Featured Guest Artist:
The Sean Jones Quartet
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2026
7:00pm
Evanston Township High School Main Auditorium - 1600 Dodge Avenue
About The Festival
Established in 2004 as a non-competitive, all-day jazz immersion event, the Evanston Township High School Jazz Festival hosts nearly 50 middle and high school jazz groups from around the region. Students of all levels are inspired by professional musicians, enlightened by our clinics, lectures, and master classes, and encouraged to take their playing to the next level. This educational and cultural jazz festival has earned its distinction by providing the opportunity to showcase local, national, and international artists. It is the mission of the Evanston Township High School Jazz Festival to provide an important supplement to the students’ pursuit of jazz by highlighting the enduring elements and important innovations of this distinctly American music.
Festival Events
Student Performances
Jazz ensembles from schools large and small perform in front of an audience to build their performance experience. Our adjudicators and clinicians are world-class professional musicians, university professors and educators that share their expertise with each group during a 30-minute clinic following its performance (45 minute timeslots).
Clinics & Master Classes (Times Subject to Change)
Play By Ear Workshop - Todd Kelly (Bradley University)
Rhythm Section Clinic - Katie Ernst's "Twin Talk"
Guitar Workshop - Donovan Mixon
Improvisation Clinic - Roosevelt Griffin
Jam Session - Loyola University Jazz Band
Special Lecture/Clinic with Sean Jones and members of his quartet
Free Noontime Concert
Ticketed Evening Concert
The Sean Jones Quartet
DIRECTOR INFORMATION
Director Forms:
Equipment Needs/Meal Form (complete online in JANUARY)
Repertoire Form (complete online in JANUARY)
Stage Plot Form (Download PDF in JANUARY, complete legibly by hand, scan and email back)
Final Director Mailer (Coming January 2026)
2026 Jazz Festival Schedule (Coming December 2026)