The 7 Virtual Jazz Club’s Contest was the first and only fully online contest.
Launched in 2016, it held eleven editions with the participation of hundreds of musicians from all over the world and eleven panels of international judges, all industry experts including producers, musicians, broadcasters, and journalists. The contest brought to the forefront musicians who otherwise would never have reached the public and gave visibility to emerging artists.
Over the years, the contest has had several winners of outstanding artistic quality, including:
Nicole Johanntgen, Gilad Hekselman, David Helbock, Carlos Pascual Cippelletti, Simon Moullier, Camila Ronza, Tommaso Perazzo, Ariel Bart, Daniel Zamir, Bliss Quintet, Sandia band, NoSax NoClar, Shuteen Erdenebaatar, Benny Benack, Mauro Sigura, LRK trio, Max Bessesen, AB quartet, James Fernando, Alex Hitchcock.
As well as musicians who, even without winning, made a strong impression and contributed to the success of the contest, including:
The Jazz Fingers, Chuck Israels, Dave Binney, Miguel Andrès Tejada, Mattan Klein, Evan Taylor, ShekBand, Chai Masters, Davide Battista, Daniel Dyonisius, Tolvan Big Band, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Milan Verbist, Ella Zirina, Dave Meder, Sebastian De Urquiza, Diasporan Queen, Anthony Fung, Tuva Halse, David Luca, Sasha Berliner, Adama Lamoureux, Schemes, Thomas Mitrousis, Alex Laurenzi, Fabio Accardi, Yoonmi Choi, Aubrey Logan, Filippo Deorsola, Big Band CSMN, Claude Chalhoub, Federico Calcagno, Yagi Takayuki, Eva Slongo, Tom Ibarra, Esteban Herrera, Simone Waddell, Sophie Min, Samuel Eagles, Samuel Blaser, Tal Yahalom, Carlo Muscat, Ineza, Quentin Angus, Mike Casey, Shun Kumagai, Felix Lemerle, John Daversa, Ivo Neame, Gelin Hau, Manel Fortià, Pere Bujosa, Lorenzo Vitolo, Rina Yamazaki, Viktorija Gecyte, David Sirkis, Arthur Satyan, Philippe Petrucciani, Fabrizio Savino, Silvan Joray, Stephane Mercier, Yoav Eshed, Kasyfi Kalyasyena, Rachel Terrien, Juan Posso, Rachel Terrien, Lukas Gabric, Alex Weitz, Roni Etyan, Art Baden, Roella Oloro and many others.
Many of the contest’s winners had the opportunity to perform in our partner venues such as the Ferrara Jazz Club, jazzahead, Watermill Jazz Club and Ronnie Scott’s.
Over the editions, world-renowned judges have taken part, including:
Filippo Bianchi, Nick Davies, Fernando Rodriguez de Mondesert, Arnaldo de Souteiro, Dubi Lenz, Ares Tavolazzi, Clarence Chang, Aurelien Pitavy, Geila Zilkha, Chris Hodgkins, Julien Lepiece, Patricia Johnston, Jan Fritz, Gegè Telesforo, Howard Mandel, Peter Slavid, John Fenton, Peter H. Larsen, Mirian Arbalejo, Virgil Mihaiu, Jagadeesh Ramanujam Mudambi, Josef Woodard, Eddie Becton, Anna-Maria Nitschke, Jane Cornwell, Kornél Zipernovszky, Anna Russkevych, Hiroki Sugita, Jorge Grimaldos, Saso Popovski, Kodi Hutchinson, Vangelis Aragiannis, David R. Adler, Jason Lee, Francesco Bettini, Alain Derbez, Krzysztof Komorek, Boris Jourdain, Kathryn Shackleton, Beatriz Ortega, Ralph Gluch, Catherine Tackley, Aya Al Azab, Tor Hammerø, Wanda Majcher, Scott Gudell, Paul Pace, Debbie Mari, Pachi Tapiz, Inge de Pauw, Adam Simmons, Wilbert Sostre, Yoko Miwa and many others.
In 2024, the organizers decided to hold the final edition.
From the legacy of the 7VJC’s Contest, a music academy was founded in Ferrara, dedicated to advanced musical training and the development of young musicians.