ALL-STATE JAZZ BAND
All-State Jazz Band
The Colorado All State Jazz Bands exist to inspire and empower student musicians through exceptional jazz education and performance. By uniting top high school talent with renowned jazz educators and clinicians, we create transformative opportunities for artistic growth, mentorship, and musical excellence—cultivating the next generation of jazz artists and lifelong ambassadors of music.
High School All-State Jazz Bands
The 2027 Colorado All-State Jazz Bands, sponsored by the Colorado Bandmasters Association, feature two outstanding ensembles: the Colorado All-State Jazz Band, directed by Chip Crotts, and the Small School All-State Jazz Band, directed by Remy Le Boeuf. All auditions must be submitted via video by 5:00 PM on Monday, November 16, 2026, and a $30 fee is required for each audition. Students selected must pay a $50 participation fee and be available to attend all rehearsals and performances during the CMEA Clinic/Conference, held January 27–30, 2027, at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
The All-State Jazz Band performance will take place on Saturday, January 30, 2027, at 2:00 PM.
Eligibility Requirements
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Band Director must be a current member of CBA and CMEA
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Open to students in grades 9-12 who are members of their HS jazz ensemble for the entire academic year
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If attending HS does not offer a jazz ensemble, students must be a member of an approved band class offered by their HS.
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If a student is unable to participate in their HS jazz ensemble, or if no curricular band class exists, students must attain administrative and director approval to participate.
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Students must meet CHSAA guidelines for eligibility
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Selected students are required to be accompanied by a school-approved chaperone
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$50 participation fee for selected students
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All-State Jazz Band is open to any student in grades 9-12 regardless of enrollment (all students are eligible for this ensemble regardless of school size).
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Small School All-State Jazz Band is open to students in grades 9-12 from schools with 1100 students or less
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(Check enrollment here: CHSAA HS Enrollment).
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Large School Jazz Band Guest Director
Dr. Chip Crotts,
Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Chip Crotts is a multi-dimensional, Grammy-nominated trumpeter and educator with a career spanning nearly four decades. Currently the Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Practice at Georgia Tech, Dr. Crotts has previously held tenured faculty positions at Samford University and Jacksonville State University.
As a world-class performer, he has toured and recorded with an exhaustive list of legends, including Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Arturo Sandoval, Maynard Ferguson, and the Manhattan Transfer. His versatile artistry has taken him to iconic stages such as Birdland, Blue Note NY, and Carnegie Hall.
A leading authority in jazz pedagogy, Dr. Crotts possesses significant All-State Jazz experience, having conducted All-State Jazz Ensembles in Colorado (2019), Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Texas. His leadership extends to serving as a past Vice-President of the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators.
Beyond the concert hall, he is the Brass Caption Head for the 21-time DCI World Champion Blue Devils. Dr. Crotts holds a DMA in Trumpet Performance with a Jazz Emphasis from the University of Texas at Austin and is a dedicated Bach Performing Artist and Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.
Small School Jazz Band Guest Director
Remy Le Boeuf,
University of Denver
Remy Le Boeuf is a Grammy-winning composer and saxophonist whose music is rooted in the jazz tradition and overlaps into contemporary classical and indie-rock realms. Le Boeuf is also the founder of the jazz orchestra, Assembly of Shadows, and the Chief Conductor of the Nordkraft Big Band. He has worked with a range of collaborators including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Linda Oh, Dayna Stephens, Haim, Knower, JACK Quartet, and his twin brother Pascal, with whom he co-leads the experimental quintet, Le Boeuf Brothers.
Le Boeuf's list of honors include commissions from Chamber Music America, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, as well as a 2026 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition, the BMI Charlie Parker Jazz Prize, and the Copland House Residency Award. Le Boeuf is the Director of Jazz and Commercial Music Studies at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.
High School Audition Material
NEW! 2027 Auditions:
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Chromatic scale is no longer required and Set A, B, & C Etudes are no longer being used
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Students are now required to learn two unaccompanied standards in addition to their play-a-long tracks
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Lead trumpet and bass trombone must submit the addition etudes at the end of their audition video (not separately)
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Lead trombone and bari sax DO NOT need to submit additional material
Auditions are due Monday, November 16th @ 5pm.
Additional Links:
NOTE: These are play-a-long tracks you can use, but you are NOT REQUIRED to use these specific tracks.
