Three Seattle-area high school jazz bands were named Wednesday as finalists for the Essentially Ellington competition at Lincoln Center.
Garfield and Roosevelt high schools from Seattle and Edmonds-Woodway High School from Edmonds will be among 15 bands competing for the title of best high school jazz band in the country.
Fifteen schools were chosen from the 96 that entered. Each school submitted recordings of three tunes performed from charts from Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington library.
Garfield and Roosevelt have won the competition a combined seven times since it began in 1996. There has been at least one Washington high school in the top five every year since 1999.
Roosevelt took second place at last year’s competition. Mountlake Terrace High School took third. Garfield won 2010, but was not a finalist last year.
Last year’s winner, Dillard Center for the Arts from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was also invited to this year’s finals.
The competition will take place May 10 - 12. It will be streamed live online.
You can also follow on social media:
Facebook at facebook.com/EssentiallyEllington
Twitter @EssEllington, Hashtag #EE2013
Here is a look at how Washington schools have fared as finalists at the competition:
Garfield: 2010 (1st), 2009 (1st), 2008 (2nd), 2008 (2nd), 2007, 2006 (3rd), 2005, 2004 (1st), 2003 (1st), 2002 (2nd), 2000 (H.M.), 1999 (Honorable Mention)
Roosevelt: 2011 (2nd), 2010 (H.M), 2009 (2nd), 2008 (1st), 2007 (1st), 2006, 2005 (2nd), 2004, 2002 (1st), 2001 (2nd), 2000 (3rd), 1999
Battle Ground: 2006 (2nd)
Mountlake Terrace: 2011 (3rd), 2008, 2005 (3rd), 2002 (H.M.), 2000
Shorewood (Shoreline): 2008 (H.M.), 2005 (H.M.), 2001, 2000
Edmonds-Woodway: 2010, 2007, 2003
Newport (Bellevue): 2009, 2006, 2001
Mead (Spokane): 2007, 2004
South Whidbey (Langley): 2008
Kentlake (Kent): 2001
Kentridge (Kent): 1999
