The only constraint placed in this sense by the Regulations is that the soloist or group is free from record or publishing contracts in progress at the time of registration (see articles 2 and 4). Nothing prevents the participants from having been under contract in the past, as long as the contractual obligations do not fall on the pieces presented and on the eventual performance for which this Contest is aimed.

Are these years completed or still to be completed? Individual musicians who meet the following characteristics may participate in the Contest: a) soloists aged 18 or over at the time of registration, or who have already reached the age of majority at the time of registration; b) soloists aged 28 or younger at the time of registration, or who have not yet turned 29 at the time of registration. In the case of groups, the age limit refers to each individual member of the band, according to the specifications above.

For the 2024 edition, the participation of foreigners is only permitted under certain conditions. Italian nationality is required for at least one of the members of the band , therefore it is possible for foreign citizens to participate in the Contest only in bands and not as soloists, making sure that at least one of the members of the band is of Italian nationality.

No, the winning groups of previous editions, in the same formation, are not allowed to participate in the Contest. On the other hand, the participation in the Contest of individual artists who have already participated in previous editions is allowed, provided that they are in different formations and provided that the songs uploaded are different from those presented previously, always in compliance with all the other participation criteria provided for by the regulation.

No, an artist cannot participate in more than one formation at the same time.

For an optimal evaluation by the Jury, it is suggested to upload pieces of between 3 and 10 minutes in length.

Competitors can present both unpublished songs and songs already recorded or published before the presentation to the Contest. Each group, by registering, declares the authorship of the pieces and/or arrangements presented. The originality of the tracks is not a mandatory condition: jazz standards and arrangements of already known pieces are accepted, even if it is advisable to also upload original projects and/or pieces, because this characteristic will be positively evaluated by the Juries.

During loading, the user will be guided step by step from the control panel, with feedback messages to signal the lack of one or the other element. The band profile will only be visible on the site once all content has been entered correctly. A notification – followed by a confirmation email – will signal that the procedure was successful.

The technical jury is made up of musicians and experts; further information is available on this site, on the Juries page.

The artistic jury, chaired by Stefano Bragatto, Director of Radio Monte Carlo , is made up of musicians, record producers and experts; further information is available on this site, on the Juries page.

The technical jury will express its preference among all the members, identifying the 9 finalists who will perform at Umbria Jazz (together with the 10th finalist selected by the popular jury). The artistic jury, on the other hand, will evaluate the ten finalists live during the Festival, decreeing the absolute winner.

The popular jury is open to all. Simply register on the website www.conadjazzcontest.it by entering an email address and a unique mobile phone number (the latter subjected to an SMS verification process), which will be used solely and exclusively for purposes connected and instrumental to the Contest ( for details, please refer to the Privacy Policy uploaded at www.conadjazzcontest.it/privacy). Each member of the popular jury will be able to express a maximum of n. 10 votes throughout the duration of the event.

Yes, the popular jury will be able to express its preference to identify 1 of the 10 finalists, by voting on the website www.conadjazzcontest.it (see Regulations, art. 5, point 1b). Voting by the popular jury will be open from May 30th at 11.00 (Central European Time) and closed at 23.59 on 9th June 2024 (Central European Time). Each registered user will be able to express their preference through a single vote system (one band, one vote), expressing up to a maximum of 10 votes (for the same band or for different bands). At the close of voting, the single group or soloist with the most votes, in addition to entering the shortlist of 10 finalists, will win the prize of the popular jury (see Regulations, art. 6 point 3).

The absolute winner of the competition will be chosen by the artistic jury chaired by Stefano Bragatto, who will evaluate the artists live during the performances at Umbria Jazz (in Perugia, finalists will perform from Monday 15 July to Wednesday 1 7 July 2024), according to a calendar that will be defined in relation to the official program of the event). The jurors will evaluate the competitors on the basis of the originality of the project and the technical and artistic quality of the execution.

If the finalist identified by the popular jury coincides with one of those chosen by the technical jury, the technical jury will identify a further name. However, the technical jury reserves the right to identify fewer than 9 finalists if it is not satisfied with the technical and artistic quality of the proposals received.

Should the winner of the popular jury coincide with that of the artistic jury, the prize of the popular jury will be awarded to the second most voted group or soloist by the online community.

All 10 finalists will win the opportunity to perform within the official program of Umbria Jazz  (Perugia, 12 -21 July 2024). During the performances they will be evaluated by the artistic jury chaired by Stefano Bragatto, who will decree the absolute winner. All the finalists will also receive an artist pass at the Festival Office which will allow, among other things, to attend the Umbria Jazz concerts that will take place at the Santa Giuliana Arena.

