NAU Jazz Festival 2026
February 20-21, 2026
The 64th annual NAU Jazz Festival will feature world-class guest artists, clinicians, NAU faculty masterclasses, and many talented participating bands from throughout the region. The festival is a non-competitive forum where high school and junior high bands perform for a panel of esteemed adjudicators, receiving ratings, comments, recordings, and clinics.
There will be NAU faculty masterclasses, performances, and clinics offered throughout the festival in addition to our featured Guest Artist Concert on Friday, February 20th at 8pm in Ardrey Memorial Auditorium.
The NAU Jazz Festival is an ABODA sanctioned festival for middle school, high school, and community colleges. Our festival is a non-competitive setting, focused on a positive performance and educational experience. Big bands and combos perform for three adjudicators to receive ratings and comments. Following the performances each group participates in a clinic with one of our esteemed adjudicator/clinicians. Directors will receive written comments as well as recordings of both their band’s performance and adjudicator comments.
We are thrilled to announce our 2026 featured guest artist: international touring and recording artist, Warren Wolf. Warren is one of the premier vibraphonists in jazz today and has performed throughout the United States, South America, Canada, Italy, Spain, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Scotland, London, Greece, Singapore, Thailand, Jarkata, Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow and many other countries.
He has made ten recordings, most notably for Mack Ave Records and is a member of the SFJAZZ Collective and Christian McBride & “Inside Straight”. Warren is a faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, MD and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in San Francisco, CA.
Warren Wolf will present a general masterclass on Friday, February 20th at 1:00pm in Ardrey Memorial Auditorium. Our Guest Artist Concert will also be Friday, February 20th at 8pm featuring Warren Wolf with NAU Jazz Ensemble One. Tickets will be available starting in early January through the NAU Central Ticket Office at (888) 520-7214 and at nau.edu/cto
Daytime activities including school band performances, NAU faculty masterclasses, and more are free and open to the public. A detailed schedule will be posted as the festival approaches.
Registration forms are available here for download. Please submit your form and payment by the due date of Friday, January 3oth, 2026. Please Note: Bands of any level may register for either day of the festival. Groups will be scheduled on a first-come-first-served basis. Specific scheduling requests will be accommodated as possible but cannot be guaranteed.