JLCO Selection Procedures and Substitute Roster

When a vacancy exists for a position as a regular member of the JLCO and when the Managing and Artistic Director deems it necessary to fill the vacancy with a regular member, such position vacancy shall be posted and the process of recruitment and selection shall occur in accordance with the following procedures:

1. Posting for Positions for Regular Members of JLCO:  Jazz at Lincoln Center (“JALC”) will publicly post positions for regular members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (“JLCO”).  Positions will be submitted for posting, at a minimum, to The International Musician, the local American Federation of Musicians (AFM) newsletters (if any exist) in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans, Juilliard School, University of Miami Frost School of Music, Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, University of North Texas College of Music, Michigan State University College of Music, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University at Bloomington, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Oberlin College, University of Southern California, and University of California at Los Angeles and will be posted on JALC’s website.  Each posting will include a deadline by which all initial application materials must be received by the listed contact person at JALC.  Positions will be posted at least 45 days in advance of the deadline for submission of all initial applications.

Postings will include job descriptions for each position that will set forth at least the minimum requirements of the position including  performance and touring requirements, professional experience, technical requirements and musical skills and knowledge.  

1. Outreach:  Because JALC is committed to promoting diversity: 

(a) JALC will send a personalized communication to the Chair (or similar position) of the music department of each academic institution listed in Section I, (i) inviting them to encourage qualified candidates to apply to fill a position vacancy for regular membership in the JLCO, and (2) setting forth JALC’s interest in identifying a diverse pool of Candidates.    

(b) JALC will use its best efforts to send a personalized communication to each jazz musician, or leaders of jazz bands where applicable, who has performed in JALC Season performances at Rose Theater, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola or in the Appel Room in the prior year, (1) directing their attention to the job posting on the JALC website, and (2) setting forth its interest in identifying a diverse pool of Candidates.  

1. Initial Application Process:  Candidates will be required to provide a completed employment application, substantially in the form attached as Exhibit A to these Selection Procedures.  Candidates will also be required to submit a recording in audio format, of 12 to 15 minutes in total length, of improvisations in each of the following styles: (a) New Orleans jazz (in the style of Jelly Roll Morton); (b) Bebop, Big Band (in the style of Dizzy Gillespie); and (c) three additional performances selected from among the following styles: Jazz Age Big Band (in the style of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and Duke Ellington of the 1920s); 1930s Swing Orchestra (in the style of Benny Goodman, the Claude Thornhill Orchestra, Glenn Miller Arrangements and Count Basie Old Testament); 1950s jazz (in the evolving style of Duke Ellington, Count Basie New Testament and Gerry Mulligan); 1960s jazz (in the style of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus; Dave Brubeck, and Miles Davis); 1970s jazz (in the style of Chick Corea, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis); and 1980s jazz (in the style of Wynton Marsalis Quintet and the evolving styles of JLCO).  JALC will request that Candidates not submit recordings that contain components that identify the Candidate (such as voice).

Candidates will also be asked to submit examples of their arrangements and original compositions, if available.

1. Initial Screening Process:  Only Candidates who submit the required initial application materials when due will be considered for the Initial Screening Process.  Materials will be initially reviewed by the Vice President of Human Resources and Office Administration and/or his/her designee(s) (collectively, the “HR Department”).  The HR Department shall redact all identifying information (e.g., name, gender, race, contact information) and prior salary information from the application materials (i.e., applications, recordings, compositions and arrangements), and assign each Candidate a unique ID number to be used exclusively throughout the Initial Screening Process and the Screened Audition Process.  During these processes, no one outside of the HR Department shall have access to the unredacted application materials.  The HR Department will then forward the redacted applications to the Vice President of Concerts and Touring and/or his/her designee(s) (collectively, “Concerts and Touring Department”) and will forward the recordings, compositions and arrangements to no fewer than two regular members of the JLCO, including at least one member of the relevant section (with rhythm to be considered a section) (the “Selection Committee").  All application materials will be reviewed within a four-week time period to be determined by the Concerts and Touring Department and the Selection Committee, but commencing no earlier than the deadline to submit application materials has passed.  During the Initial Screening Process, Candidates who do not, in the judgment of the Concerts and Touring Department and/or the Selection Committee, substantially meet the requirements of the position will be eliminated from the Selection Procedure.  All Candidates from the Initial Screening Process will be notified by the HR Department by mail and/or electronic communication if their candidacy has been rejected or if they have been accepted into the Screened Audition Process.
2. Screened Audition Process:  The HR Department shall be responsible for scheduling and administering the Screened Audition Process, including having the exclusive responsibility of communicating with Candidates and explaining the Screened Audition Process to them.

