The Jazz Education Network wrapped up its inaugural conference May 22 after three days of concerts, clinics, exhibits and pure jazz hang-time. More than 1,150 attendees made the trek to the University of Missouri – St. Louis to help ring in the new organization and came away with positive vibes for JEN’s prospects.
“I think this is a really good start,” said legendary educator and composer David Baker, the artistic director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. “I’m very encouraged for the future of the organization. I think it’s going to make it.”
Baker spoke as one of many in attendance who were members and former officers of the International Association for Jazz Education, a long-time organization that went bankrupt in April of 2008, leaving the jazz education community without the annual conference and center of gravity that many had come to rely upon. The demise of that organization has been blamed by many on fiscal mismanagement and not weaknesses within the field of jazz education. JEN, with a combination of educators and industry movers-and-shakers, formed to fill that void and not repeat the mistakes of IAJE.
“Just less than two years ago, this whole convention and this organization was just a dream,” said Maryjo Papich, JEN president, during a reception for JEN’s founding members. “We holed up in a little hotel, in a small conference room near the airport in Chicago, and came together. We came away with a name, a mission, a draft of bylaws and we were ready to rock ’n’ roll.”
“All I can say is, ‘Wow,’” said Dick Dunscomb, music department chair at Columbia College Chicago. “I just finished chatting with David Baker, and David said the word of the night: ‘The Phoenix is rising.’ And, man, we better do it because there’s a damned big hole out there and we’d better fill it. We’re all working out there at our own pace, but we need each other. We need to reach out and have colleagues not only in the state and in the region, but also in the nation and internationally. We can do it, and this is a huge step forward.”
On the programming front, the conference did not disappoint. The vast majority of clinicians and performers donated their time and talents, pulling together a sturdy slate of concerts that included fine musical sets turned in by The Clayton Brothers Quintet, Rufus Reid’s “Out Front” Trio, and the JEN All-Stars led by John Clayton and featuring Shelly Berg on piano, Frank Potenza on guitar, Lou Fischer on bass, Reid on bass, Ndugu Chancler on drums, Bob Rummage on drums, Terell Stafford on trumpet, Victor Goines on saxophone, Ruben Alvarez on percussion and Bob Mintzer on saxophone.
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris, percussionist Alvarez and trumpeter Wayne Bergeron sat in with a smoking University of Missouri – St. Louis Big Band under the direction of Jim Widner. Widner also served as the conference host, delivering UMSL’s fine facilities and beautiful concert halls for the event.
In addition to strong concerts, the conference also offered a terrific lineup of clinics for students and teachers alike. Goines, Baker, Clayton, Stafford and Paris Rutherford — all stellar artists and educators — produced an insightful clinic on how music students can succeed in their college interviews. Mintzer delivered ideas to help saxophonists better interact in the rhythm section. J.B. Dyas, from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, gave teachers a terrific nine-step approach to help students learn tunes. And artists Gerald Clayton, Don Braden, Harris and DJ Trentino delivered an honest, heated discussion on the evolution of jazz in the 21st century.
For more information go to jazzednet.org
http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=news&subsect=news_detail&nid=1528
0 Comments:
Post a Comment