Jazz band directors tend to face a lot of time constraints in readying their ensembles for performance. Sometimes the race to the stage can result in suboptimal playing, a rhythm section that does not quite gel, or soloists who "blow and hope"--that is, fail to put in the appropriate amount of thought before and during their improvisations. Yet with a little bit of extra attention to a few essential details, a director can raise the bar for the musicians in his or her band, making them not just better jazz players but finer musicians in general. To learn about some smart approaches, the author talked to four teachers: Todd Stoll, director of education at Jazz at Lincoln Center; Zachary Poulter, band director at Syracuse Junior High School in Syracuse, Utah; Paul Baransy, former band director at Ottawa-Glandorf High School in Ottawa, Ohio, online jazz mentor for NAfME, and author of the NAfME book "Teaching Improv in Your Jazz Ensemble: A Complete Guide for Music Educators;" and Alex Noppe, trumpet and jazz instructor at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.