They may be helpful for rhythm section players because they can easily remove their instrument.
Au Privave Play-A-Long Track
(includes Piano Trio, No Piano version, No Bass version)
Autumn Leaves Play-A-Long Track
(includes Piano Trio, Guitar Trio, No Piano version, No Bass version)
Middle School All-State Jazz Band
The 2027 Colorado All-State Middle School Jazz Band is sponsored by the Colorado Bandmasters Association and will be directed by Dan Bell. All auditions must be submitted via video by 5:00 PM on Monday, November 16, 2026, and a $30 fee is required for each audition. Students selected must pay a $50 participation fee and be available to attend all rehearsals and performances during the event time on February 21-22 2027 at the University of Denver.
The All-State Middle School Jazz Band performance will take place on Monday, February 22 at 7pm in Gates Hall at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Denver campus.
Eligibility Requirements
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Band Director must be a current member of CBA
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Open to students in grades 6-8 who are members of their MS jazz ensemble for the entire academic year
- This group will have a “traditional big band instrumentation” - alto, tenor, bari saxes, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass (upright or electric), drums, and vibes/percussion.
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If a student is unable to participate in their MS jazz ensemble, or if no curricular band class exists, students must attain administrative and director approval to participate.
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If attending MS does not offer a jazz ensemble, students must be a member of an approved band class offered by their MS.
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Families of selected students are responsible for supervision, lodging, and meals outside of rehearsal times. Parents may choose to commute to rehearsals or find lodging in the area.
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$50 participation fee for selected students.
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Middle School Jazz Band Guest Director
Dan Bell,
Ascent Big Band & Pinnacle Jazz
Daniel (Dan) Bell taught for 34 years in the districts of Fort Lupton (CO), Rangeview HS (Aurora), and Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) as a high school assistant and junior high band director. Dan - now retired - is happily married to his wife, Kari and has 3 kids, Ryan, Katie, and Kyle; grandson Johnny, and granddaughter Kirby. Mr. Bell is a proud University of Iowa and Colorado State University alumnus. In the past 26 years, Mr. Bell’s jazz and symphonic bands have been selected to perform for the Colorado Music Educators Clinic/Conference fourteen times. He is the director of the Pinnacle Jazz Band, an intermediate jazz band with the youth symphony in Colorado Springs, and the Ascent Big Band, the advanced jazz band.
Dan currently teaches private lessons to brass students and makes appearances at many Colorado schools to help out when available. He is also the director of the Peak Big Band - an adult jazz band in the Colorado Springs area - that performs throughout the year. Dan has also been the band director at the CMU (Colorado Mesa University) Summer Middle School Music Camp for the past 10 years, and periodically as a staff member at CMU for Jazz Utopia.
Dan has conducted over 50 honor bands in Colorado. He is an experienced adjudicator at jazz and concert festivals and competitions, and has presented workshops and clinics for IAJE’s Teacher Training Institute in Kansas City, the Wyoming Music Educators All-State Convention, Colorado Bandmasters Association summer convention, and the Colorado Music Educators Association conference and clinic. Mr. Bell was also the Music Director for the 2010 Colorado Association of String Teachers Association (CASTA) camp. Dan was picked as the “Teacher of the Year” in the Spring of 2011 by the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Guild, was awarded the Distinguished Fine Arts Educator of the Year by the Colorado Springs Arts and Business Consortium in 2006, was awarded as “Outstanding Project of the Year” – along with Jack Yonce - by the Arts and Business Consortium in 2016 for the Futures Concert in D12. Dan was given the “Citation of Excellence in Teaching” by the National Band Association in May of 2014. Mr. Bell is a member of CMEA, JEN, CBA, Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, NAfME, and ASBDA. Mr. Bell conducted the musicals at Cheyenne Mountain High School for 23 years.
Dan was recently elected to the Colorado Bandmasters Association (CBA) Hall of Fame, was inducted into the Pikes Peak Music Educator Hall of Fame, and was awarded the Outstanding Bandmaster Award from Phi Beta Mu, a professional music fraternity.
Middle School Audition Material
NEW! 2027 Auditions:
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Tenor Madness - Sonny Rollins
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Billie’s Bounce - Charlie Parker
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Chromatic scale for the range of your instrument (Wind Instruments Only)