About Nardis Young Jazz Vocal Competition

Since 2005, Nardis has been organizing the “Young Jazz Vocal Competition” annually (except for 2021 due to the Pandemic).

Winners or those who receive recognition from the jury are sent to competitions abroad with expenses covered by Nardis.

Additionally, in 2010-11, it successfully completed the IPMN EU Civil Society Project.

Since its establishment, Nardis has opened its stage to young jazz musicians and groups, providing an environment for these young artists to develop while helping them create their own audience and contributing to the sustainability of jazz music and its audience. Nardis is planning organizations to reach broader audiences and cities outside Istanbul with quality music concerts. In this context, it plans cooperation and support with festivals organized by local governments in Istanbul. Work has begun on creating a “Jazz Museum” project to carry forward Nardis’s 20-year journey and Turkey’s previous jazz music heritage to future years.

Purpose and Subject

The purpose of the “Young Jazz Vocal” competition organized by Nardis Jazz Club is to help young people involved in music, either amateur or professional, in Turkey to develop in jazz vocals and make their voices heard, enable them to perform on international stages, and encourage them.

Selection

Musicians participating in the “Young Jazz Vocal” Auditions must apply to Nardis Jazz Club as specified in these guidelines. Evaluations will be made through a two-stage selection process based on these applications. Those selected by the jury from among the initial applications will be invited to the second-stage performance auditions. Jazz vocalists who are deemed successful by the jury after the evaluation concert, which will be open to the public and consist of live performances by candidates, will receive the awards explained above.

Participation Requirements

1. Musicians must not be older than 30 years,
2. Candidates must be Turkish citizens,
3. Application files and demo recordings must be submitted via email (focan@nardisjazz.com)
4. Candidates’ application files must include:
   • Demo recordings in MP3 format,
   • [This demo should include 3 different jazz styles (swing, latin, blues, funk, etc.)]
   • Brief resume, phone number, and email addresses must be included. All applicants are considered to have fully accepted the provisions in these guidelines. Submitted application files and demo recordings will not be returned.

Required Qualities for Demo Submissions

1. Only applications in classical/contemporary jazz and its sub-disciplines, blues, contemporary genres with blues and jazz interaction (for example; jazz-fusion, jazz-rock, jazz funk, soul, acid-jazz, latin jazz, pop-jazz, groove, electronic jazz, urban, r&b, jazz-blues, etc.) will be evaluated. Applications outside of jazz and its derivatives will not be considered.
2. The repertoire to be performed in demos, preliminary eliminations, and finals can consist of candidates’ original compositions or reinterpretations of existing works.
3. The demo must be in MP3 format.
4. Demo recordings must consist of 3 pieces. Since recording quality is not a selection criterion in the evaluation of demos, it is not necessary for recordings to be made in a professional studio. It will be sufficient for the pieces played and instruments to be audible at an understandable level.

Technical Requirements

Vocalists will be provided with an opportunity to rehearse with their accompanying group at Nardis at a pre-determined time before the competition. Those participating from outside Istanbul are responsible for their own transportation and accommodation expenses.