Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival

The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, often shortened to Essentially Ellington or just EE, is an annual high school jazz festival and competition that takes place at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The festival is aimed at encouraging young musicians to play music by Duke Ellington and other jazz musicians.

Every year, Jazz at Lincoln Center transcribes arrangements and compositions by Duke Ellington and sends them to participating high school and community jazz band directors across the United States and Canada. During the year, band directors are sent a newsletter and given access to online educational materials relevant to the Ellington and his music. Directors can send recordings of their band's finished performances to Jazz at Lincoln Center for evaluation. These recordings can count as applications to the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City, though a non-competitive, comments-only option is also offered. Fifteen top bands are invited to compete in the festival, occurring every May at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall.

After the finalists are announced, clinicians; usually members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; are sent to each of the finalist schools to provide a jazz workshop and prepare the bands for competition. At the New York festival, students are immersed in workshops, jam sessions, an open rehearsal and Q&A with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and performances by the participating bands. The festival ends with a concert by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the three top-placing bands, as well as an awards ceremony recognizing individual soloists and sections.

Beginning in 1995, Essentially Ellington materials were offered only to school bands across New York State and the greater New York metropolitan area. Over the next few years, the program grew to include all schools across the United States and Canada. As of 2025, over 7,100 schools across 58 countries have received free scores and resources.

In 2002, the first Essentially Ellington Writing Contest was held, inviting participating students to submit an essay or short story discussing various topics of jazz. Winners received the chance to reading their essay on the festival's opening day, as well as having a seat in the Rose Theater engraved in their honor. The contest was discontinued following the conclusion of the 2011 festival.

In early 2006, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the debut of Essentially Ellington's first regional festival. The regional festivals are non-competitive and offer high school jazz bands of different levels the opportunity to play Ellington's music and receive professional feedback.

Starting in 2008, selections by big band composers other than Ellington were transcribed for the first time. In succeeding years, music by Benny Carter, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Mary Lou Williams, Gerald Wilson, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Golson, and others have been released.

In 2013, a new selection process was introduced in which the top three bands chosen from five national regions would compete in New York City. Another major change made that year was the opening up of the main competition to allow conglomerate bands; extra-curricular bands composed of students from more than one high school; to compete directly with the high school bands. From 2005 until 2012, one conglomerate band was chosen to appear as a special guest in an exhibition performance outside of the festival, with the exception of 2008, when there were two conglomerate winners.