Essentially Ellington

Launched in 1995, Essentially Ellington is a free program for high school jazz bands that aims to elevate musicianship, broaden perspectives, and inspire performance. EE provides high school and college band directors with resources for the study and performance of big band music. Any high school or college-aged jazz ensemble can join the EE network by registering in our EE Members Only portal, free of charge. Upon doing so, the ensemble remains a member going forward.

Membership benefits for high school and college aged jazz bands include:

• FREE printed or instant downloads of nine big band charts
• FREE rehearsal guides for band leaders
• Professional feedback of student performances of the charts along with much more!

The annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is one of the most innovative jazz education events in the world. Each year, high school musicians from across North America travel to New York City to spend three days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and performances at the “House of Swing,” Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Not into the competitive scene? Still want some high level, specific, and relevant feedback for your students? Essentially Ellington also offers a non-competitive alternative. You may make a recording of your band performing one, two, or three charts, no matter what your level of ensemble or experience and submit for comments.Every submission receives thorough qualitative and quantitative comments from our recording adjudicators and a signed certificate of merit. This is a great way to get feedback from our renowned adjudicators, motivate your students, and it’s all FREE.

In the spirit of creativity and honoring our jazz legacy, Essentially Ellington seeks to encourage young musicians to compose and arrange by offering the Essentially Ellington Student Composition/Arranging Contest. Submissions will be critiqued by composer, arranger, and JLCO saxophonist Ted Nash, and the winning selection will be announced along with the Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival finalist bands on January 27, 2027.

The winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize and a composition lesson with Ted Nash. The winner will also receive a trip to New York City to observe the JLCO recording session and Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival, May 6-May 8, 2027 and have their composition recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO).

​In the spirit of honoring our jazz heritage, we seek to enrich high school-aged jazz band programs by launching the Essentially Ellington Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative. The mission of this Initiative is to develop and support jazz programs in under-served and/or underrepresented communities that show outstanding promise. Each submission will receive thorough qualitative feedback from Jazz at Lincoln Center clinicians in accordance with the Essentially Ellington rubric.

Selected Participants Receive: participants will receive: 

• continued support from Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) Education staff.
• access to sheet music from previous years in the Essentially Ellington
• workshops in your band room with JALC-sponsored and local clinicians.
• full tuition scholarship to the 2027 Band Director Academy in New York City; and
• the opportunity to attend a Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra sound check while on tour (as available)

​To qualify for this program, bands MUST: 

• Be a member of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program. To register for FREE please click HERE.
• Have an existing jazz band that meets at least once a week during the academic year.
• Be a Title 1 school OR at least 40% of band members qualify for free or reduced lunch.
• Have 70% of jazz band students from underrepresented backgrounds as demonstrated by a variety of factors, including but not limited to: socioeconomic background, cultural heritage, race, ethnicity, and geographic origin; and
• Submit an application that includes two video recordings of your band performing live – no editing.
  • One video must feature your band performing a work from the Essentially Ellington Library (over 200 tunes)
  • The other video may include any tune from your band’s existing repertoire. Choose pieces that best display the strengths of your band.
  • The video recordings should be of the best quality possible; however, professional capture is not required;
  • iPhone videos will be accepted.
  • Audition materials should be submitted through the online portal: Acceptd.
  • Acceptable video file formats include MPEG, MPG, MP4, OGG, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, VOB, FLV.
  • For assistance uploading content to your application, please visit Acceptd’s helpdesk webpage.

​If accepted to the Initiative program, bands must either apply for the 2027 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival OR submit recordings through our Comments Only program.

​*Finalist bands for the Competition & Festival are limited to 25 participating students. Previous Competition & Festival finalist bands and international ensembles are not eligible to apply.

​All submissions must be submitted by Monday, November 6, 2026 by 11:59pm.

​For more information or if you have any questions concerning your entry, please feel free to contact Oliver Beardsley at 212-258-9861 or ee@jazz.org.

In addition to the Competition & Festival in New York City each May, Essentially Ellington co-produces non-competitive, education-focused festivals designed to offer high school jazz bands of all levels the opportunity to perform the music of Duke Ellington and other seminal big band composers and arrangers at various locations across the country. Participating bands receive professional feedback from JALC clinicians and other jazz professionals in their own backyard.

2027 Regional Festivals will take place at the following locations:

Lafayette, IN
Saturday, January 23, 2027
Purdue University
For more information, please contact Bethany Robinson at berobins@purdue.edu

Casper, WY
Wednesday, February 10, 2027
Casper College-Kinser Jazz Festival
For more information, please contact Joshua Mietz at joshuamietz@caspercollege.edu

Las Vegas, NV
Friday, February 12 – Saturday, February 13, 2027
University of Las Vegas, Nevada
For more information, please contact info@joi-lv.org or 702-473-9416

Sun Prairie, WI
Saturday, February 20, 2027
Sun Prairie High School
For more information, please contact Matt McVeigh at msmcvei@sunprairieschools.org

Provo, UT 
Saturday, February 20, 2027
Brigham Young University
For more information, please contact Brian Woodbury at bwoodbury@byu.edu

Toronto, CA 
Saturday, February 20, 2027
University of Toronto Schools
For more information, please contact Dr. Jeff McLeod at Essentially.Ellington@utschools.edu

Riverside, CA
Friday, February 26 – Saturday, February 27, 2027
Riverside City College
For more information, please contact Eric Samson at jazz@scsboa.org

