The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, often shortened to Essentially Ellington or just EE, is an annual high school jazz festival and competition that takes place at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The festival is aimed at encouraging young musicians to play music by Duke Ellington and other jazz musicians.
Every year, Jazz at Lincoln Center transcribes arrangements and compositions by Duke Ellington and sends them to participating high school and community jazz band directors across the United States and Canada. During the year, band directors are sent a newsletter and given access to online educational materials relevant to the Ellington and his music. Directors can send recordings of their band's finished performances to Jazz at Lincoln Center for evaluation. These recordings can count as applications to the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City, though a non-competitive, comments-only option is also offered. Fifteen top bands are invited to compete in the festival, occurring every May at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall.
After the finalists are announced, clinicians; usually members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; are sent to each of the finalist schools to provide a jazz workshop and prepare the bands for competition. [1] At the New York festival, students are immersed in workshops, jam sessions, an open rehearsal and Q&A with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and performances by the participating bands. The festival ends with a concert by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the three top-placing bands, as well as an awards ceremony recognizing individual soloists and sections. [2]
Beginning in 1995, Essentially Ellington materials were offered only to school bands across New York State and the greater New York metropolitan area. Over the next few years, the program grew to include all schools across the United States and Canada. [3] As of 2025, over 7,100 schools across 58 countries have received free scores and resources. [4]
In 2002, the first Essentially Ellington Writing Contest was held, inviting participating students to submit an essay or short story discussing various topics of jazz. [5] Winners received the chance to reading their essay on the festival's opening day, as well as having a seat in the Rose Theater engraved in their honor. The contest was discontinued following the conclusion of the 2011 festival. [6]
In early 2006, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the debut of Essentially Ellington's first regional festival. The regional festivals are non-competitive and offer high school jazz bands of different levels the opportunity to play Ellington's music and receive professional feedback. [7]
Starting in 2008, selections by big band composers other than Ellington were transcribed for the first time. In succeeding years, music by Benny Carter, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Mary Lou Williams, Gerald Wilson, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Golson, and others have been released. [2] [8]
In 2013, a new selection process was introduced in which the top three bands chosen from five national regions would compete in New York City. Another major change made that year was the opening up of the main competition to allow conglomerate bands; extra-curricular bands composed of students from more than one high school; to compete directly with the high school bands. From 2005 until 2012, one conglomerate band was chosen to appear as a special guest in an exhibition performance outside of the festival, with the exception of 2008, when there were two conglomerate winners. [9]
Additionally in 2013, the Gerhard W. Vosshall Student Composition/Arranging Contest was added to the festival following a donation from the Vosshall family made in Gerhard's honor. [10] The contest was renamed the Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition and Arranging Contest in 2016. [11] Each year, a winning composition is chosen from submissions sent from high school students in the US and Canada to be recorded and performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The winning composer receives a cash prize, a trip to the competition in order to conduct their piece, and a composition lesson. The lesson was originally with Ellington historian David Berger, but shifted to JLCO saxophonist Ted Nash in 2015.
The 25th edition of the competition and festival, scheduled for 2020, announced that the region system would be eliminated, and a total of eighteen bands would be selected, three more than in years past. Also present for the first time were five youth bands from Japan, Scotland, Australia, Spain, and Cuba, increasing the total number of participating ensembles to twenty-three. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person festival was cancelled, and all events were held virtually. [12] No winners were announced, although honors were given to individual soloists and sections.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2021 festival to also be held virtually. Jazz at Lincoln Center pushed back the release of new music until the 2021-2022 school year and encouraged participating schools to submit one tune from the entire Essentially Ellington library in either a synchronous or asynchronous fashion. Submission due dates were pushed back to March and the virtual festival to early June. The 2021 festival also introduced new rules regarding submissions from conglomerate bands, a previously largely unregulated field. The festival provided an official definition of conglomerate bands, stating that they need to follow a specific course of study, as well as a scope and sequence, all in addition to weekly rehearsals and scheduled public performances. All-Star, All-State, and All-Region bands are barred from competition, as are bands created for the sole purpose of competing in Essentially Ellington.
