Welcome to the Jazz Ensemble page!

 

Important Financial Information

  1. All application fees must be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order by the associated entry deadline.
  2. Applications without a payment on file by the first deadline will automatically be charged the second deadline fee.
  3. Applications without a payment on file by the second deadline will have the opportunity to pay emergency deadline fees.
  4. Applications without a payment on file by the emergency deadline will be removed from consideration for the ensemble.

Additional Information:

  • All Emergency Fees must be paid by credit card only.
  • Purchase orders are a valid form of payment for entries.
  • Schools paying by PO will be invoiced by the OkMEA Office and final payment will be due upon receipt.

Vendor Information
OkMEA
Attn: Jazz Ensemble
PO Box 886
Muskogee, OK, 74402

Click here to download a W9 for your financial office!

Jazz Ensemble Conductor – Scotty Barnhart

Two-time Grammy Award winner with the Basie Orchestra, Scotty Barnhart is
an acclaimed jazz trumpeter, leader, composer, arranger, educator, author and
now in his twentieth year with the legendary Count Basie Orchestra has been appointed as their new director. When Scotty Barnhart is not touring with The Count Basie Orchestra or teaching at Florida State University, he performs with
his own quintet-sextet and lectures and demonstrates at schools, colleges, universities, conferences around the world, spreading jazz music to ensure its future for others to explore and enjoy.

Student Eligibility

Students must be a member in good standing of their high school music organization. They have to attend all rehearsals and performances of their OkMEA All-State organization and abide by the Rules of Conduct. Students must be eligible academically under OSSAA guidelines at the time of auditions and at the time of the festival.

Deadlines and Fees

First Deadline – September 13, 2025
– $20.00 per student
Second Deadline – September 20, 2025
– $45.00 per student
Emergency Deadline – Contact Jazz Chair
– $100.00 per student

Audition Dates

November 22, 2025
Midwest City High School

 

Horns, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Vibes

Audition Material can be purchased directly through the OKJE website.

Etudes for the Developing Jazz Musician
by Will Campbell
Etude No. 1
Stonemill Music

Lead Trumpet:
Lead Trumpet will continue to be its own instrument category.

Bass Trombone:
The Bass Trombone will continue to be its own instrument category.

Drummers

Gordon Goodwin Play-Along Series Volume 4
That’s How We Roll, p125, measures 1-58 (stop on the ‘and of 4’ in m58)
Demo 17 Play-Along 20

Drummers will also play sixteen bars each of the following styles:
Funk at 110 bpm
Swing at 110 bpm
Double-Time Swing at 220 bpm
Double-Time Swing Trading Fours (four bars of time, four bars of solo) at 220 bpm
Samba at 220 bpm
Jazz Waltz at 220 bpm

Drummers will play each sixteen-bar phrase in prescribed order, as one continuous etude, then after a short pause, play eight bars of swing ballad with brushes at 80 bpm

The audition site will provide a drum set. Students who want to use their own drum set need to set-up in the band room by 8:00am on the day of the audition.

Sight-Reading and Improv

Sight-Reading:
All students will sight-read following their prepared audition

Improvisation:
An optional improvisation audition can add up to give additional points to the overall score. Interested students will play two, twelve-bar blues choruses in the key of F. The accompaniment source for the audition is from Maiden Voyage, Vol. 54, track #10 Tootsie (Jamey Aebersold, Inc., www.jazzbooks.com). This separate audition is optional but strongly encouraged. Those who are auditioning on multiple ‘like’ instruments will only improvise once.

OCDA Choir Rhythm Section

The selected rhythm section for the jazz ensemble will also perform for the All-OCDA High School Jazz Chorus at the OCDA conference, held the week before the OkMEA Conference in January.

GTOMS Registration Information

Entries are not considered complete without a payment on file in G-TOMS.

  1. Go to G-TOMS to register as a director (Director Registration Video)
    1. Use the email address you prefer for communication throughout the All-State process
    2. As you are registering, you will be prompted to enter your NAfME membership number
      1. Your membership must remain current throughout the All-State process (through January)
      2. Messages will pop-up if your membership is about to expire or will expire during the All-State process
    3. If your school does not appear on the list OR your school is assigned to the wrong district, please contact David Gorham at 918.384.9731
  2. Once you are registered with G-TOMS, you may enter your students individually OR send students the student link to complete their registration (Entry Procedures Video)
    1. Please note that a Parent/Guardian Name and email will be required for all students auditions for All-State
    2. Do NOT put your name and email address as the Parent/Guardian
    3. All Emergency Entries will need to be sent to the All-State Jazz Ensemble Chair who will enter them in G-TOMS.
  3. You have three options to pay for your entries–credit card, purchase order, or check (Payment Procedures Video)
    1. If you are paying by purchase order or check, save a picture of the check or PO to your computer
    2. You will be prompted to upload a picture of your check or PO when using these forms of payment
      1. Once you upload the picture of your check, MAIL it to the OkMEA Office (Attn: Children’s Chorus)
      2. Purchase orders do not need to be mailed to the OkMEA Office
    3. OkMEA will bill all schools who did not pay by credit card after the second deadline.
      1. If you do not receive your invoice, please contact Jay Huffer at [email protected] 
    4. All Emergency Entries will need to be paid by credit card on G-TOMS

Mail checks to:
OkMEA
Attn: Jazz Ensemble Auditions
PO Box 886
Muskogee, OK 74402

Matt Lollman, All-State Jazz Ensemble Chair

Brent Baldwin, All-State Jazz Ensemble Assistant