Sunday, July 2, 2017

DCJF Announces 2017 DCJazzPrix Winners

AMP Trio Featuring Tahira Clayton

From our friends at the DC Jazz Festival...

DC Jazz Festival Announces 2018 DCJazzPrix Winner - AMP Trio Featuring Tahira Clayton

The DC Jazz Festival (DC JazzFest) introduces AMP Trio Featuring Tahira Clayton as the 2nd annual DCJazzPrix winning band, selected following a competitive final that took place as part of the recently completed 13th annual DC Jazz Festival. Based in New York City, AMP Trio members Addison Frei (piano), Matt Young (drums) and Perrin Grace (bass) met as students at the prestigious University of North Texas jazz program, and more recently brought another North Texas alumnus, vocalist Tahira Clayton, into the fold. They have been together as a band for five years.

AMP Trio Featuring Tahira Clayton competed in the finals at the University of the District of Columbia on June 15, against two exceptional fellow finalists - New York City's SULA, and Durham, North Carolina's Ernest Turner Trio. All three bands presented exceptional, inventive 20-minute sets, exciting the audience throughout and ramping up the degree of difficulty for the judges.


"We are excited to have completed a successful second DCJazzPrix, a national competition that adds yet more cultural significance to the DC Jazz Festival, and is designed to help launch and promote the careers of emerging jazz ensembles," said Artistic Director Willard Jenkins. "All three finalists presented impressive performances. We look forward to working further with the excellent musicians who comprise AMP Trio and Tahira Clayton, who are clearly poised for a raised profile and greater exposure."

In addition to a $15,000 cash prize, AMP Trio and Tahira Clayton garnered a year-long association with the DC Jazz Festival for professional development, business support and a main stage 2018 DC Jazz Festival engagement. Prize elements include:

• DCJF will determine band's greatest professional development needs

• DCJF will provide gratis content supporting band publicity, financial management, artistic management, booking and touring, social media engagement, audience engagement, grant writing, commissioning of new works, brand development, etc.

• DCJF will highlight AMP Trio with a booking and more during the 2018 DCJF.

AMP Trio Featuring Tahira Clayton Bio: Pianist Addison Frei, drummer Matt Young, and bassist Perrin Grace met as students at the prestigious University of North Texas jazz program.

Now in their 5th year as a band, AMP Trio, released their third album, Three, and recently concluded their first Japanese tour.  AMP Trio brought vocalist Tahira Clayton into the fold with their second album, m(y)our world, In the last year AMP Trio and Tahira Clayton have been heard at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Rockville, MD, the Kitchen CafĂ© in Dallas, TX, and Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, MI among others. They have collaborated in New York at venues such as Rockwood Music Hall and the Cell Theatre. AMP Trio has also performed alongside talented artists such as saxophonists Tim Green and Quamon Fowler and trumpeter John Raymond. AMP Trio has recorded together as a rhythm section for albums by Aaron Hedenstrom, Spenser Liszt and Adam Hutcheson.

For more information about AMP Trio Featuring Tahira Clayton, please visit www.amptrio.com.

Launched in 2016, DCJazzPrix is a national competition created to recognize and support top rising jazz band talent. The Jury considered a highly competitive incoming pool (ages 18-40) of original applicants, emerging bands evaluated for artistic quality and merit.

DCJazzPrix is made possible by the generous support of Conrad Kenley, Linda and Michael Sonnenreich, and The Anne and Ronald Abramson Family Foundation.

For more information about the DC Jazz Festival, please visit www.dcjazzfest.org.

About DC Jazz Festival (DCJF): With more than 125 performances in over 40 venues across the city, the DC JazzFest is one of the largest music festivals in the country. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the DCJF has experienced spectacular year-by-year growth. As the fastest-growing jazz festival in the U.S., the DC JazzFest celebrates America's unique original art form during this international event that attracts jazz lovers from around the world to the nation's capital. The DCJF also presents year-round programs with performances featuring local, nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. The DCJF's mission is to promote music, particularly jazz, education programs and actively support community outreach to expand and diversify its audience of jazz enthusiasts.

Keep up with the DCJF:
Twitter: @dcjazzfest
Facebook: facebook.com/dcjazzfest
Instagram: @dcjazzfest