On February 27, 2026, South Brunswick High School (SBHS) hosted the Jazz Festival of 2026. This used to be an annual event before the pandemic, but it was finally brought back this school year. Sixteen bands from across the state performed at this event, five of them being bands from the South Brunswick School District.
The festival opened with the 5:00 Jazz Band being the first one to perform at 4:00 p.m. They performed three songs: “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Ellington and Mills, “God Bless the Child” by Herzog and Holiday, and “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard. As soon as they were announced, they went right to it.
Beginning with the swing chart, the 5:00 Jazz band set a lighthearted mood. While carrying the infamous melody, the song later consisted of a few soloists: Adyant Surashetty (2029) on alto saxophone, Arbitha Sivakumar (2027) on trumpet, and Sophie Torres (2027) on the piano. After the performance of this song, Mr. T.J. Brungard, one of the SBHS band directors, introduced the 5:00 band and the song they just played. Their second song was a ballad, a lot calmer and more emotional than the first one. A few measures into the piece came another saxophone solo by Adyant. The melody was passed around between each instrument section in the band, eventually leading into another alto solo by Junhang Chen (2029). Their third song was a Latin chart, having a having a much faster and a different style from the previous two. The song began with a drum set solo by Amitav Walen (2027), which led to a solo on the congas by Guha Rajaraman (2027). Then, the melody started to expand to the whole band, section by section before giving space to the four soloists: Aarya Sivakumar (2029) on trombone, Rithika Selvaraj (2029) on trumpet, Advait Gokul (2029) on trombone, and Anay Patiwari (2029) on bari saxophone. A few measures later came Aanya Soma (2029) on flute and then Sophie Torres on piano.
After the 5:00 Jazz band came the Crossroads South (XRDS) Middle School Jazz Lab, performing two songs: “Killer Joe” by Benny Golson, and “Marshmallow World” by Carl Sigman and Peter De Rose. “Killer Joe” is a laid back swing chart, giving a more relaxed mood, while “Marshmallow World” was a festive song, adding to the relaxed vibe.
After the XRDS Jazz Lab left the stage, the XRDS Middle School Jazz Ensemble went up. They were performed three pieces: “April in Paris” by Vernon Duke, “What A Wonderful World” by George David and Bob Thiele, and “El Tigre” by Carl Strommen.
The first song was a swing chart. Their second song was slower, a ballad, being more calmer and less intense than the first one. Towards the beginning was a trumpet solo playing the melody, which was later passed to the trombones with saxophones in the background. Phrases were passed back and forth between instruments with backgrounds exchanging, the blended sound creating a calming mood. Their third song was a Latin chart, beginning with the bass player playing the melody alone which eventually passed to the trombones. Then, the whole band joined in, giving a vibrant mood. It later led to a tenor saxophone solo and then a triad of soloists.
Towards the end of the first half, the SBHS Tuesday Jazz Band entered the stage after Immaculata High School at 6:55 p.m. performing three songs: “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” by Mercer Ellington, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Cole Porter, and “Afro Blue” by Mongo Santamaria.
Their first song was a swing chart, having a relaxed but anticipating mood. The melody passed around, going from the alto saxophones to the trumpets. Eventually, the song consisted of a number of soloists back to back: Samantha Carver (2026) on trumpet, Archith Kumaran (2027) on alto saxophone, Anay Patiwari on tenor saxophone, Tanish Khadse (2029) on alto saxophone, Marjan Malihi (2026) on flute, Aanya Hariharan (2028) on flute, Vedant Acharyya (2029) on alto saxophone, and Vedant Navale (2028) on alto saxophone. The second song was also a laid back swing chart, but it begins with more of a ballad feel rather than suspense, but as the song progresses, it slowly develops that suspenseful feel. For the most part, the choir teacher, Mr. Aldo Aranzulla, was a guest soloist, singing while the rest of the band played under him. Finally, their last song was a Latin chart, a faster, anticipating mood. Small musical phrases were passed around between the trumpets and saxophones with the drums giving a sensational feel. The melody slowly expanded throughout the whole band before handing the spotlight to a number of soloists after: Anay Patiwari on tenor saxophone, Marjan Malihi on flute, Tanish Khadse on alto saxophone, Aanya Hariharan on flute, and Archith Kumaran on alto saxophone.
There ended up being a delay because there was a planned break separating the first and second half of the festival. Therefore, some groups ended up performing twenty minutes later than their scheduled time.
The festival ended with the SBHS 6:30 Jazz Band performing three songs: “Hoe Down” by Oliver Nelson, “Optimistic” by Radiohead, and “Samba Ti Kaye” by Mark Taylor.
Their first song was a swing chart with faster notes and anticipating rhythms. Because it’s the highest jazz band in the school, the level of difficulty was obvious with faster notes and more dynamic control. The melody started in the trumpets before expanding it throughout the saxophone section before transitioning to a few soloists: Srivatsan Tirucherai (2026) on vibrophone, Toorjo Bhattacharya (2028) on alto saxophone, Jivan Singh (2026) on alto saxophone, and Matthew De Jesus (2026) on guitar. Then, the melody from the beginning came back, ending the song. Their second song was slower, giving more of a ballad feel. It started with Chloe Chan (2027) on piano with Spencer Capes (2027) on trombone joining in, eventually leading to Aditi Olety (2027) on vocals. The song eventually went a little faster, feeling more emotional, leading to more soloists: Vihaan Pardeshi on trumpet, Jivan Singh on alto saxophone, and Aditya Agarwal (2028) on bari saxophone. Their final song was a samba (a Latin chart) matching the same intensity as the first piece. It began with a duet between Spencer Capes and Jian-Wei Hsu (2029) on trumpet. Then, the melody expanded to the whole band, playing under a trio of soloists: Aditi Olety on flute, Jivan Singh on alto saxophone, and Ryan Varghese (2027) on tenor saxophone. Then, there was a back and forth between Vedanth Gopinath on the drum set and Sanjay Murali (2028) on the congas. The band ended on a long note with Vedanth playing around with the drum set, smashing cymbals and banging on drums. At the release of the note, the audience roared in applause.
Close to midnight, the high school awards began. The bands were rated from bronze to silver to gold, bronze being the worst, gold being the best. The 5:00 Jazz Band ranked silver with their trumpet section being the best, and their best soloist was Arbitha Sivakumar on the trumpet. The Tuesday Jazz Band also ranked silver, their best section being the saxophones, and their best soloist was Archith Kumaran on the alto saxophone. Finally, the 6:30 Jazz Band ranked gold, their best section being the trombones, and their best soloist being Spencer Capes on the trombone.
