The Greenville Jazz Collective Jazz Underground Series was originally formed to feature the compositions of local composers.  We pay homage every year to our roots with a “Local Jazz Composers Concert”, which this year will be on November 11, 7pm, at Coffee Underground.

This year, we’re bringing back something we’ve done in the past…using the concert as a basis for a composers’ contest.  Here’s an overview:

• Composers have the opportunity to submit an original composition for the contest that has not been performed publicly before.
• The Greenville Jazz Quintet rehearses each piece, and selects a number of them for performance on November 11.
  
  

As you might imagine, there’s a lot of details behind this.  From the composers’ standpoint:

• We will ask you to submit a link to your composition in a Google Form.  
• At the least, your composition should be a concert key lead sheet, but you are free to provide an arrangement with transposed parts.  In either case, it should indicate something about the style and tempo (e.g. Bossa ballad, fast modal, Swing mm=140).  You may also include a live recording or an electronic recording generated by your music composition software (not required).
• Note that the instrumentation of the GJQ is guitar, piano, bass, drums, and woodwind (usually tenor sax, but might also include soprano and/or alto saxes, clarinet, and/or flute).
• All submissions must be in by September 30, 2025 by 11:59p EDT.
• The Google form submission will ask you a few questions, namely date of composition, any public performances of the piece to date, and information about the composer.
  
  

Here’s what the Greenville Jazz Quintet will do:

• They will hold a rehearsal to read through each composition submitted.
• They, in their sole judgement, will agree on the pieces to be performed at the November 11th concert.  
  • Note that, as with a group of musical professionals, they will select pieces that work well together as a concert.  So it is unlikely that they will program 7 ballads, or 7 tunes built on “rhythm changes”, and therefore being selected for the concert is not solely based on musical “excellence” (however that might be defined).
  • In keeping with our 501(c)3 organization status, we will especially welcome student (high school or college) compositions as an expression of our educational focus.
  • To encourage new music, we will tend to favor recent compositions versus older compositions.
    
    

And finally, the Greenville Jazz Collective will:

• Provide 1 free admission ($20 value) for any composer notified that their works will be on the November 11 program.