In 1999, 2003 and 2005 band leader Pablo Held won the 1st Prize in the "Jugend Jazzt" Competition of the state Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany. Up to now Pablo got the chance to work with the WDR Big Band and many more. In January 2009 the Trio won the Westfalen Jazz Preis 2009.
The EBU European Jazz Competition is cooperation between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Dutch Foundation of the European Jazz Competition and the North Sea Jazz Festival.
The competition promotes European jazz talent. Earlier this year the EBU (Geneva office of Euroradio) organized the qualifying rounds. Member (public broadcasting) organizations of the EBU of eighteen European countries nominated local jazz bands.
Earlier this year the EBU-jury, consisting of jazz producers from around Europe, selected in a blindfolded way four finalists. The fifth finalist is the winner of the Dutch Jazz competition 2008: Blazin' Quartet. Each finalist presents himself with a performance of 45 minutes. The EBU organizes radio broadcasts of the finals all over Europe.
The finalists compete for the SENA Award Best Group. The winner of this award will be offered a cheque of € 5,000. Further on, this group receives support in finding participation at essential international jazz festivals and other major music events. The winner of the NORMA Award for best soloist will receive an encouragement of € 2,500.
