jazz as a unique and imaginative musical genre, and increase the interest and enjoyment of jazz by more of the music-loving population.

“The whole point is to raise awareness of jazz.”

About 40 musicians entered the competition by sending a video of a performance. Ten semi-finalists will travel to Brevard to compete.

The event this weekend will bring together top-tiered young artists from around the country and give the public the opportunity to hear the next generation of jazz greats at their best, with a bonus of also reveling in the drum magic of four-time Grammy Award-winner Danny Gottlieb, who will accompany the semi-finalists in the jazz trio part of the competition.

At stake for the participants is plenty of cash and a good chance at fame. First-prize winner walks off with a $5,000 check, plus a contract and travel expenses to perform two concerts in Bayreuth, Germany, home of Steingraeber pianos. That can be heady stuff for any pianist, and more so for those ages 15 to 25, the bracket for the competition.

Grand Bohemian Hotels will contract with the second-place winner for three concerts, plus $2,000 and travel expenses. The 10 semi-finalists will receive $10,000 scholarships from Florida Tech.

For a concert venue, Gatchell could have selected many, but he opted for the home turf at Florida Tech.

“Brian looked at a lot of different places around Orlando and even out of state, but he really wanted to keep the competition in Brevard,” said Jamie Youngkin, chair of the music program at Florida Tech.

For the competition, which will be at Florida Tech’s Gleason Performing Arts Center, Gatchell is lending the university the uber-melodious — and $250,000 in price — Steingraeber grand piano Atlantic Music uses for its annual concert seasons. Playing that instrument would be drool-inducing for any musician, even without prizes attached.

“He wants to give the pianists every advantage,” said Youngkin.

Judges for the competition will have a tough go choosing a winner, given the amount of talent in the competition.

“It’s so inspiring to see the level of talent of these amazing contestants,” said Florida Tech artist-in-residence Christian Tamburr, one of the judges. “They are truly committed to the music.”

The response is also reassuring about the future of jazz in the United States.

“Jazz is living strong in our youth,” said Tamburr, who recently returned from the Middle East, where he performed concerts for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Also winning with the American Jazz Pianist Competition will be Brevard as a jazz destination in the future.

“In a few years, maybe Melbourne will be synonymous with Nottingham and Montreux,” said Gatchell.

American Jazz Pianist Competition

When: Saturday and Sunday

Where: Gleason Performing Arts Center, Florida Tech, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne

Cost: $20 a day or $35 for both days; tickets are available online or at the door on the day of the event

Schedule:

10 semi-finalists compete in jazz trio from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday and solo competition from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

• Five finalists compete in jazz trio from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday and in solo competition from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

• Drummer Danny Gottlieb will host a free drum clinic from 4 to 5 p.m. Sunday

Info: americanjazzpianistcompetition.org or call 321-725-5690