In 1989, when this magazine was in its infant (and struggling) years, I heard of an organization called the International Association of Jazz Educators, which was holding its convention in New Orleans. My assistant at the time, Robin Ligon, a cello player and jazz aficionado, urged me to get OffBeat involved in the event. We did participate in the convention, which was one of the most intense and informative convocations of jazz professionals I had ever seen.
And now, IAJE has returned to New Orleans. From January 12 through 15, in one of the most important music events in recent years, the International Association of Jazz Educators will hold its conference and trade show at the Hyatt Regency and Superdome, with a record 7,000 plus attendees expected at the event.
Attendees can enjoy concerts and seminars by more than 150 recognized jazz artists (see Jonathan Tabak’s "Straight, No Chaser" column for a partial list of some of the wonderful performers).
"We’re absolutely ecstatic about returning to New Orleans, for several reasons," said IAJE Executive Director Bill McFarlin in a recent interview. "The timing is perfect. Our return to New Orleans is long overdue. It’s obvious we’re not the only ones who feel that way because of the jump in attendance that’s registered. In 1989 we only had 4,500 people."
The conference is open to the industry and jazz "enthusiasts" who can register to attend, according to McFarlin. "It seems as though there is a lot more communication between the components of the music industry here than in 1989," said McFarlin. "There are a lot of players who live and work in the city. It seems to me that there is more of a vibrancy in the scene here than when we were last here, and more of an overall awareness; more music being recorded in New Orleans, more players live here. Those of us that are involved in booking conferences, are, of course, aware of the draw that New Orleans itself has in bringing in attendees.
"We’ll have a golf tournament at Lakewood Country Club, which will be a fun way to kick things off, which we’ve never done before-it’ll be a chance for musicians to play together along with industry people. Another thing which is totally new is the introduction of a writers’ workshop by the Jazz Journalists Association where members will be available for one-on-one consultations. This will help develop some of jazz’s future writers and helps further the art form of jazz journalism. Students can sign up and bring writing samples for ‘Critics’ Clinics.’"
There are several "tracks" one can follow at the conference, including Teaching, Jazz History, Instrumental and Performance Techniques, Vocal, Composition and Arranging, and an extensive Jazz Industry track, which will include an NPR Jazz Radio Symposium among many other offerings.
But IAJE is not just for teachers. McFarlin continues: "We have a phenomenal Jazz Industry track this year-it’s a completely new component of the conference that’s really tripled in size this year. One of the things it’s doing is further reinforcing the idea of bringing members of the industry to this conference-a critical component to combine with education to grow the industry into the next century."
"The industry is ‘getting it’ now, too," says McFarlin. "That’s one of reasons why all major and minor labels and all the jazz publications come in-they’re all becoming engaged in the dialogue-and really contributing to the growth in the field."
The IAJE conference also contains a trade show which promises to be excitingat last count 35 companies were on the waiting list for booth space. (OffBeat will man booth P15 at the conference).
"The fact that this is New Orleans and so many people are coming means more than just attendance," McFarlin added. "There’s such an historical and symbiotic connection between IAJE and New Orleans that goes much further than a typical convention. You will really notice a big change between what we did last time and what we’ll accomplish this time."
You can attend some of the Jazz Industry Track sessions for $29.95 (members) and $49.95 (non-members). This includes a subscription to jazze.com, which will stream the Jazz Industry Track over the internet.
To find out more about the IAJE conference, call 785-776-8744 or email [email protected].
Putumayo Recognizes Louisiana Music Is World-Ready
Putumayo presents Louisiana GumboI tend to know who OffBeat’s many subscribers are-I know a lot of them personally; they even come to visit us at the office when they come to town year-round. Some time ago I noticed that the head of one of my favorite record labels, Putumayo, was an OffBeat subscriber.
I happened to meet Dan Storper, Putumayo president, at 1999’s LMNOP Conference, and I was delighted to find out the label had been working on putting together a compilation of Louisiana music to be released in 2000.
Putumayo, in case you’re not familiar with their products, has put together compilations of music from every corner of the world (sample CD titles: Mali To Memphis, Athens to Andalucia, Brasileiro, Music From The Coffee Lands, Caribbean Party, Cape Verde, Africa, Celtic Tides, and many more). These guys pick great music, license it, compile it into great, informative packaging and market it like crazy all over the world. They’re probably more responsible for exposing people to "exotic" music than any other entity in the universe.
