The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is an annual high school jazz festival and competition that takes place every May at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) in New York City. The festival is aimed at encouraging young musicians to play music by Duke Ellington and other various jazz artists.[1] All festival events are housed at JALC's Frederick P. Rose Hall. The current festival director is Wynton Marsalis, renowned jazz trumpeter and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
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Every year, the festival offers a membership package to high school and secondary school band directors around North America and in American schools around the world. The essential components of the package consist of original Duke Ellington transcription charts, their corresponding recordings by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and other materials. In 2007, 5,400 transcribed Duke Ellington scores were distributed along with other reference materials to American and Canadian schools worldwide.
Each year, a maximum of six Duke Ellington jazz charts are released and auditioning bands must record three of them for competition entry. To submit an application for competition in the actual festival, band directors may choose to record their band playing the music under a written criteria. The audition recordings are then sent to Lincoln Center, where a judging panel picks the top fifteen bands through a blind screening process. Bands are also given the option of sending tapes in for 'comments only'. This means that the recordings will not be scored, but will have adjudicator comments sent back to the director for band improvement.
For the 2008-2009 year, Jazz at Lincoln Center released three Benny Carter charts, along with three other Ellington compositions. This was the first time in festival history that the repertoire was opened up to works composed by someone outside of Ellington's orchestra.[2] Similarly, for the 2010 festival, the repertoire will include three works from Mary Lou Williams.
To ensure fairer opportunities for bands new to the process, only the top five of the bands that participated in the past two years are selected to return. Once the finalists are announced, clinicians are sent to each of the finalist schools to provide an in-depth jazz workshop and refine the bands for competition.[3] The clinicians are usually members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
The competition also allows bands composed of students from multiple schools to enter as "conglomerate groups". These bands are grouped into Category C of the competition, and the winner of the Conglomerate Band Award receives a free workshop from a clinician from Jazz at Lincoln Center.[4]
In May, each finalist band goes to New York City to compete in the festival. Upon arrival at the center, every band is designated a festival mentor, who will act as a clinician and guide during the competition. Mentors are usually members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, but may not be the same as the in-school workshop clinicians. These mentors will help make final preparations with the bands before their performances.
On the first night of the festival, a jam session is held following a welcome banquet. A list of the songs to be played at the jam session is sent to schools beforehand to help participating students prepare. The song repertoire usually consists of ten popular jazz standards well-known to the jazz community. Students who wish to improve or show their improvisation skills are encouraged to attend. It is common during these jam sessions for members of JALC to perform with the students, though only one is actually designated as playing with them. Wynton Marsalis also participates, though randomly.
The competitive portion of the festival begins the next day, with the actual competition divided into three parts over a two-day period. Attendance to all three parts is free, but requires tickets. During each performance, an on-stage recording system records every band live. Later in the year, the recordings are posted on the festival website.[5]
Following all student performances, the top three bands are announced at Rose Theater. Each of the final three bands play at the festival concert later that night, along with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The concert is held at Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic. During each of the final bands' performances, Marsalis will usually play as a guest artist with all three bands. However, this was not the case in 2006 as Jon Faddis took this honor due to an apparent mouth problem with Marsalis. After the performances, an awards ceremony names the top three placing bands, and an honorable mention is given to the fourth place band. Outstanding soloists and horn sections are also recognized during the ceremony.
Beginning in early 2006, JALC announced the debut of the festival's first regional. The regional festivals are non-competitive and offer high school jazz bands of different levels the opportunity to play Ellington's music while also receiving professional feedback.[6]
Along with musical competition, the festival also offers an essay contest for jazz students. Students are asked to compose a 500-word essay that details their experience with jazz music. The winner of the competition is awarded a trip to New York to attend the festival and share their essay with finalist bands. The top three essay finalists are all awarded a variety of items, ranging from jazz recordings to musical scores.
The Essentially Ellington Competition was originally open only to high school bands east of the Mississippi, but in 1999 bands across the US and Canada were allowed to enter as well. Several bands from the Seattle area have been repeat finalists, including Roosevelt High School, Garfield High School, Shorewood High School, Newport High School, Edmonds-Woodway High School and Mountlake Terrace High school. Agoura High School, from Agoura Hills, California, has also produced seven finalist ensembles in six consecutive years.[7] The Lovett School from Atlanta, Georgia and their renowned Ellington Jazz Band has also made numerous appearances to the festival. Also, the Champaign Central High School jazz ensemble, out of Central Illinois, has been to the event twice since 2005, making their repeat performance in 2008. Along with St. Charles East, they are one of only two bands from Illinois to do so, and the only band from Illinois to do so within a 4 year span [1]. There has also been one Canadian band from River East Collegiate (in Winnipeg, Manitoba) to merit an invitation to the festival four times since '03.
