Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington program is a free program providing high school band directors with high quality charts and culminates in a three-day competition and festival in May at Jazz at Lincoln Center featuring the 20 best high school big bands from around the world. In addition to the competition in May, we are producing a non-competitive “EE Regional Festival” on March 14, and for the first time, we are including middle school jazz bands. One of those jazz bands will be our Jazz Academy band. Alan Acosta is an Assistant Band Director for the Bronx Emerging Band.