Preview: The Monreira Project (Mozambique) Receives Top Honours at Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 Competition at The Venetian Macao

13 Oct 2014

The Monreira Project (Mozambique) Receives Top Honours at Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 Competition at The Venetian Macao

Old Style Sextet (USA) and The Northern Governors (Finland) runners-up AfroJazz (Brazil) wins Special Recognition Award

(Macao, Oct. 13, 2014) – The Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 came to an energetic and successful close Sunday night, crowning the winners of its exciting Jazz & Blues competition, as crowds of enthusiastic revellers enjoyed the festive Mardi Gras atmosphere at The Venetian® Macao's lagoon area. Supported by The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, the festival awarded four talented winning bands each a share of the competition's HK$550,000 cash prize pool.

From Thursday through Saturday, judges Xu Kui, Antonio Cabrita, Michael Cloeren and Tomos Griffiths watched the competition's 12 finalists each perform 30-minute sets in front of appreciative festival audiences, assessing them on style, improvisation, technique, musicality, performance and audience response. Six bands were then shortlisted to perform a half-hour set each in Sunday's final round of competition: Trio Ricardo Special (Hungary), AfroJazz (Brazil), The Monreira Project (Mozambique), The Northern Governors (Finland), Soulmate (India) and Old Style Sextet (USA).

The four winners of the Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 competition are:

First Place - HK$250,000

The Monreira Project (Mozambique)

Second Place - HK$150,000

Old Style Sextet (USA)

Third Place - HK$100,000

The Northern Governors (Finland)

Special Recognition Award - HK$50,000

AfroJazz (Brazil)

"These incredibly talented musicians played their hearts out during this competition, helping deliver a superb weekend of entertainment for our festival visitors,” said Ciaran Carruthers, Senior Vice President and Director of Venetian and Plaza Operations, Sands China Ltd. “The response from visitors has been amazing, and bringing the popular Mardi Gras theme back to The Venetian Macao this year was a big hit. As they do in New Orleans, we really let the good times roll at this festival, and we hope everyone enjoyed the outstanding musical performances and exciting live entertainment throughout the weekend. This is what an unforgettable integrated resort experience is all about.”

The 12 finalists represented an impressive pool of international talent from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil, India, Portugal, France, the Philippines, Mozambique, the U.S., Finland and Hungary. Highly skilled musicians from around the world sent in more than 180 applications to the competition's selection committee; the diversity and quality of the applicants made the decision to choose 12 finalists a tough one – setting the stage for an exciting and entertaining competition that played out in front of enthusiastic crowds of festival attendees.

The judging committee comprised:

Xu Ku — Representative of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government. Xu Ku is a saxophone and oboe professional, as well as a lecturer of the same at the Macao Conservatory. He also organizes a jazz team for the Macao Conservatory while training local jazz talent.

Antonio Cabrita — Jazz pianist, previous Director of the Macau Jazz Club and the Macau Jazz Festival, and now a band promoter. He recorded the soundtrack for the movie “The Bicycle Man” by Ivo Ferreira, which received an award for best soundtrack at the Malaposta Festival in Lisbon.

Michael Cloeren — Founder and producer of the Pennsylvania Blues Festival, Cloeren is a highly respected blues festival presenter and booker. He also produces a “Women in the Blues” series for colleges and universities.

Tomos Griffiths — Creative Director of Entertainment for Venetian Macau Limited. His stage experience includes having performed the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Phantom of the Opera.”

Sands China Ltd. is committed to bringing a wide variety of exciting and diverse entertainment to its integrated resorts. The Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival not only creates memorable experiences for visitors and locals, but also provides a great platform for cross-cultural musical exchange.

For high resolution photos, please access one of the following:

Via Web browser:

http://tinyurl.com/Cotai-Jazz-Blues-2014

Via FTPS software:

FTPS location: vmlftp.venetian.com.mo

Port: 990

User name: VEN-PRMedia

Password: PR-Media

(case sensitive)

Folder: PR-Media/Events/Cotai Jazz Blues 2014

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About The Venetian® Macao

Opened in 2007, The Venetian® Macao is Macao's first integrated resort featuring stunning replicas of the famous canals and architectural icons of Venice, Italy. The Venetian Macao features 3,000 suites, 1.2 million square feet (111,000 square metres) of convention and meeting facilities as well as a 15,000-seat Cotai Arena designed for world-class sports events and electrifying entertainment. The Venetian Macao is also home to the unique, 1,800-seat luxury Venetian Theatre, hosting the best in international and Chinese entertainment; more than 30 renowned restaurants; TAIVEXMALO Day Hospital & Spa; the incredibly fun QUBE indoor playground and more than 300 retailers at Shoppes at Venetian. Outdoor recreation areas include swimming pools and cabanas and a mini-golf course.

For more information, please visit www.venetianmacao.com.

About the Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival Competition

The Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival competition is in its third year, open to all international jazz and blues performers – individual artists, vocalists and instrumentalists alike, as well as groups of up to six musicians.

Reviewed by a panel of high-profile, industry-leading music veterans, 12 successful entrants enjoy a package of flights, ferry tickets, accommodation and food & beverage sponsored by The Venetian Macao. Spanning the four-day festival, the competition features a chance to take home part of a cash prize pool of HK$550,000.

First Place: HK$250,000

Second Place: HK$150,000

Third Place: HK$100,000

Special Recognition Award: HK$50,000

For images and information on the finalists visit: http://en.cotaistrip.com/macau-shows/cotai-jazz-and-blues-2014.html

Details of the event are as follows:

Date: Oct. 9-12, 2014

Venue: Outdoor lagoon area, just outside the main lobby of The Venetian Macao

Hours: Thursday-Friday, Oct. 9-10: 6 p.m. to midnight

Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 11-12: 1 p.m. to midnight

Oct. 12 (11:30 p.m.) Jazz and Blues competition winners announcement

Admission: Free