Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program Expanded

  I  

Jazz at Lincoln Center is expanding its Essentially Ellington high school jazz band program. The program now has three tiers of membership at different price levels and benefits.

“This expansion will give more students and directors the opportunity to engage with America’s music, jazz, through quality resources from one of the most important composers of the twentieth century,” said the program’s education director Erika Floreska.

Also, in 2007, members at the premium and basic levels will be able to take part in noncompetitive regional festivals. The regionals will be held at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill on March 1 and Temple University in Philadelphia on March 8.

The submission deadline for recordings for this year’s Essentially Ellington on May 4–6 are due on Jan. 31.

For more information go to: essentiallyellington.org



  • Cassandra_Wilson_%40_2026_Mark_Sheldon-2_copy_2.jpg

    Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.

  • GB_Headshot_copy.jpg

    Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.

  • DB26_Joshua_Redman_Courtesy_Joshua_Redman.jpg

    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.

  • Coltrane_John_by_Joe_Alper_copy.jpeg

    “It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”

  • Thurman_copy.jpeg

    Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.