Celebrating jazz education throughout our entire nation and beyond!

2023 Festival

The 2023 National Jazz Festival took place in Philadelphia and virtually on YouTube
on April 22, 2023

Thank you for participating in the 2023 festival. We hope to see you in 2024!

Thank you for making the 2023 NJF a success. 60 Schools, 84 Ensembles from 19 States & Puerto Rico ….. Abraham Clark High School, NJ ~ Albemarle High School, VA ~ Atlee High School, VA ~ Bethel High School, CT ~ Boston Latin School, MA ~ Brookfield High School, CT ~ Camden Creative Arts High School, NJ ~ Carusi Middle School, NJ ~ Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, NY ~ Centennial High School, MD ~ Cranbury Middle School, NJ ~ Creative Arts High School, NJ ~ Danvers High School, MA ~ Deptford HS, NJ ~ Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, FL ~ Eastlake High School, WA ~ Edgemont High School, NY ~ Ellington High School, CT ~ Escuela Especializada Pablo Casals, PR ~ Freedom Crossing Academy K-8, FL ~ George Stevens Academy, ME ~ Georgetown Day School, DC ~ Harvard-Westlake School, CA ~ Herricks High School, NY ~ Hopewell High School, NC ~ Hopewell Valley Central High School, NJ ~ Hopkins School, CT ~ Klein Forest High School, TX ~ LA County High School for the Arts, CA ~ La Salle College High School, PA ~ La Salle Institute, NY ~ Lovejoy HS, TX ~ M.S. 54 – Booker T. Washington, NY ~ Metuchen High School, NJ ~ Middleton High School, WI ~ Mirman School, CA ~ Mundy’s Mill High School, GA ~ Naugatuck High School, CT ~ Newtown Middle School, CT ~ Noblesville High School, IN ~ Our Lady of Good Counsel, MD ~ PA Leadership Charter School, PA ~ Pace High School, FL ~ Pattonville High School, MO ~ Pennsbury High School, PA ~ Princeton High School, NJ ~ R.F. Bumpus Middle School, AL ~ Ridley High School, PA ~ Seneca High School, NJ ~ Shawnee High School, NJ ~ Shead High School, ME ~ St. John’s School, TX ~ Staples High School, CT ~ Steinert High School, NJ ~ Stratford High School, CT ~ Suffield High School, CT ~ The Fieldston School, NY ~ The Shipley School, PA ~ Timothy Edwards Middle School, CT ~ Trevor Day School, NY ~ Trinity School, NY ~ West Milford HS, CT ~ Wharton High School, FL ~ William H. Hall High School, CT ~ Wilton High School, CT ~ Xavier High School, CT ~

4th Annual National Jazz Festival

1,444 Student Musicians ~ 84 Ensembles ~ 60 Schools ~
~ 19 States and Puerto Rico ~

It is hard to express the joy that we feel in our return to Philadelphia after being in a virtual format only for the last 2 years. We are excited to have seen you here today celebrating jazz education with us in person..

There have been many firsts for the NJF. We did not know in 2019 how we would be received by the schools and the jazz community as we prepared for the inaugural festival here at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. We were immensely grateful for the immediate trust schools put in our abilities, and on February 15 2020, we saw the success of our efforts in the faces of our participants. In the uncertain times surrounding the Covid epidemic, we again questioned our decision to create the 2021 virtual festival. Pushing ahead, we added the Instrumental Soloist category and featured – thanks to SmartMusic – Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band in masterclasses and the SmartMusic category. NJF YouTube officially became a part of our lives. We were able to air amazing videos of students from all across the country along with the adjudicators’ feedback, and we knew, from emails and viewership, that we had achieved our goal. In 2022, we continued with the virtual format which included a growing Middle School category and our first Canadian school. First a festival…then a virtual festival, new categories, new schools, and finally…2023! Both in person and virtual!