Chapel Hill, NC 
Saturday, February 27, 2027
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Visit music.unc.edu/jazzfest for more information

Philadelphia, PA 
Tuesday, March 2, 2027
Temple University
For more information, please contact Daniel Levine at jazzdan@temple.edu

Lawrence, KS
Wednesday, March 3, 2027
Kansas University
For more information, please contact Dan Gailey at dgailey@ku.edu

Cincinnati, OH 
Saturday, March 6, 2027
University of Cincinnati
For more information, please contact Scott Belck at belcksb@ucmail.uc.edu

Boston, MA
Sunday, March 7, 2027
New England Conservatory
For more information, please contact Lisa Linde at lisalinde@jazzhers.com or visit https://www.jazzhers.com/ee-regional

New York, NY
Saturday, March 13, 2027
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall
For more information, please contact Oliver Beardsley at obeardsley@jazz.org

Edwardsville, IL
Friday, March 19, 2027
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
For more information, please contact Jason Swagler at jswagle@siue.edu

Northfield, MN
Saturday, March 20, 2027
St. Olaf College
For more information, please contact Joseph Jefferson at jeffer2@stolaf.edu

Greenwich, CT
Saturday, March 20, 2027
Greenwich High School
For more information please contact Jason Polise at jason_polise@greenwich.k12.ct.us

East Lansing, MI 
Saturday, March 20, 2027
Michigan State University
For more information, please contact Timothy Blackmon at blackm76@msu.edu

Austin, TX 
Saturday, April 3, 2027
The University of Texas at Austin
For more information, please contact Rachel Spencer at rachelspencer@utexas.edu or 513-787-3941

Las Cruces, NM
Tuesday, April 6, 2027
New Mexico State University
For more information, please contact Jacob Dalager at jdalager@nmsu.edu

Livingston, NJ
Saturday, April 10, 2027
Newark Academy
For more information, please contact Julius Tolentino at jtolentino@newarka.edu

Columbia, SC 
Monday, April 12, 2027
University of South Carolina
For more information, please contact Lauren Meccia at lmeccia@mozart.sc.edu

Chicago, IL
Saturday, April 24, 2027
Jazz in the Chi Festival
For more information, please contact Darius Hampton at darius@jazzinchicago.org or visit www.jazzinchicago.org/jazz-in-the-chi-festival

Winchester, VA
Thursday, April 29, 2027
Shenandoah Conservatory
For more information, please contact Matt Niess at mattneiss@mac.com or (703) 732-2639

*Each regional festival is uniquely its own. Please contact the festival directors for more information on specific locations.

Essentially Ellington Complete Library List
A complete list of all published EE charts with grading, style, and features/soloists.

Blood Count Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Blood Count, featured in the 2012-13 program year.

Bonga Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Bonga, featured in the 2012-13 program year.

Chinoiserie Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Chinoiserie, featured in the 2013-14 program year.

Notes on Conducting Jazz Ensembles
Transcriber and Ellington authority, David Berger, provides useful tips for conducting your jazz band.

Duke Ellington Lead Sheet
A quick guide to Duke Ellington’s prolific career.

Coaching Your Ensemble
Advice from JALC Managing and Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis, on how to coach your jazz ensemble.

Echoes of Harlem Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Echoes of Harlem, featured in the 2012-13 program year.

EE 2009-10 Repertoire Guide
A quick guide to the repertoire featured in the 2009-10 program year.

EE 2011-12 Repertoire Guide: Dizzy and Duke
A quick guide to the repertoire featured in the 2011-12 program year.

Duke Ellington 101
A beginner’s guide to Duke: stats, bio, the Ellingtonians, resources, and more.

Feet Bone Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Feetbone, featured in the 2009-10 program year.

Flirtibird Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Flirtibird, featured in the 2013-14 program year.

Gerald Wilson Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to the Gerald Wilson charts featured in the 2013-14 program year.

I Like the Sunrise Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to I Like the Sunrise, featured in the 2013-14 program year.

Instrumentation and Changing Arrangements
JALC clinicians weigh in on making informed choices when changing solos or adding introductions.

Jumpin’ Punkins Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Jumpin’ Punkins, featured in the 2006-07 program year.

Lightnin’ Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Lightnin’, featured in the 2012-13 program year.

Perdido (arr. Ellington) Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Perdido (arr. Ellington), featured in the 2008-09 program year.

Notes on Playing Ellington
David Berger’s notes on performing the music of Duke Ellington.

Prelude to a Kiss Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Prelude to a Kiss, featured in the 2010-11 program year.

Recording Your Band
Tips on how to set your ensemble for a recording.

A Night In Tunisia Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to A Night In Tunisia, featured in the 2011-12 program year.

Royal Garden Blues Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Royal Garden Blues, featured in the 2012-13 program year.

Second Line Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Second Line, featured in the 2012-13 program year.

Swingin’ the Blues Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Swingin’ the Blues, featured in the 2010-11 program year.

Uptown Downbeat Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Uptown Downbeat, featured in the 2013-14 program year.

Walkin’ and Swingin’ Repertoire Guide
A comprehensive guide to Walkin’ and Swingin’,featured in the 2009-10 program year.

“What is Jazz” by Loren Schoenberg
Jazz Museum in Harlem’s Executive Director, Loren Schoenberg, discusses the importance of teaching jazz.

“Why Teach Jazz” by Wynton Marsalis
An excerpt from Wynton Marsalis’ keynote address at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s inaugural Band Director Academy in June 2000.