Coastal to host international competition for bass players
Open to contestants of all ages, this competition is designed to find new up-and-coming solo bass guitar players who perform jazz, rock, country, bebop, fusion, new age or blues, who are not already signed to a recording contract.
Created by internationally renowned bass player Steve Bailey, the competition will determine four finalists who will perform before a panel of international musicians. Judges/panelists in addition to Bailey include Victor Wooten, John Patitucci, Anthony Jackson and Gregg Bissonette, all accomplished and influential stars of the jazz world. The four finalists will be selected from a semi-final pool of approximately 15-20 contestants to perform at Coastal.
The winner of the competition will receive more than $10,000 in cash and prizes, plus the opportunity to perform with Bailey and Wooten's group, Bass Extremes. Cash and prizes will also be awarded to second through fourth place contestants, as well as five honorable mentions.
Bailey is artist-in-residence in Coastal's Department of Performing Arts. Information on how to audition for the International Contemporary Bass Competition can be found at www.solobasscompetition.com. Tickets to the finalist competition concert are $15 per person, and will be available as of Aug. 15 at the Wheelwright Auditorium Box Office or by calling 843-349-2502.
For more information, contact Sandy Smith, executive director of the competition, at 843-349-4129, or by email at ssmith1@coastal.edu.