Xerox To Present First Annual Jazz Talent Competition

Rochester, NY (Top40 Charts/ Xerox Corporation) - Building on the growing momentum of Rochester's world-renowned jazz festival, Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) will present an 'American Idol' style music competition leading up to the 2010 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Dubbed 'Jazz Star: The Search for a New Sensation,' the talent show will raise money for a local youth program and - perhaps - catapult an unknown musician or group into jazz stardom.

'Jazz music is a language inspired by passion,' said Ed Gala, vice president, Global Experiential Marketing, Xerox Corporation. 'Couple that with the commitment from our community to inspire great musicians and Xerox believes the Jazz Star search could add some real emotion to an already stellar event.'

Jazz groups and solo artists can compete in the online talent showcase by paying a small fee and uploading a short video clip at https://www.RochesterJazzStar.com. The first round of online public votes will narrow the field to the top 10 semi-finalists. The second round will determine the five semi-finalists who will perform live at the Xerox Square Auditorium on Wed., June 9 - two nights before the festival officially kicks off. Finally, a panel of distinguished, independent judges will choose Rochester's first 'Jazz Star,' and the winner will receive $2,000 cash, recording time in a professional studio, and a CD with custom-designed cover that will be made available on Amazon.com and iTunes for a year.

Proceeds from the effort will benefit the City of Rochester Bureau of Recreation's Biz Kid$ Real, a program that teaches fundamental business development skills to children, including planning and research, production, sales and marketing, customer service and financial planning. A collaboration between the Rochester Public Market, the Credit Education Bureau and the Farmers Market Federation of New York, the Biz Kid$ Real program works with a team of youth to create and package a healthy snack made out of New York State produce. The group then sells the snack at the New York State Fair.

'Xerox never hesitates to go above and beyond,' said Marc Iacona, executive director and producer, Rochester International Jazz Festival, LLC. 'In addition to using its printing and personalization technologies to uniquely interact with our audience online and at the festival, Xerox will now power a pre-festival event that allows us to give back while celebrating jazz.'

Other sponsors of this event include 13WHAM-TV and CW-16 WHAM-DT, Mercury Print Productions Inc. and the Democrat and Chronicle. For complete rules and regulations or to enter and vote, visit https://www.RochesterJazzStar.com.