In 2025, for the 30th anniversary of the competition and festival, the region system was once again temporarily disbanded and a total of thirty bands were selected to participate, double the amount in years prior. Twenty-seven bands were chosen across the United States via audition, and three international bands from Japan, Australia, and Spain received special invitation to compete. [13] For the first time, the competition was held in two rounds. In round one, the 30 bands were split in two groups of 15, with each group adjudicated by a separate judging panel. Both panels advanced five ensembles each, creating a final round of ten competitors to compete for a spot in the top three. The final concert and awards ceremony was held at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center.
Many Essentially Ellington participants have gone on to lead successful musical careers. Some have become permanent or substitute members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and/or faculty for Jazz at Lincoln Center's other youth programs. [14]
Several high school bands from the Seattle area have participated including repeat finalists: Roosevelt; Garfield; Bothell; Shorewood; Mount Si; Edmonds-Woodway; Mountlake Terrace; Newport and Ballard high schools. [15] [16] In 2008, five of the fifteen bands to compete were from the greater Seattle area. Acknowledging the region's dominance at the competition, Marsalis, tongue only half in cheek, challenged the remaining schools/regions, "to do something about Seattle and Washington." [17]
An asterisk (*) indicates a band was chosen as the winner of the community ensemble showcase, but did not directly compete in the festival.
| Year | Judges | First place | Second place | Third place | Honorable mention | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (New York, NY) | Honeoye Falls–Lima High School (Honeoye Falls, NY) | Adlai E. Stevenson High School (Bronx, NY) | N/A | ||
| 1997 | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (New York, NY) | William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT) | Honeoye Falls–Lima High School (Honeoye Falls, NY) Pennsbury High School (Fairless Hills, PA) | ||
| 1998 | William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble (Sun Prairie, WI) | Guilford High School (Guilford, CT) Lexington High School (Lexington, MA) | ||
| 1999 | Wynton Marsalis, Aaron Bell, Chuck Israels, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Paquito D'Rivera [18] | Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (New York, NY) | William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT) | High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Houston, TX) | Howard W. Blake High School (Tampa, FL) Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | Twenty finalist bands were invited to compete in the 1999 festival. |
| 2000 | William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (New York, NY) Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | ||
| 2001 | The 315 All-Stars (Syracuse, NY) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | The Lovett School (Atlanta, GA) | William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT) Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (Wheaton, IL) Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | ||
| 2002 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Stanley Cowell, Arturo O’Farrill [19] | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, WA) | |
| 2003 | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles, CA) | SF Jazz All-Star High School Ensemble (San Francisco, CA) The 315 All-Stars (Syracuse, NY) | ||
| 2004 | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble (Sun Prairie, WI) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) The Lovett School (Atlanta, GA) | ||
| 2005 | Wynton Marsalis, David Baker, David Berger, Gunther Schuller [20] | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, WA) | Shorewood High School (Shoreline, WA) | Conglomerate winner: Eastman Youth Jazz Ensemble (Rochester, NY) |
| 2006 | Wynton Marsalis, David Baker, David Berger, Gunther Schuller [21] | Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (Jacksonville, FL) | Battle Ground High School (Battle Ground, WA) | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, CA) | Conglomerate winner: Eastman Youth Jazz Ensemble (Rochester, NY) |
| 2007 | Wynton Marsalis, David Baker, David Berger, Gunther Schuller [22] | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Agoura High School Studio Jazz (Agoura Hills, CA) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | King Philip Regional High School (Wrentham, MA) | Conglomerate winner: American Music Program (Portland, OR) For the 2007 festival, Agoura High School had two separate ensembles competing; Agoura High School Studio Jazz, and Agoura High School Jazz A; the only school to date to achieve this feat. |
| 2008 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Reggie Thomas, Bob Wilber | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble (Sun Prairie, WI) | Shorewood High School (Shoreline, WA) | Conglomerate winners: American Music Program (Portland, OR) and Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (Wheaton, IL) |
| 2009 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Reggie Thomas, Gerald Wilson | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Eau Claire Memorial High School (Eau Claire, WI) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Conglomerate winner: American Music Program (Portland, OR) |
| 2010 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Ted Buehrer, Jimmy Heath, Rodney Whitaker | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Conglomerate winner: Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) |