The HR Department shall send Candidates in the Screened Audition Process a repertoire for the Screened Audition Process no less than one week prior to the audition (the “Repertoire”).  The repertoire for the auditions will be selected by the Managing and Artistic Director.  Specific selections from the Repertoire to be heard during the Screened Audition Process shall be made by the Selection Committee immediately before that day's auditions. Candidates shall be made aware of the selections from the Repertoire immediately before their auditions. 

During the Screened Audition Process, all Candidates will be identified by ID number only and will be completely obscured by a screen.  No reference will be made to the Candidate's sex, age, race, background, experience or any other identifiable characteristics; Candidates will be asked not to audibly speak, breathe or clear their throats into the microphone and to wear quiet shoes.  Screened auditions will be conducted in front of  the Selection Committee, and will include selection(s) from the Repertoire.  Candidates will also be required to improvise in multiple styles of jazz to be determined during the audition. The decision as to the specific Candidates (including the number of) who will advance to the Open Live Auditions will be made by the Selection Committee, all members of which will be asked to provide their opinions verbally concerning all Candidates before any decision is made.  All Candidates from the Screened Audition Process will be notified by mail and/or electronic communication if their candidacy has been rejected or if they have been selected for the Open Live Auditions.

1. Open Live Auditions:  Open Live Auditions will include playing with some or all regular members of the JLCO for a period determined at the discretion of the Managing and Artistic Director and will include, but not be limited to, playing selections from the Repertoire.  During the Open Live Auditions, regular members of the JLCO shall receive unredacted copies of the Candidates’ applications for their review and use in any interview process they may decide to conduct, but not prior salary information.  

The members of the JLCO who participated in the Open Live Auditions will make the final decision for selection to fill a position vacancy for regular membership in the JLCO, but only after each participant has been asked to provide their opinions verbally concerning all Candidates.  All Candidates from the Open Live Auditions will be notified by the HR Department by mail and/or electronic communication if their candidacy has been rejected or if they have been  selected to fill the vacancy.  Candidates who are not selected to fill a regular vacancy following the Open Live Auditions may be offered a position on the substitute roster at the discretion of the Managing and Artistic Director.

Any candidate selected to fill a position vacancy as a regular member of the JLCO shall be subject to a one-year probationary period.

1. Maintenance of a Substitute Roster:  Concurrent with the establishment of these Selection Procedures, JALC has published a roster of substitute musicians to be used beginning in the 2015-2016 Season which is attached as Exhibit B.  Beginning in the 2015-2016 Season, the JLCO will maintain a substitute roster of at least two positions for the trombone section, and at least two substitutes for each of the baritone saxophone, alto saxophone/flute/clarinet, tenor saxophone/clarinet, trumpet and lead trumpet positions, and at least one substitute each for the bass, drums and piano positions.  JLCO will attempt to select musicians for the substitute roster to the extent that the number of substitute musicians falls below the applicable minimum number; selections to fill those positions on the substitute roster will be made at the conclusion of each season, except to the extent that a musician is selected for the substitute roster following the Open Live Audition process for a position as a regular member of the orchestra.  

Beginning in the 2016-2017 Season, the selection procedure for substitute musicians will be as follows: (1) posting of vacancies for substitute musicians as described in Section I; (2) completion of the Initial Application Process described in Section III; (3) completion of the Initial Screening Process described in Section IV; and (4) completion of the Open Live Audition process described in Section VI, with a Repertoire to be provided at least one week prior to the audition and selections from the Repertoire to be provided immediately before the audition. If a qualified candidate is not found through the use of this selection procedure at any time, JALC is not obligated to add a substitute musician and may re-post the position at the end of the following Season.  

