Jazz fans will be treated to six days of music and excitement as Tauranga comes alive for the National Jazz Festival Tauranga from today.

The festival, the longest running of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, returns to the city for its 56^th year – delivering live music from a star-studded line-up of local and international musicians.

Officially opened at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, with the start of the 41^st National Youth Jazz Competition, the festival runs through until Easter Monday with some 250 musicians performing across six events.

Tauranga City councillor Leanne Brown, officially opening the festival on behalf of Mayor Greg Brownless, says the festival is a flagship event that has really become a huge part of the city's history.

'There has been an even greater awareness of the festival this year and having three events already sold out is evidence of this,” says Leanne.

'This is indicative of Tauranga's growing popularity as a destination and shows our city is still the best place to be this Easter, not just for visitors but also for locals.”

Festival director Craig Wilson says anticipation for the 56^th festival has been building for quite some time. The three shows to have sold out in advance, which is unprecedented in the festival's history, are Australia's Shirazz, Tauranga's Caitriona Fallon and Wellington's High Society.

'This is a fantastic result and a great way to start the festival,” he says.

'It shows that these musicians are extremely popular, and it confirms that our intimate Baycourt concerts will be packed.”

2018 sees the return of crowd favourites of the Baycourt concert series, the 41^st National Youth Jazz Competition, the TECT Big Band Bonanza on The Strand Waterfront, the Downtown Carnival, the high-energy Hurricane Party and much more.

Headline international acts include Shirazz as well as famed Australian musician James Morrison and Sydney's Isaiah B Brunt with his electric blues.

Top New Zealand acts set to wow alongside Caitriona and High Society include the Bay of Plenty's own Kokomo at the highly anticipated Hurricane Party and Wellington's Lisa Tomlins in a stunning Joni Mitchell tribute.

'The public excitement is warranted for such a line-up and we are confident it has all the makings for a jam-packed Easter of jazz with something for everyone,” says Craig.

'So bring your dancing shoes and help us enjoy it.”

Starting the festival today is the 41^st National Youth Jazz Competition, which boasts a record 320 students from across the country.

Due to this record number organisers have had to add an extra day to cater for the 18 combos and 14 big bands from 21 secondary schools as far and wide as Christchurch and Wellington.

National Youth Jazz Competition director Liam Ryan says the competition is not only a key feature of the festival but an important incubator for emerging jazz players.

"The competition has helped launch the careers of many of New Zealand's top musicians – including singer Hollie Smith, saxophonist Nathan Haines and hip hop artist Sacha Vee, who has a huge following in Europe,” explains Liam.

'Past winner Matt Penman is now one of New York's top jazz session musicians, and you can guarantee that just about any Kiwi band with a horn section has musicians who came through the competition.”

He adds that the standard of performances is incredibly high, with jazz becoming a popular part of the New Zealand school music curriculum and university jazz programmes.

Every band has workshops immediately after their performance, so there is a big educational focus built in to the event.

'The National Youth Jazz Competition is a major logistical exercise for schools and for the organising team.

'We get genuinely excited seeing the enthusiasm of the students and teachers as they prepare backstage at Baycourt - and then they walk onstage and absolutely blow us away.”

The 56^th National Jazz Festival Tauranga runs from today until April 2. For details and tickets visit www.jazz.org.nz.