Preliminary Festival Locations (5:00 PM)
Monday, March 2, 2020 @ Liberty Middle School
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 @ Bridgewater-Raritan High School
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 @ Southern Regional HS
Thursday, March 5, 2020 @ Steinert High School
Friday, March 6, 2020 @ Wayne Valley High School

Finals Locations for Saturday, April 25, 2020 (5:00 PM)
Division I @ JP Stevens High School
Division II @ Princeton High School
Division III @ Burlington City High School

NJAJE State Jazz Festival

The New Jersey Association for Jazz Education is presenting an opportunity to participate in the official jazz festival sponsored by your state organization devoted solely to jazz education.

The festival occurs in two phases:
  • A preliminary round of all participating ensembles, regardless of school size, held at five locations on consecutive nights and adjudicated by the same three professionals. Sight-reading is required and is scored as 15% of the total score in the preliminary round. Improvisation is also required as part of the sight-reading chart, and is one of the new components of the sight-reading adjudication sheet.
  • A final round held at three locations; each of the top nine scoring bands from the preliminary round is grouped by school enrollment. Sight-reading and improvisation are required and are identical to the preliminary round.

To participate in the NJAJE Jazz festivals, please fill out the NJAJE Festival, Conference, and Membership Application form and follow the appropriate instructions.

Downloads for the State Jazz Festival:
State Jazz Festival Rules and Regulations
State Jazz Festival Attendance Policy
Scoring Rubrics
​Performance Adjudication Sheet
Sight Reading Adjudication Sheet
Sight Reading Adjudication Procedures
2020 Divisions for Finals (Revised 2/23/2020)

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

2019  Festival Results

Division I (Largest School Populations)
1st Place        John P. Stevens Jazz Ensemble
2nd Place       Cherokee
3rd Place        Edison

Remaining Finalists (in Alphabetical Order)
Bridgewater-Raritan Monday Band
East Brunswick
Elizabeth Jazz Band
John P. Stevens Lab Jazz
Passaic County Technical Institute
West Orange Jazz 1

Section Awards
Saxophone    John P. Stevens Jazz Ensemble
Trumpet         John P. Stevens Lab Jazz
Trombone      West Orange
Rhythm          Cherokee

Solo Awards
Omkar Sonavane, Alto Sax, Edison
Carlos Hernandez, Trumpet, JP Stevens Lab Jazz
Grace Fox, Trumpet, Cherokee
Elton Boyd, Drums, Edison

Rick Kerber Scholarship
Bryana Crockett, Drums, Cherokee

Richard A. Graham Scholarship
Zoe Wang, Bari Sax, JP Jazz Ensemble

​Richard A. Graham Sight Reading Award
John P. Stevens Jazz Ensemble
Division II (Moderate School Populations)
1st Place      Scotch Plains-Fanwood Moonglowers
2nd Place     Princeton Studio Band
3rd Place      Princeton Jazz Ensemble

Remaining Finalists (in Alphabetical Order)
Jackson Liberty
Mendham
Mount Olive
Northern Burlington County
Steinert
Wayne Valley

Section Awards
Saxophone     SPF Moonglowers
Trumpet          SPF Moonglowers
Trombone       Princeton Studio Band
Rhythm           Mount Olive

Solo Awards
Siara Alam, Mendham Jazz Ensemble
Grace Quackenboss, Northern Burlington
Anthony Demateis, Jackson Liberty Jazz Ensemble
Allan Romero, SPF Moonglowers

Rick Kerber Scholarship
Simon Hwang, Princeton Studio

Richard A. Graham Scholarship
Stephen Oduro, SPF Moonglowers

Richard A. Graham Sight Reading Award
Princeton Studio Band
Division III (Smallest School Populations)
1st Place        Newark Academy Chameleon
2nd Place       West Milford
3rd Place        Newark Academy Big Band

Remaining Finalists (in Alphabetical Order)
Delaware Valley
Deptford
Highland
Holmdel
Overbrook
Seneca

Section Awards
Saxophone     Newark Academy Chameleon
Trumpet          Overbrook
Trombone       Deptford
Rhythm           Newark Academy Chameleon

Solo Awards
Michael Wang, Alto Sax, NA Chameleon
Sammi Powell, Vocals, NA Chameleon
Ben Chaddha, Trumpet, NA Chameleon
Maurice Wade, Trumpet, Overbrook

Rick Kerber Scholarship
Sidiq Huballa, Drums, Highland

​Richard A. Graham Scholarship
Amanda Roth, Flute, West Milford

Richard A. Graham Sight Reading Award
Newark Academy Chameleon