Temple University Jazz Band wins first place at the National Collegiate Jazz Championship.
Under the direction of Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Terell Stafford of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, the Temple University Jazz Band returns to Japan this March for an encore tour, marking its second consecutive year abroad. Riding a wave of rhythm, the ensemble will travel to Kyoto and Nara in western Japan before winding up in Tokyo, delivering a high-energy mix of swinging charts, soulful melodies and dynamic improvisation that promises to set Japanese stages humming once again.
The jazz band heads to Japan after earning first place at the 2026 National Collegiate Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York in January. Stafford, director of jazz studies and chair of instrumental studies at Boyer, will lead the early March tour, which will feature 19 student performers and special guest soloist Randy Brecker, the acclaimed trumpeter.
The band will perform in Kyoto, where Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), opened its second major location in Japan in January 2025 near the world-famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. The band is scheduled to play on March 6 at Kyoto Live Spot Rag alongside Kyoto-based Doshisha University’s Third Herd Orchestra. The following day, both ensembles will perform at Yakushiji, a UNESCO World Heritage site and ancient Buddhist temple in Nara. The band will then swing to Tokyo to conclude the tour with a full concert performance at Billboard Live Tokyo on March 9.
This marks its second visit to Japan during students’ spring break last year. In 2025, the band completed a five-day tour that included a recital at Japan Education Center’s Hitotsubashi Hall and culminated in a performance at the renowned Tokyo nightclub Akasaka B-flat.
During that 2025 trip, the band made its Japanese debut before a crowd of 2,500, including students from TUJ, joining the Waseda University High Society Orchestra for its 69th recital concert at Hitotsubashi Hall. The Akasaka B-flat performance was recorded and released internationally on CD as “Live from Japan, Volume 1” in February by BCM&D Records, Boyer’s record label.
The recording showcases a high-energy, hard-swinging performance by the big band, its chemistry forged in the classroom and strengthened by the bonds built on an international tour. That shared experience is exactly why Stafford worked tirelessly to make the trip a reality.
In July and August, the band will make its first multi-country trip to Europe, with performances scheduled in Italy, France and Spain. The tour will begin at Temple University Rome, followed by appearances at the Jazz in Marciac Festival, the Santander Music Festival and the Xàbia Jazz Festival.
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