The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program is unique among educational resources for high school jazz bands. Duke Ellington's music is at the very heart of America's 20th-century musical heritage and lies at the core of the rich cannon of jazz music. Jazz at Lincoln Center, committed to instilling a broader understanding of this music, created Essentially Ellington during the 1995-96 school year to make Ellington's music accessible to as many high school musicians as possible and to support the development of their school's music programs.

Each year Jazz at Lincoln Center transcribes, publishes, and distributes Duke Ellington Orchestra charts along with recordings and additional educational materials to high school bands in the U.S. and Canada and American schools abroad. These charts are original transcriptions of recordings by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, not simplified arrangements.

In 2008 Jazz at Lincoln Center began including non-Ellington repertoire in the charts distributed to schools. While the music of Duke Ellington will always be central to Essentially Ellington, the program now explores other seminal big band arrangers and composers as well – one each year. Last year we started with “The King,” Benny Carter, and in 2009-10 Essentially Ellington features the music of Mary Lou Williams in conjunction with the centenial celebration of her birth, including arrangements that she wrote for the Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman Orchestras.

Beyond providing these charts, Essentially Ellington also supports participating bands throughout the school year. Numerous resources for band directors and students are available at www.jalc.org/EssentiallyEllington. Band directors receive monthly newsletters and have access to online teaching guides and rehearsal videos that correspond directly to the current year's charts and offer practical ideas for the high school band room. Students are encouraged to enter a writing contest —the first place winner earns the honor of naming a seat in Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Essentially Ellington strives to foster mentoring relationships between students and jazz professionals through email correspondence, various conference presentations, and the festival weekend.

Many bands just receive the charts to add to their music libraries, as it is a great way to receive high-quality music for free. All bands have the option of submitting recordings of their performances for professional feedback. Entries are judged in a blind screening process by professional jazz educators/musicians and every submission receives a thorough written assessment and a certificate signed by Wynton Marsalis.

All bands who receive the Essentially Ellington music are welcome to submit a recording for the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival held annually in New York City at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Fifteen bands are selected as finalists and, to prepare, each finalist band receives an in-school workshop in their community led by a professional musician. Each year, ten of the fifteen finalist bands are selected from schools that have not been finalists in the previous two years' festivals. Essentially Ellington culminates in a three-day festival in May for the finalist bands. Students, teachers and musicians from across North America participate in workshops, rehearsals and performances. The festival concludes with an evening Concert and Awards Ceremony open to the public at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall featuring the three top-placing bands and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in a concert featuring the music to be distributed the following year through Essentially Ellington.