The Mason Jazz Festival is a yearly invitational, non-competitive event open to middle school, high school, collegiate, and community jazz ensembles. The next Mason Jazz Festival will take place on Saturday, February 14th, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at George Mason University’s Fairfax, VA campus. All concerts and events are free and open to the public-- no tickets are needed. Guests will also enjoy performances by select professional ensembles, the Mason Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Jim Carroll, and The Airmen of Note. Join us for a full day of jazz music and community.
Location: Harris Theater, George Mason University, 4471 Aquia Creek Ln, Fairfax, VA 22030
Parking: Covered parking is available in the Mason Pond Parking Deck on Mason Pond Drive next to the Center for the Arts. Free parking is available in Lot K throughout the day.
Getting Here: Across from the Mason Pond Parking Deck. Enter off Wilkins Plaza.
Information for Performers
Sponsored by Mason Jazz Studies and the Dewberry Family School of Music, participating groups will perform a 20 to 25-minute set in the Harris Theater and receive written feedback from adjudicators. Afterwards, each group will receive a clinic with Mason Jazz faculty in the de Laski Performing Arts Building. In addition to providing comments to bands, the adjudicators will offer select students Mason Jazz Camp scholarships and Outstanding Soloist/Performer awards. The awards will be announced at 6:45 p.m. before the headlining performance at 7 p.m. which concludes the festival.
Mason Jazz will provide all ensembles with a storage room, warm-up location with a piano and drum set, and full backline on the Harris Theatre stage. Equipment provided on-stage includes piano, keyboard and amp, guitar amp, bass amp, drum set and hardware (no cymbals, bring your own), congas, and vibraphone.
The Johnson Center directly next to the Performing Arts Building offers many choices for food and beverage.
Complete the registration form below to reserve a time slot. After completing this form, you will be sent additional links to submit the $275 festival fee and repertoire/soloist information.
The festival includes:
- Scholarships to the Mason Jazz Camp, summer 2026
- 3 “Outstanding Soloist” (cash prizes) and
- 4 “Best Section” certificates
- Live performance recordings for band directors
- Written feedback from adjudicators
2026 Adjudicators:
- Taylor Barnett - trumpeter with the No BS! Brass, director of Jazz Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
- Jim Carroll – saxophonist with Woody Herman Orchestra, founder of Mason Jazz and director of the Mason Jazz Ensemble
- Stephen Philip Harvey - saxophonist, composer, bandleader, professor at Salisbury University and Youngstown State University
2026 Mason Jazz Faculty Clinicians:
- Aaron Eckert, trombone, U.S. Army Blues
- Shawn Purcell – guitar, retired U.S. Navy Commodores
- Ben Thomas – bass, U.S.A.F. Airmen of Note
- Kevin McDonald – drums, U.S. Navy Commodores
In 2026, the Mason Jazz Festival headlining act will be The Airmen of Note.
The Airmen of Note, stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., is one of six musical ensembles that form the U.S. Air Force Band. Created in 1950 to continue the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces dance band, the current band consists of 18 active-duty musicians, including one vocalist. Through the years, the Airmen of Note has presented its own brand of big band and contemporary jazz forms to audiences via annual tours across the United States, deployments worldwide, and local performances throughout metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Their commitment to musical excellence has earned the foremost jazz artists’ respect worldwide, leading to many collaborative performances and recordings with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, and Doc Severinsen. In 1990, the Airmen of Note established the Jazz Heritage Series, featuring the “Note” in concert with legendary jazz icons. The series broadcasts to millions on National Public Radio, independent jazz radio stations, satellite radio services, and online. Additionally, the “Note” produces and delivers recorded music to millions of fans worldwide through hundreds of media outlets. One of the group's holiday recordings, "Cool Yule," reached #2 on the JazzWeek jazz chart.
As part of the U.S. Air Force Band, the Airmen of Note’s mission is to HONOR those who have served, INSPIRE American citizens to heightened patriotism and service, and CONNECT with the global community on behalf of the U.S. Air Force and the United States. The excellence demonstrated by the Airmen of Note reflects the excellence displayed by all Airmen stationed worldwide, whose selfless service and sacrifices ensure the freedoms enjoyed by citizens of the United States of America.
Mason Jazz Festival Sample Schedule
- 10:00am Yorktown High School
- 10:30am Lake Braddock High School
- 11:00am Georgetown Day School
- 11:30am Meridian High School
- 12:00pm Intermission
- 1:00pm Warhill High School
- 1:30pm Washington-Liberty High School
- 2:00pm Alexandria City High School
- 2:30pm Mountain View High School
- 3:00pm Thomas Edison High School
- 3:30pm Alexandria City High School
- 4:00pm Musselman High School
- 4:30pm Chancellor High School
- 5:00pm Intermission
- 6:45pm Awards Ceremony
- 7:00pm Mason Jazz Ensemble
- 7:30pm The U.S. Army Blues
Previous Headlining performers have included:
- U.S. Army Blues
- U.S. Navy Commodores
- U.S.A.F. Airmen of Note
- Mason Jazz Faculty All-Stars