In the past four years, under the combined direction of Shannon Crepps and Drew Steck, the jazz program at Saeger Middle School has undergone rapid growth. After having existed as one 20-25 member ensemble for many years, the number of students participating in jazz education and performance at Saeger has doubled since 2019.

Seventh and Eighth Grade Band students can now participate in the extracurricular jazz program by auditioning for placement into one of two ensembles - the Saeger Jazz Band and the Saeger Jazz Workshop. Both groups are based on a traditional big band set up but also offer jazz instruction to students of all instruments. Fifty students, almost half of those who are eligible, are members of the jazz program for the 2023-2024 school year.

Both groups rehearse entirely outside of the school day, either coming in before school or staying after school. Students in these ensembles present multiple concert performances throughout the school year on the campuses of Saeger Middle School and Francis Howell Central High School, perform at school events such as the Spartan Celebration End-of-Year Awards Night, and attend the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival on the campus of the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

It is our belief that all students benefit from jazz studies, no matter their instrument of choice. We know that it creates a stronger understanding of music reading, theory, and rhythmic fluency. Studying multiple genres of music also gives our students a broader perspective and makes them more well-rounded musicians. We also believe that students who participate in extracurricular musical ensembles are more connected to their chosen instrument, their peers, and their school.

Since 2022, each spring the Saeger jazz students join forces with the jazz students from Bryan Middle School and Francis Howell Central High School to present a café style concert, Jazz Central. Seven jazz bands from the three schools perform for an audience of over 600 for an incredible evening celebrating jazz education. In the summer of 2022, Saeger hosted the Jazz Central Camp for students entering seventh and eighth grade band at both Saeger and Bryan Middle Schools.

In 2022, the Saeger Jazz Band was selected to perform at the 85th Annual Missouri Music Educators' Association In-Service Workshop/Clinic.  On January 26, 2023, they became the second middle school jazz ensemble to perform at MMEA in the history of the conference!