Coaching

All six bands that make it through to the final will be coached by Dick Oatts and Gerard Presencer.

Dick Oatts has recorded and toured with small groups such as Red Rodney, Eddie Gomez, Vic Juric, Bob Brookmeyer, Mel Lewis, Dom Salvador, Jerry Bergonzi, Flim & the BB's, Fred Hersch, Dave Berkman, Soren Moller, Terell Stafford, Jon Faddis, Lalo Schiffrin, and Ray Mantilla. His big band and larger group experience include performances with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Mel Lewis, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. Also he has accompanied such vocalists as Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams and Mel Torme. Oatts is now a Steeplechase recording artist and has six Cd's released as a leader. For 30 years, Mr. Oatts has appeared at college jazz festivals as a soloist and clinician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, South America, and the Middle East. Oatts is a professor of Jazz Studies at the Boyer School of Music at Temple University and has been an artist-in-residence at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam since 1997.

Gerard Presencer has performed with many famous jazz musicians - Stan Tracey, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Red Rodney, Johnny Griffin, Phil Woods, Jason Rebello and Courtney Pine. In the past eight years he played in the Charlie Watts Quintet, with whom he recorded four albums and whom he accompanied on their world tour. Their fifth CD was completed in spring, 1999. He has also worked with James Brown, Sting, Brand New Heavies, Ray Charles, Kula Shaker, Tina Turner and the Pet Shop Boys. Furthermore he performed as a soloist in U.S.3's 'Cantaloop', which is published by Blue Note Records. Currently he works with his band Platypus. Gerard Presencer was voted best trumpeter at the BT Jazz Awards in ’95 &’97. Gerard Presencer has taught at the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School, Trinity School of Music, Surrey University and Thames Valley University, where he developed a three-year graduate course. In the summer semester of 1999, Gerard Presencer was appointed Professor of Trumpet in the Jazz and Popular Music department at the the Academy of Music 'Hanns Eisler'Berlin.