As Duke Ellington famously pointed out to Billy Strayhorn, the “A” Train is without a doubt “the quickest way to Harlem.” It was also, appropriately enough, the quickest way to get from New York’s JFK Airport to last week’s 34th Annual International Association for Jazz Education Conference (“the IAJE” for short), held last week in two neighboring hotels in midtown Manhattan. Riding in on the “A,” with the Duke’s horn section swinging along in my head and Betty Roche singing “Hurry, get on, now it's coming / Listen to those rails a-thrumming,” I reflected on a seeming parallel between the Ellington theme song and the conference—a simple set of subway directions that became one of the all-time great jazz standards, and a modest conclave of jazz educators that became the annual gathering of the tribes for this music.

Ted from JazzTimes makes "an offer you can't refuse."

This year, some 8,000 jazz educators, students, professional artists, record industry execs, journalists, concert presenters (including several SFJAZZ staffers), and other devotees of the music from 45 countries converged in an unseasonably warm and snow-free New York for four intense and invigorating days and nights of all things jazz. Conference events and activities included workshops, on-stage interviews (including the second annual verbal sparring match between critic Bob Blumenthal and bassist Christian McBride, presented by JazzTimes, and a metaphysical-leaning one-on-one between saxophonists Ornette Coleman and Greg Osby, to be excerpted in an upcoming issue of DownBeat), panel discussions, awards ceremonies, power-schmoozing, and of course, many many sets of great live jazz. As New York Times critic Nate Chinen wrote in advance of the event: “If you happen to stop by the Hilton New York or Sheraton New York during the latter half of this week, you’ll be about as close as possible to the global epicenter of jazz.”

Shopping for colleges at IAJE.

As awe-inspiring as that might sound, one of the hallmarks of the IAJE—and one of my own favorite aspects of the annual gathering—is its very informality. This is a setting where, if a high school musician is curious about a chord progression on Joe Lovano’s last CD, say, he or she can just walk up to Joe and ask him about it. Want to know what it takes to get into the Berklee College of Music? Just stroll up to Berklee’s booth and ask the rep. Likewise, on the industry side, IAJE represents an invaluable opportunity for both planned and impromptu meetings with fellow behind-the-scenesters to compare notes, swap stories, and build connections beyond one’s own immediate geography. (Although, that said, you recurringly hear IAJE attendees laughing about the fact that they had to travel 3,000 miles to meet up with colleagues from their own region. In my own extreme case: after nearly a year of near-misses and re-scheduled appointments, I finally managed at IAJE to hook up with a jazz record-producer friend who lives less than a mile from me in the East Bay.)

Asked to share his own thoughts for this article, SFJAZZ’s new Associate Director of Education (and jazz bassist and school jazz-band director), Cory Combs, had a similar take on the conference: “As a musician and educator, IAJE was an amazing way to connect with old friends, hear great live music, see a wide range of clinics and to be in the jazz center of the world, New York. In a two-block radius, jazz legends mixed with students and educators, proving that jazz is as vibrant and as vital as ever.”
The vitality Cory mentions was also in great supply on the bandstand, with more than 500 performances including the annual National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Awards Concert, honoring 2007’s seven new Jazz Master inductees.

So many basses, so little time....

Other IAJE performers included major touring artists like Charlie Haden and Ingrid Jensen; up-and-coming pros like onetime Bay Area prodigies Taylor Eigsti and Julian Lage and, from Brazil, Clarice Assad (representing a family that gives the Marsalises a run for their money on the “musical dynasty” front, what with guitarist/singer Badi and guitar duo the Assad Brothers; numerous musicians from France; and student bands like Howard University’s “Afro Blue” vocal ensemble (with piano guest-star Geri Allen) to more far-flung young talents like the Almaty Youth Jazz Band II from Almaty, Kazakhstan (no Borat jokes, please). My personal choice for “best in show”: Peter Apfelbaum and the New York Hieroglyphics, led by the former Bay Area–based saxophonist/composer and featuring two SFJAZZ alumni on trombone—founding SFJAZZ Collective member Josh Roseman and SFJAZZ High School All-Stars graduate Natalie Cressman.

Beyond its annual conference, the IAJE offers a wealth of resources for jazz educators, students, and enthusiasts of all levels. Their info info-rich website: www.iaje.org features articles from IAJE’s Jazz Education Journal, a jazz education bulletin board, and categorized links to all quarters of the jazz world. Note for early planners: In 2008, the IAJE Conference moves to Toronto; I guess this time next year, to paraphrase Strays, we’ll all be crooning, “You must take the Yonge–University–Spadina Train….”

- by Matt Campbell

Matt Campbell is SFJAZZ’s Director of Marketing & Communications