Conference is a chance to look at the state of jazz
NEW YORK -- Every industry has its hotel-ballroom, rubber-chicken trade fairs, and jazz is no exception. Since Wednesday the luminaries and strivers of jazz -- artists, label reps, teachers, promoters, journalists -- have been assessing the state of the field and working the halls for networking opportunities at two midtown Manhattan hotels, while the city's clubs host an abundance of lavish showcase performances.
It's the annual conference of the International Association for Jazz Education , a mega-meeting that has long since overflowed the narrow boundaries of a teacher's conference and become an all-out marketplace that IAJE executive director Bill McFarlin terms the epicenter of jazz.
"This is the Superbowl of jazz, in the best sense," McFarlin says. "It's the largest annual gathering of the jazz community. And one thing that makes it unique is, we're the only organization that brings together the practitioners, business, and education sides."
Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, an emerging critical favorite who records on the independent label Pi Recordings, says the conference discussions can get heavy -- perhaps no surprise in a field that feeds off improvisation and celebrates idiosyncratic voices.
"There have been some very heated panel discussions, on jazz and race, or artists facing off against critics," Mahanthappa says.
Some established artists now keep away from the exhausting meetings, but Mahanthappa has attended most years since the mid-'90s, when as a fledgling artist he came to the conference, held that year in Chicago, bearing a demo and high ambitions.
"I remember having a bunch of my CDs," he says. "I met Bruce Lundvall [the head of Blue Note records], and someone from Impulse. I thought I was going to make it."
Beneath the necessary layer of hustle, the convention has some serious issues on its plate. The industry is in flux, with record labels confronting the rise of digital media, and new challenges and opportunities for artists seeking to break through, McFarlin says.
"The whole advent of digital downloading hasn't really shaken out," McFarlin says. "It's such a paradigm shift on a lot of levels. Jazz is finding its way, as is every other genre. In some ways it is probably ahead of the curve. Jazz musicians have always had to be fiercely independent and creative."
He points to adaptations like ArtistShare, a service that connects artists with listeners willing to help pre-fund recording projects, cutting out the traditional record company. It has already produced some exceptional work, like Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri's "Simpatico," which made many critic's lists (including this writer's) for 2006.
Another momentous development, according to McFarlin, is satellite radio, with numerous jazz channels available through services that are pre-installed in increasing numbers of new cars. "That along with downloading is really growing our market share," he says.
The convention is also a gathering of the global tribes, with a large presence from Europe and Japan, and this year a special theme on jazz in France. Mahanthappa says the international dimension is a major professional draw.
"That's the main reason I'm going, to meet European promoters," he says. "If you get to a certain level you find that the money in Europe comes easier."
In a point frequently echoed by other artists, he attributes this disparity to the European tradition of public arts sponsorship and the abundance of well-funded jazz festivals there.
Amid all these commercial considerations, the conference still finds time to address its core concern, jazz education. In many ways the field is doing very well, with jazz programs proliferating in schools and summer camps nationwide, McFarlin says.
However, this growth carries its own challenges, particularly that of making jazz training accessible to low-income students rather than a middle-class privilege, especially when arts programs are often the victims of public-school budget cuts. McFarlin says the community is well aware of the problem, but there is no single solution.
"Let's be honest, it's different in an inner-city neighborhood than it is at a Milton Academy," he says. "You can draw that on ethnic or other lines, but I'm sure you can grid it out and show there is some disparity. For young people aged 8 to 18, what are going to be the opportunities to be in a jazz program, especially for young African-Americans, for whom it's part of their cultural heritage?"
That's a key concern to pianist Jason Moran, who grew up in a middle-class black family in Houston. He worries that jazz training not only is out of reach of many deserving students, but also insulates the music from its historical context.
"I'm a product of jazz education," he says. "But when I went to high school, summer camp, even the Manhattan School of Music, music was rarely discussed in relation to what was happening in America."
Moran's way of helping consists of direct action. He offers scholarships to low-income students from his alma mater, Houston's High School for Performing and Visual Arts .
At a broader level, the jazz community has little choice but to continue its advocacy -- for its own music, but also for arts funding in general, says McFarlin.
"The value of participation in the arts, it's so obvious that it enhances the educational experience that it's almost amazing we have to have the argument," he says. "But we will continue to do that."