All placements on the substitute roster will be for one Season.  At the end of each Season, the Managing and Artistic Director may re-appoint the musician to the substitute roster or remove the musician from the substitute roster.   

JALC’s may continue to maintain a substitute roster, and to utilize the selection procedure outlined in this Section, after the conclusion of the 2020-2021 Season, but shall not be obligated to do so.

VIII.    Utilization of the Substitute Roster:  The Managing and Artistic Director has discretion to call on musicians from the substitute roster to fill a substitute role, for performances and/or rehearsals of the JLCO, in the order he selects.  JLCO may call on musicians who are not on the substitute roster to the extent that (i) those on the substitute roster are unavailable or unwilling to fulfill the requirements of the substitute role; (ii) those on the substitute roster do not respond in the timeframe required to fill the substitute role; (iii) the Managing and Artistic Director, in his artistic judgment, decides that based on the nature of the relevant performance, another musician is better suited to fill a substitute role; or (iv) there are other exigent circumstances.  In the event that a regular member of the JLCO is absent from one or more performances or rehearsals of the JLCO, the Managing and Artistic Director has discretion not to call any substitute musician to cover for the regular member’s absence.  

IX.    Nondiscrimination:  All decisions with respect to regular membership in the JLCO or with respect to substitute selection shall be made without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran status, marital status, unemployed status, disability or medical condition, union activity or membership or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.  JALC will include a statement of nondiscrimination in all of its job postings and on its website.

X.    Training:  JALC shall conduct an initial, three-hour mandatory training for all JLCO regular members and all JALC executives and/or staff involved in or responsible for the selection process on nondiscrimination, diversity, inclusion policies and practices, implicit bias, the history of diversity in jazz, and the use of the Selection Procedures outlined above; thereafter, JALC shall conduct such trainings on a periodic basis, at a minimum of once every two years.  

XI.    Recordkeeping:  The HR Department shall retain, for a period of at least three years, copies of all postings pursuant to Sections I and VII, outreach communications sent pursuant to Section II, and all application materials submitted pursuant to Sections III and VII, as well as all corresponding materials submitted pursuant to Section VII.  The HR Department shall also create and maintain for a period of at least three years records sufficient to show:  (a) the details of the disposition of all applications, including the stage of the Selection Procedures at which each Candidate was rejected, where applicable; (b) the identities of all JALC employees who participated at each stage of the Selection Procedures; (c) the dates on which musicians on the substitute roster were utilized; (d) the dates on which all position vacancies for membership in the JLCO occurred; and (e) the identities of all members of the JLCO.  Such records shall be created no later than 60 days after the event to be recorded.  The Vice President of Human Resources and Office Administration or his/her designee shall also provide an affirmation at the conclusion of each use of the Selection Procedures that the HR Department has complied with its obligations to redact and conceal identifying information concerning Candidates under the Selection Procedures.  Such records and affirmations shall be available for public inspection (subject to redaction of personal information of Candidates, such as names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and email addresses) upon reasonable notice by contacting the Vice President of Human Resources and Office Administration.

XII.    Modification of Procedures:  These Selection Procedures will remain in place until the earlier of (a) the completion of the 2020-2021 Season; and (b) the use of these Selection Procedures to fill five (5) vacancies for regular members of the JLCO (the “Expiration Date”).  Until the Expiration Date, these Selection Procedures may be modified only as necessary for ministerial or non-substantive purposes.  Following any such modifications, the Selection Procedures shall be posted on the JALC website within thirty (30) days.

Baritone Saxophone

Anthony Lustig

Carl Maraghi

Alto Saxophone/Flute/Clarinet

Erika Von Kleist

Kurt Bacher

Sharel Cassity

Tenor Saxophone/Clarinet

Anat Cohen

Dan Block

Julian Lee

Trombone

James Burton

Wayne Goodman

Eric Miller

Kalia Vandever

Trumpet

Mike Rodriguez

Bruce Harris

Lead Trumpet

Greg Gisbert

Tanya Darby

Frank Green

Liesl Whitaker

Piano

Adam Birnbaum

Helen Sung

Christian Sands

Bass

Russell Hall

Rodney Whitaker

Linda Oh

Drums

Ulysses Owens

Jerome Jennings

Allison Miller

Jason Marsalis