In 2008 five of the fifteen bands to compete were from the greater Seattle area. Acknowledging the Northwest's dominance at Ellington, Marsalis said, his tongue only half in cheek, "I'm challenging you all to do something about Seattle and Washington."[8]
Here is a list of all bands, by state, that have competed.
Essentially Ellington Participants (# of schools from state/ # of accumulated years participating / # of awards)
Alabama (1, 1, 0)
Grissom High School – Huntsville, AL 1999
California (6, 22, 4)
Agoura High School – Agoura Hills, CA 2004, 2005, 2006 (H.M.), 2007 (2nd), 2009, 2011
Agoura High School (Jazz A) – Agoura Hills, CA 2007, 2008
Albany High School – Albany, CA 2010
Calabasas High School – Calabasas, CA 2003, 2006, 2009
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts – Los Angeles, CA 2003 (3rd), 2006, 2009
Rio Americano High School – Sacramento, CA 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010
SF Jazz All-Star High School Ensemble – San Francisco, CA 2002, 2003 (H.M.)
Colorado (1, 2)
Denver School of the Arts – Denver, CO 1999, 2004
Connecticut (4, 18, 6)
Connecticut Youth Jazz Workshop – Middletown, CT 2000, 2002
Greenwich High School – Greenwich, CT 1996, 2003, 2007
Guilford High School – Guilford, CT 1997, 1998 (H.M.), 1999, 2003
William H. Hall High School – West Harford, CT 1997 (3rd), 1998 (1st), 1999 (2nd), 2000 (1st), 2001 (H.M.), 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011
Florida (5, 15, 11)
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School for the Arts – West Palm Beach, FL 1998
Dillard Center for the Arts – Fort Lauderdale, FL 2010 (2nd), 2011 (1st)
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts – Jacksonville, FL 2004, 2006 (1st), 2008
Howard W. Blake High School – Tampa, FL 1999 (H.M.)
New World School of the Arts – Miami, FL 2000 (2nd), 2002 (3rd), 2003 (2nd), 2004 (H.M.), 2005 (1st), 2009 (H.M.), 2010, 2011 (H.M.)
Georgia (1, 4, 2)
The Lovett School – Atlanta, GA 2000, 2001 (3rd), 2004 (H.M.), 2010
Illinois (11, 13, 1)
Champaign Central High School – Champaign, IL 2005, 2008
DeKalb High School– DeKalb, IL 2008
Downers Grove South High School – Downers Grove, IL 2011
East St. Louis High School – East St. Louis, IL 2011
Lake Zurich High School – Lake Zurich, IL 2006
Naperville North High School – Naperville, IL 2000
St. Charles High School – St. Charles, IL 1998, 2000
St. Charles East High School – St. Charles, IL 2003
St. Charles North High School – St. Charles, IL 2004, 2011
Thornton Township High School – Harvey, IL 2002
Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage – Wheaton, IL 2001 (H.M.)
Indiana (1, 1, 0)
Southport High School – Indianapolis, IN 1999
Iowa (3, 4, 0)
North Scott High School – Eldridge, IA 2009
Sioux City North High School – Sioux City, IA 2006
Valley High School – West Des Moines, IA 1999, 2011
Kansas (1, 2, 0)
Shawnee Mission East High School – Prairie Village, KS 2001, 2006
Maryland (1, 1, 0)
Arundel High School – Gambrills, MD 2001
Massachusetts (5, 25, 10)
Foxboro High School – Foxboro, MA 1997 (1st), 1998 (2nd), 1999 (H.M.), 2000 (H.M.), 2001 (H.M.), 2002, 2003, 2004 (2nd), 2005, 2007 (3rd), 2009, 2010 (3rd), 2011
King Philip Regional High School – Wrentham, MA 2002, 2007 (H.M.), 2010
Lexington High School – Lexington, MA 1998 (H.M.), 1999, 2003, 2006
Medfield High School – Medfield, MA 2005, 2008
Wellesley High School – Wellesley, MA 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011
Michigan (1, 2, 0)
Interlochen Arts Academy – Interlochen, MI 1998, 2003
Missouri (1,1,0)
Grandview High School – Grandview, MO 2007
Nebraska (1, 1, 0)
Lincoln Southeast High School – Lincoln, NE 1999
New Jersey (1, 1, 0)
Parsippany High School – Parsippany, NJ 1996
New York (16, 32, 8)