Putumayo presents ZydecoNow Louisiana music is getting ready to be part of the Putumayo family, with two new CDs: Putumayo presents Louisiana Gumbo (featuring R&B faves James Booker, Johnny Adams, Eddie Bo, Rockie Charles, Snooks Eaglin and the Neville Brothers, with some zydeco thrown in as well) and Putumayo presents Zydeco (with Rosie Ledet, The Creole Zydeco Farmers, Keith Frank, Boozoo Chavis, Beau Jocque and many more). The label has sought (and obtained) support from the Louisiana Office of Tourism (LOT), which is on a music roll through its support of the Montreal Jazz Fest, and Ken Burns’ upcoming documentary on jazz. Putumayo and the LOT will co-host a kickoff CD release party for the new CDs at Tipitina’s Uptown on Thursday, January 27 at 8 p.m.with Cyril Neville and Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr., Rosie Ledet, and Eddie Bo performing. We’re looking forward to the marketing push that an experienced label like Putumayo will give to Louisiana artists as "world music" throughout the world.
Putumayo has also cut a deal with Festival Productions to market Louisiana musicians on video and CD post-Jazz Fest 2000. Look for more Louisiana CDs to hit the streets soon from these guys.
LMC Frothing At The Mouth
OffBeat reported last month that LMNOP would not hold its 2000 conference because of the lack of public funding, mentioning specifically that the Louisiana Music Commission (LMC) had "scaled back" its participation. (We stand by LMNOP founder Louis Meyer’s comment on this issue as we reported last month, which apparently he made to other parties as well).
We’ve received an angry phone call from Bernie Cyrus, the LMC Executive Director, and numerous scathing emails from Steve Picou at the LMC protesting our request for the Commission to publish their actual sources and uses of funds and proclaiming (as usual) that the LMC’s efforts are solely responsible for the growing success of Louisiana’s music economy. Gee, guys, maybe thou dost protest too muchagain, let your constituency see exactly where our tax money is going in a public forum (like OffBeat or the LMC web site or the other local media) and we can rest assured that our tax dollars are being used efficiently. We’ll say the same about the New Orleans Music & Entertainment Commission. Just where does the money go? Isn’t it our right to know??
Picou has informed OffBeat that approximately $110,000 of its $300,000 budget is allocated for salaries of the Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director and secretarial assistant, with $75,000 allocated to marketing, and $50,000 to a new CD project.
To put the LMNOP brouhaha in perspective, Louis Meyers also informed OffBeat that the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (CRT) had cut its annual funding to LMNOP entirely this year, and that the Louisiana Department of Economic Development also declined to support the event, and no direct funding was forthcoming from the New Orleans Music & Entertainment Commission either. Philip Jones of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism told us that CRT had supported LMNOP during its first few start-up years, when the Louisiana Music Commission’s budget was inadequate to support it, but that "it’s the Music Commission’s job and function to help support activities of this kind now that its budget has been expanded."
The LMC tells OffBeat it invested $15,000 last year in LMNOP, and apparently has decided to continue that level of support (see Letters, this month). For that, we applaud LMC, and for the other efforts it has supported, like the Jazz Centennial and Jazz Walk of Fame. We encourage the Louisiana Music Commission to continue to support well-organized industry-intensive events like LMNOP in the future, but not the Cutting Edge music conference, which has proven itself year after year to survive purely on political favoritism, and not results.
Some years ago there was a political movement to relocate the Louisiana Music Commission under the jurisdiction of Louisiana CRT, but this action was opposed and politically defeated by Cyrus, presumably because CRT did not plan to keep Cyrus if the Commission was moved. (The Louisiana Music Commission remains under the jurisdiction of Governor Foster and the Louisiana Department of Economic Development). From a financial standpoint, moving the Commission to CRT would have made much better sense, since CRT has far greater resources (the Louisiana Office of Film & Video was successfully moved under CRT’s jurisdiction some 13 years ago). In fact, CRT has the financial clout to mount a campaign to promote Louisiana music worldwide over the next two years in a way that’s unprecedented. Among other things, according to Philip Jones, the promotion will consist of a $10-million advertising campaign, an estimated $25-million value in public relations from associations with international media, the Montreal Jazz Festival (and other festivals worldwide in which CRT is co-partnering), the upcoming Ken Burns’ documentary on jazz, and affiliations with record labels and music clubs nationwide to promote Louisiana music.
Wouldn’t it have looked a lot better for the Louisiana Music Commission if they had been able to be a part of and claim credit for these campaigns instead of angrily stamping their feet, continually touting their "accomplishments," while merely trying to keep their politically appointed jobs with a budget even they deem as inadequate? Sorry, LMC-what the Louisiana music industry needs is visionary leadership for our music and a commitment to the music industry’s public interest. Getting the job done takes money. You guys should have supported the move to Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
