ABAC Jazz Festival

Each year the ABAC Jazz Ensemble sponsors an all-day festival on the Tifton Site featuring performances by high school jazz bands from throughout Georgia.

The 2027 festival presents the Javier Nero Jazz Ensemble with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble. Dr. Javier Nero is an award-winning trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator based in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. At the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Nero teaches the jazz trombone studio, arranging, harmony, ear training, and graduate composition, and has previously served as director of the Peabody Jazz Ensemble.

Dr. Nero holds the lead trombone position with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” performing as a member of the U.S. Army Blues, an elite, auditiononly ensemble of 18 musicians dedicated to performing jazz at the highest artistic level. The band presents public concerts, appears at major jazz festivals nationwide, and performs for high-profile civic and governmental events, including those at the White House and the United States Capitol, connecting audiences across the country with America’s military service members through music.

In addition to his work with the Army and Peabody, Dr. Nero is the lead trombonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader of the Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra (JNJO). The ensemble performs monthly at An Die Musik in Baltimore, Maryland, and has appeared in sold-out performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club in New York City, Keystone Korner Baltimore, Blues Alley, and other prominent venues. His compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in collaborations with Wynton Marsalis, Titus Burgess, Veronica Swift, and Ashley Pezzotti, as well as by Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (NYO) programs.

Together, the Javier Nero Jazz Ensemble and the ABAC Jazz Ensemble will provide a compelling musical experience for all ages at 7:00 PM in Howard Auditorium as a part of the ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series.