315 All-Stars – Greater Syracuse, NY 2001 (1st), 2002, 2003 (H.M.)
Adlai E. Stevenson High School – Bronx, NY 1996 (3rd)
Brentwood High School – Brentwood, NY 1996, 1997
Canandaigua Academy – Canandaigua, NY 1996
Eastman Youth Jazz Ensemble – Rochester, NY 2003
Fieldston High School – Riverdale, NY 1996
Honeoye Falls-Lima High School – Honeoye Falls, NY 1996 (2nd), 1997 (H.M.), 2004, 2007
Honeoye Falls-Perinton Jazz Ensemble – Honeoye Falls, NY 1999
Kingston High School – Kingston, NY 2009
Laurens High School – Laurens, NY 1996
LaGuardia High School for Music, Art and the Performing Arts – New York, NY 1996 (1st), 1997 (2nd), 1998, 1999, 2000 (H.M.), 2002, 2005, 2010
Miller Place High School – Miller Place, NY 1996
Penfield High School – Penfield, NY 1997, 1998, 1999
Rochester Area High School Jazz Ensemble – Honeoye Falls, NY 2000
West Genesee High School – Camillus, NY 1997
Williamsville East High School – East Amherst, NY 1999, 2007
Ohio (2, 2, 0)
Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra – Columbus, OH 2002
Westerville South High School – Westerville, OH 2004
Oregon (1, 1, 0)
Arts & Communications Magnet Academy – Beaverton, OR 2005
Pennsylvania (3, 6, 1)
Pennsbury High School – Fairless Hills, PA 1997 (H.M.)
State College Area High School – State College, PA 1998, 1999, 2006, 2009
Upper Darby High School – Upper Darby, PA 1998
Rhode Island (1, 2, 0)
Barrington High School – Barrington, RI 1998, 2000
Tennessee (1, 1, 0)
Hume-Fogg Academic High School – Nashville, TN 1998
Texas (5, 8, 1)
Carroll Senior High School – Southlake, TX 2007, 2010
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts – Houston, TX 1999 (3rd)
Plano Senior High School – Plano, TX 2005, 2010
Stephen F. Austin High School – Austin, TX 2008
Temple High School – Temple, TX 2004, 2011
Virginia (2, 3, 0)
Chantilly High School – Chantilly, VA 1997, 1998
McLean High School – McLean, VA 1997
Washington (11, 44, 24)
Battle Ground High School – Battle Ground, WA 2006 (2nd)
Edmonds-Woodway High School – Edmonds, WA 2003, 2007, 2010
Garfield High School – Seattle, WA 1999 (H.M.), 2000 (H.M.), 2002 (2nd), 2003 (1st), 2004 (1st), 2005, 2006 (3rd), 2007, 2008 (2nd), 2009 (1st), 2010 (1st)
Kentlake High School – Kent, WA 2001
Kentridge High School – Kent, WA 1999
Mead High School – Spokane, WA 2004, 2007
Mountlake Terrace High School – Mountlake Terrace, WA 2000, 2002 (H.M.), 2005 (3rd), 2008, 2011 (3rd)
Newport High School – Bellevue, WA 2001, 2006, 2009
Roosevelt High School – Seattle, WA 1999, 2000 (3rd), 2001 (2nd), 2002 (1st), 2004, 2005 (2nd), 2006, 2007 (1st), 2008 (1st), 2009 (2nd), 2010 (H.M.), 2011 (2nd)
Shorewood High School – Shoreline, WA 2000, 2001, 2005 (H.M.), 2008 (H.M.)
South Whidbey High School – Langley, WA 2008
West Virginia (1, 1, 0)
Fairmont Senior High School – Fairmont, WV 1997
Wisconsin (6, 17, 4)
Badger Union High School – Lake Geneva, WI 2009
Beloit Memorial High School – Beloit, WI 2009
Eau Claire Memorial High School – Eau Claire, WI 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009 (3rd), 2010
Pulaski High School – Pulaski, WI 2001
Sun Prairie High School – Sun Prairie, WI 1998 (3rd), 2000, 2001, 2004 (3rd), 2008 (3rd), 2011
Wauwatosa East High School – Wauwatosa, WI 2010
Canada (1, 5, 0)
River East Collegiate – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011