| 2011 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Rich DeRosa, Vincent Gardner, Jeff Hamilton | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, WA) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Conglomerate winner: American Music Program (Portland, OR) |
| 2012 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Bill Dobbins, Jeff Hamilton, Sherman Irby | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, CA) | Conglomerate winner: Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) |
| 2013 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Rich DeRosa, Victor Goines, Ron Carter | Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) | Jazz House Kids (Montclair, NJ) | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Composition Contest added to festival, separate conglomerate band category removed |
| 2014 | Wynton Marsalis, David Berger, Jeff Hamilton, Chris Crenshaw, Chuck Israels | Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) | Jazz House Kids (Montclair, NJ) | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Garfield High School (Seattle, WA) | |
| 2015 | Wynton Marsalis, Carlos Henriquez, Dee Spencer, Jeff Hamilton, David Berger | American Music Program (Portland, OR) | Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) | Lexington High School (Lexington, MA) | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | |
| 2016 | Wynton Marsalis, Chris Crenshaw, Lauren Sevian, Jeff Hamilton, Chuck Israels | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble (Raleigh, NC) | Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) | N/A | |
| 2017 | Wynton Marsalis, Sean Jones, Jeff Hamilton, Erica von Kleist, Bob Morgan | Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) | Denver School of the Arts (Denver, CO) | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ) | |
| 2018 | Wynton Marsalis, Bill Charlap, Jeff Hamilton, Todd Williams, Erica von Kleist | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ) | Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) | Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI) Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | |
| 2019 | Wynton Marsalis, Walter Blanding, Aaron Diehl, Jeff Hamilton, Lauren Sevian | Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) | Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | N/A | |
| 2020 | Wynton Marsalis | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Twenty-three total bands invited to compete, including five international bands. In-person festival cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; no winners announced but individual soloists and sections were recognized. |
| 2021 | Wynton Marsalis, Darcy James Argue, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, and Catherine Russell | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | In-person festival cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; no winners announced but individual soloists and sections were recognized. |
| 2022 | Wynton Marsalis, Chris Crenshaw, Joe Lovano, Carmen Bradford, Jeff Hamilton | Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL) | Foxborough High School (Foxborough, MA) | Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA) | N/A | |
| 2023 | Wynton Marsalis, Francisco Torres, Jeff Hamilton, Carlos Henriquez, Alexa Tarantino | Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL) | Susan E. Wagner High School (Staten Island, NY) | New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) | N/A | |
| 2024 | Sherman Irby, Jeff Hamilton, Terell Stafford, Jennifer Krupa, Sean Jones | Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ) | Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL) | Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, CA) | N/A | |
| 2025 | Round I Judges: Joseph Jefferson, Ingrid Jensen, Sherrie Maricle, Ulysses Owens Jr., Catherine Russell, Reggie Thomas, Camille Thurman, Bijon Watson, Liesl Whitaker, Todd Williams Round II Judges: Wynton Marsalis, Randy Brecker, Carmen Bradford, Rich DeRosa, Branford Marsalis | Memphis Central High School (Memphis, TN) | Sant Andreu Jazz Band (Barcelona, Spain) | Osceola County School for the Arts (Kissimmee, FL) | Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts (West Palm Beach, FL) | Thirty total bands invited to compete, including three international bands. |
| Year | Composer | School | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Devon Gillingham [10] | Transcona Collegiate Institute | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| 2014 | Jeric Rocamora [23] | Rio Americano High School | Sacramento, California |
| 2015 | Matt Wong [24] | San Francisco Independence High School | San Francisco, California |
| 2016 | Joseph Block [11] | Germantown Friends School | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 2017 | Ethan Moffitt [25] | Verdugo Academy | Glendale, California |
| 2018 | Summer Camargo [26] | Dillard Center for the Arts | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| 2019 | Miles Lennox [27] | Dillard Center for the Arts | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| 2020 | Leo Steindawg [28] | Lower Merion High School | Ardmore, Pennsylvania |
| 2021 | Daiki Nakajima [29] | Prospect High School | Saratoga, California |
| 2022 | Skylar Tang [30] | Crystal Springs Uplands School | Hillsborough, California |
| 2023 | Henry Koban Payne [31] | Lower Merion High School | Ardmore, Pennsylvania |
| 2024 | Ori Moore [32] | Durham Academy | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| 2025 | Ethan Liao [33] | San Francisco University High School | San Francisco, California |