The International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) will hold its 27th conference in New Orleans next year, January 12-15, at The Hyatt Regency Hotel and The Louisiana Superdome. Recognized as the largest annual gathering of the global jazz community, the conference was attended last year by over 6,000 educators, musicians, record executives, festival producers, exhibitors, students, media and enthusiasts from around the world.

At a welcoming reception for the IAJE’s Board of Directors held at Snug Harbor on June 12th, Bill McFarlin, the association’s Executive Director, explained that next year’s conference is expected to be even larger because the JazzTimes Convention has folded and plans to redirect its resources towards the IAJE event.

Besides the largest ever jazz industry exposition with over 200 companies represented, last year’s conference featured over 200 concerts, workshops and panel sessions with top artists including Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Haden, Kenny Werner, Patrice Rushen, Kevin Mahogany, Donald Harrison, Roy Haynes and many others.

“It’s a great feeling for me because I get to learn as well as teach,” trumpeter Terence Blanchard said in a highlight reel from last year’s conference. Renowned pianist/composer Herbie Hancock also spoke about the much needed synergy between students, performers and educators which occurs at the event.

With over 8,000 members in 40 countries, the IAJE is the leading authority and primary voice for the promotion of jazz through education and outreach. For more information call 785-776-8744 or log onto www.iaje.org.

One local jazz education success story is Quintology, a hot young group that has emerged from UNO’s Jazz Studies program to take the scene by storm. In a city teeming with young jazz talent, what makes Quintology special is that they embrace an ensemble aesthetic rather than the leader-sideman formula, perhaps taking a cue from local supergroup Astral Project. The members, Brent Rose (tenor), Mark Diflorio (drums), Mark Rapp (trumpet), Charlie Dennard (keys) and Brady Kish (bass) are all involved in numerous side projects, but with Quintology, they pool their energy into a coherent, inventive voice.

The band’s recent self-titled, independent debut is an audacious achievement, relying entirely upon original compositions contributed by each of the members. The record swings with freshness and intensity, sincere emotion and tight interplay, making it remarkably accessible despite the complex charts. Besides impressing Grammy-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton enough for him to want to do liner notes, the record has won rave reviews (including one in the December ’98 OffBeat).

Quintology has also distinguished itself as a live act, having won the “Jazz Kings” competition sponsored by Le Meridién Hotel during Mardi Gras for two years running. In July, the band plays Snug Harbor on the 25th, a show which will also be broadcast live via community radio station WWOZ 90.7FM (www.wwoz.org). They also appear at the Dragon’s Den on July 1st and Le Meridién Hotel on July 31st.

Another important young group is New World Funk Ensemble, which contains three Quintology members (Rose, Rapp and Dennard). In relatively little time, this nine-piece band has developed into one of the leading experimental acid-jazz bands in town. These aren’t funk/r&b guys getting a little jazzy, but rather guys with serious jazz chops jamming on complex original charts that emphasize heavy grooves and exotic influences.

Their new live CD, released as part of the Mermaid Lounge’s in-house, ultra-indie “Little Live Record” series, is sure to be among the top indie-jazz records put out this year. The Mermaid has become the band’s home base venue, where they cook until the wee hours, and this record captures them at their finest, stretching to the limit and sweating through their t-shirts.

The record’s format, with only five long songs, seems perfectly suited to a band which specializes in extended, high-energy improvisational journeys through wildly imaginative charts. “Kalimba Jam” starts out as a mesmerizing taste of acoustic East-African folk music and explodes into fully amped, Afro-pop flavored funk-jazz. Moments on “Firedance” evoke a rain forest alive at night with strange, dangerous animals. “Fela’s Famous” is further evidence of the strong African influence, owing much to Todd Duke, the band’s guitarist, kalimba player and primary songwriter, who has studied and travelled in Africa. But there are many other ingredients swirling in the pot. “Lava Lamp,” for example, combines free-form group improvisation, psychedelic distortion and wah-wah effects with a techno-dance keyboard groove and somehow makes it all sound integrated and rocking. Overall, the record represents a quantum leap forward, not only for this band but for the entire electrified fusion-jazz scene of New Orleans. You can catch New World at the Mermaid Lounge on Friday, July 30th.

The best live solo I heard last month occurred during Clarence Johnson’s gig June 12th at Snug Harbor. Johnson and band were impressive, especially during a funked up version of “Take Five,” but nothing stood out quite like the steel drum solo by drummer/percussionist Leon Alexander during “St. Thomas.” The instrument has such a wonderful timbre to begin with, but rarely have I heard it played with such fast-paced virtuosity and an expansive range almost akin to the piano.

Next month we can look forward to the Don Braden Quartet’s appearance at Snug Harbor July 17-18. The most recent release from the tenor saxophonist, The Fire Within on RCA Victor, which also features bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, is an impressive offering, demonstrating why he is considered one of the important emerging voices on his instrument.

One of the best things about the new Storyville club is that it presents great jazz during weekday lunches in its “Jazz Cafe.” From Monday July 19th through Friday the 23rd, for example, the club presents the soulful piano genius Henry Butler from 12-3pm.

On July 13th, the Ashé Cultural Center at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley will play host to a benefit concert featuring Kermit Ruffins & The BBQ Swingers, Soul Remedy, Shannon Powell, Irvin Mayfield, Bill Summers, the Mahogany Brass Band and others. The event, sponsored by the French Consulate and the Stand with America’s Teens program, is designed to raise funds to make a film documentary in France centered around the “Rendevouz de L’erder” Festival, which will occur in September with many New Orleans acts on the bill. Once made, the film will be shown to local school children to increase awareness about New Orleans’ historical link to France.