There are three sections available: small jazz ensemble, large jazz ensemble and community ensemble. In school ensembles, ensembles must comply with the following conditions:

1. Members of the ensemble must be enrolled as full time school students at the school or group of schools that they are representing
2. Staff members or outside players may fill a vacancy in the band when there are insufficient students to make up a full ensemble.

However, there must be no more than two outside players per band and these individuals must be identified before the adjudicated performance, should not fill a principal chair in the ensemble and must not feature as a soloist. Exception to this rule must be requested in writing.

Small Jazz Ensemble
Small jazz ensembles must contain a minimum of 3 players and a maximum of 10 players.
Large Jazz Ensemble
Large jazz ensembles must contain a minimum of 11 players and a maximum of 25 players.
Community Ensemble
Community ensembles may contain a combination of student and adult players, 4 - 25 members. ​
​Small Jazz Ensemble 
15 minutes performance time
Small jazz ensembles must comply with the following performance requirements: 
  1. The repertoire should be chosen from standard small jazz ensemble tunes consistent with the jazz idiom (see suggested small jazz ensemble repertoire section for further details). 
  2. Performances delivered from written arrangements for small jazz ensemble or the use of lead sheets is permitted. 
  3. One selection must be a ballad. 
  4. A vocalist may perform on no more than two tunes. 
If performing from lead sheets the suggested format for small jazz ensembles is as follows: 
  • A creative introduction 
  • The playing of the ‘head’ or melody (preferably arranged in parts) 
  • One or more improvised solos 
  • The restatement of the ‘head’ or melody 
  • An appropriate ‘tag’ or ending 
If performing from written arrangements several music publishers provide quality small jazz combo arrangements. The following are some suggested publisher series titles to assist you in repertoire selection: 
  • Hal Leonard Easy Jazz Combo Series 
  • Hal Leonard Jazz Combo Pack Series 
  • Alfred Jazz Vocal Solos with Combo Accompaniment 
  • Alfred Jazz Standards for Vocalist with Combo Accompaniment 
  • Alfred/Belwin Jazz Combo Collection
  • Kendor Jazz Combo Series ​

Large Jazz Ensemble
15 minutes performance time
Large jazz ensembles must contain a minimum of 11 players and a maximum of 25 players. ​Large jazz ensembles must comply with the following performance requirements: 

  1. The repertoire should be chosen from published big band arrangements.

  2. The entire performance should be jazz styled, containing a combination of jazz swing, bebop, latin jazz and/or funky jazz.
  3. One selection must be a ballad.
  4. A vocalist may perform on no more than two tunes. ​​