Monk jazz competition heads west

The Thelonious Monk Institute is bringing its International Jazz Competition, which has launched the careers of such artists as Joshua Redman, Marcus Roberts, Jane Monheit, Jacky Terrasson and Tierney Sutton, to the West Coast for the first time.

The 21st installment of the competition will take place Oct. 28 and 29, with the semifinals at UCLA and the finals the next day at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

“The only time we’ve ever left our home at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,” said Institute President Tom Carter, “was in 1992, when we went to New York City for the drums competition. This year, our hall, the Eisenhower Theatre, is under renovation, so we thought, ‘What a great opportunity to take the competition to Los Angeles.’ ”

This year’s trumpet event brings 10 players -- all under the age of 30, with no recordings under their own names -- to UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall on Oct. 28 for the semifinals.

“That program,” Carter said, “will be free to the public. The only event we do that we sell tickets for is the competition finals, which is one of our major fundraisers.”

The finals will take place Oct. 29 at 5 p.m., with a stellar panel of jazz trumpeters -- Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert, Terence Blanchard, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove and Hugh Masekela -- judging the three finalists.

“In addition,” Carter said, “the second half of our competition finals is always a tribute to something, and this year we are doing a tribute to Herbie Hancock, our chairman. Herbie’s remarkable career will be celebrated by a lineup that includes Sting, Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Chris Botti, Wayne Shorter, Terence Blanchard and Roy Hargrove, with others still signing on.”