The 1st place winner of the artistic jury will win: a cash prize worth 5,000 euros; inclusion in the program of the “Italian Jazz for L’Aquila”, one of the largest jazz events in our country; a concert tour of the winner in the best jazz clubs in Italy; he will be invited to play in L’Aquila on the occasion of the “Italian Jazz for L’Aquila” (August 31st-September 1st 2024), one of the biggest jazz events in our country; finally it will be included in the lineup of UJ Weekend (Terni, 12 -15 September 2024 ) and Umbria Jazz Winter #31 (Orvieto, 28 December 2024 – 1 January 2025 ). Further information is available on this site, on the Awards page.

The one with the most votes from the popular jury will instead receive a voucher worth 500 euros to spend by the end of 2024 in a professional recording studio (of the winner’s choice) for the recording of their album.

The shortlist of the 10 selected groups (9 from the Technical Jury, 1 from the Popular Jury) will be communicated directly to the finalists – following the closure of the online voting – through the contacts indicated during registration for the Contest. The list will then be published on the website www.conadjazzcontest.it and on the Facebook page. The same procedure will be followed in the next phase to announce the classification and the relative calendar of exhibitions.

The names of the finalists and winners will be published on the website www.conadjazzcontest.it, on the Facebook pages and on www.umbriajazz.com. The promoters also reserve the right to make the names of finalists and winners public through communication actions after the closure of the Contest itself aimed at reporting the results of the initiative and promoting the programming of the Umbria Jazz festival (see article 7 of the Regulations).

To formalize the victory and for communication needs, each selected group will have to fill in and send to the organization some materials that will be sent by the Contest Secretariat ([email protected]) at the time of the victory announcement. Specifically: short bio/curriculum of the group (max. 1,500 characters); high resolution photos; for the purposes of the exhibition, stage plot, technical data sheet and track list.

Which pieces will the finalist groups have to perform? Those proposed for the contest or a wider repertoire? The duration and the schedule of the exhibition (which will have an indicative length of 20 minutes) must be agreed by the finalists with the artistic direction of the Festival. However, the pieces uploaded to the website www.conadjazzcontest.it at the time of application must necessarily be performed. Umbria Jazz will contact the groups for agreements in this sense when defining the official program of the event.

With the exception of piano, drums and double bass, the finalists will be asked to present themselves with the instruments necessary for their performance (see art. 10 of the Regulations). However, more precise agreements in this sense will be made with the Festival’s production when the program is defined, also in relation to the instrumentation necessary for the soloist/group.

No. The date and place of the performances at Umbria Jazz – from Monday 15 July to Wednesday 17 July 2024 – are functional to guaranteeing the artistic jury the opportunity to hear all 10 finalists, thus identifying the winner. The program communicated to the artists will therefore be considered closed and not subject to change.

Yes. In the face of proven impediments related to the date of the assigned performance, the substitution of members of the group is allowed (with respect to what is indicated at the time of registration), in any case to an extent less than 50 percent of the line-up. For example, a band made up of 3 elements can substitute at most one. Substitute members will also have to respect the same age constraints as for members.

No, the finalists will perform for free.

By accepting the Contest regulations, the finalists authorize the audio/video recordings made during the event, the diffusion of images and audio of the performances and the creation of additional phonographic and paper supports containing their songs (see art. 14 of the regulation). The right of the author/s of the song/songs to the intellectual property and to its registration with the SIAE at their own care, cost, burden and responsibility remains unaffected.

The organization will take care of the travel expenses – also providing for internal transfers (return shuttle to the concert locations) – and the hospitality of the 10 finalists in Perugia (accommodation for all components for 2 nights, in the day of the exhibition and the day before). The organization will contact the finalists to organize the trip, taking care of the necessary reservations directly. Requests for refunds will not be accepted.

No. The organization will guarantee the return trip (by plane or train) of all members of a band from the same city and on the same date. Any extra transfers compared to those described (e.g. departing from a different airport or on a different date) will be charged to the group.

Meals will be paid for by the finalists, with the exception of one meal to be taken on the day of the concert at Umbria Jazz.

In case of renunciation of one or more groups to the exhibition, the Technical Jury reserves the right to identify substitutes. By giving up the performance at Umbria Jazz, the artists give up the other prizes provided. The Popular Jury prize will be an exception, in order to respect the wishes of the voting public: in the event that the winner of the Popular Jury abandons the performance at Umbria Jazz, the right of the group to the voucher worth 500 euros for the recording of one’s own album (but not for the other foreseen prizes).

The calendar of subsequent performances is still being defined, but will roughly include this time frame: “Il jazz per l’Aquila (l’Aquila, August 31st-September 1st 2024), UJ Weekend (Terni, 12 -15 September 2024), Umbria Jazz Winter #31 (Orvieto, 28 December 2024 – 1 January 2025) and some dates in selected jazz clubs between autumn 2024 and spring 2025. The organization will inform musicians well in advance about the scheduled dates and any other necessary information (transfers, food and accommodation, necessary tools, sound check and set up, etc.).

No, the winner will perform for free, while travel, board and lodging expenses will be borne by the organization.