Local bands to compete at fourth annual Jazz Festival

The award-winning music department at Sparta High School is hosting its fourth annual Jazz Festival on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. The event gathers a dozen top jazz bands from northern New Jersey, who compete for group and individual ratings.

The festival will take place in the one-thousand-seat auditorium of Sparta High School, where the township’s jazz bands will host ensembles from a number of regional school districts. A variety of food will be for sale at an extensive concession stand in the school’s main lobby, as will Sparta Jazz Fest tee shirts.

Bands will perform in either the Middle School, Competitive, or Highly Competitive division. This year’s pro adjudicators are Montclair State University’s Jeff Kunkel, Oscar Perez, and Mike Lee, and former Sparta Jazz Band director Chris Arnold, all of whom have put their own stamp on jazz in New Jersey and beyond.

The event starts at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6 at the Sparta High School Auditorium, 70 West Mountain Road, Sparta N.J. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and veterans, $5 for students, and free for children under 6.

Participating Groups:

Middle School Division: Sparta Middle School Jazz Band, Mount Olive Middle School Jazz Band

Competitive Division: Newton High School Jazz Band, North Warren Regional High School Jazz Band, Pope John XXIII High School Jazz Ensemble, Mount Olive High School Jazz Band, Bridgewater-Raritan High School Tuesday Jazz Band, Ramsey High School Jazz Band, Lenape Valley Regional High School Jazz Ensemble, Sparta High School’s Blues Sanction

Highly Competitive Division: West Milford High School Jazz Ensemble, Mount Olive High School Jazz Ensemble, Sparta High School’s Blues, Inc!