A dozen top jazz bands from northern New Jersey will compete for group and individual ratings Wednesday, April 5 at Sparta High School’s fifth annual Jazz Festival.
The festival will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. in the 1,000-seat auditorium and will feature ensembles from a number of regional school districts.
Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and veterans, and $5 for students. Children younger than 6 are free.
Food will be for sale in the main lobby as will Sparta Jazz Fest T-shirts. The high school is at 70 West Mountain Road.
Bands will perform in the Middle School, Competitive or Highly Competitive divisions.
The pro adjudicators are Jim Saltzman from the Faculty of Jazz Arts & Music History at Manhattan School of Music and Dave Martin, Todd Nichols and Anthony Branker from the Faculty of Music Education and Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.
Among the participating groups are the Sparta Middle School Jazz Band, Glen Meadow Middle School Jazz Band of Vernon, Blues Sanction of Sparta High School, Vernon Jazz Express, The K-Train of Kittatinny Regional High School, High Point Jazz Ensemble, Lenape Valley Regional Jazz Ensemble, Newton Jazz Ensemble, West Milford High School Jazz Ensemble and Blues Inc! of Sparta High School.